gh0st

i live in rancho cucamonga ca, and i just bought koni shocks and vogtland springs. any shops you guys recommend in my area?

denward

edit: they dont have to be in the IE. ill go as far as one hour in any direction

kwescott

xped from the Malibu thread rented a spring compressor and did it himself. Speeddemon from the San Bernardino thread did Sprint springs himself as well. You could Pm them to see what info they could share. If you're not interested in DIY, most wheel shops do spring/shock installs.

gh0st

thing is, the rear konis need to be removed to be adjusted. a lot of places have told me they can do it but they also go and say that they cant guarantee that the rear will done correctly the very first time. <----- that translates into $$$$$$.

my rear springs are 279lbs/in. anybody have any suggestion on rear dampening settings?

denward

kwescott

I would suggest getting into the Tech section and talk to alot of the autocross guys. They have much more experience with these shocks and can lead you the right way. They may also suggest different sway bars to assist you as well.

I've read a lot of posts by one of our vendors, I think his avatar is "DPS", you may want to check postings by him. If you need some more assistance or some direction as to where you may find him, I might be able to send you a link to one of his threads.

Hope this helped-Keith

gh0st

thats a good idea.

ive talked to phill (by far the most helpful guy ive spoken to) a bit from DPE but i feel bad asking him stuff now because when i first called him, i had already bid on shock off ebay for $540. then i came across a post of phil's saying that he was letting the KONIs go for $550 SHIPPED! so i crossed my fingers and hoped that someone would out bid me but i won . ended up paying 580ish. lol.. so now i feel bad. the guy from X-shocks was really cool too though. i think im gonna wait for him to get back from SEMA to ask him a few questions.

as for roll bars, my springs are quite a bit stiffer the most rx8 springs out there. its the same principal as mazdaspeeds setup. stiff springs and soft sways. since my springs are stiffer then the MS ones, im hopping the stock sways will be enough.

denward

kwescott

wow, stiffer than Mazdaspeed. I'd be interested to ride along with you once when you have a chance. You plan on autocrossing? Or what is the reason for going stiff? This was one big selling point on the 8 versus the STi and EVO 8...they were just too stiff for daily drives on the freeway.

gh0st

no... i will not race my car (gotta watch out for the mazda spies)

but in all reality, the JIC, HKS, TEIN, ect.. coilovers are all way stiffer then any spring you can buy and from what i hear, the ride isnt too bad with them. besides, my last 2 cars had VERY stiff suspention so im used to it.

denward

kwescott

Interesting, about what you said about the spring rate on a coilover being stiffer than just a spring. There was an awsome thread that gave the spring rates for all aftermarket springs, but now that I think about it, none of the coilovers were on that list. Maybe becuase they are all adjustable and it would be pointless of giving the range that each coilover could actually have.

I was actually reading a thread just last night that was talking about lowering springs, and how to adjust Koni's, Iluminas, and one other adjustable shock. It was an interesting read, and seems to be what you are heading towards. I think it was titled Tein Flex or JIC. It started out talking about coilovers, and then got into a mono tube, double tube debate, that then lead into an adjustable shock debate. Interesting, but long thread.

Mikelikes2drive

if ur willing to drive out to signal hill... i know a place that does the best job in my opinion. knows alot about cars and racing and is the cheapest BY FAR

gh0st

how far is signal hills? i might be interested.

Kwescott:
yeah.. i read some of it. lol.. that post was all over the place.

denward

kwescott

signal hill is Long beach area.

gh0st

thats not too far but...


SCREW IT, ive decided to do this job myself! that way, if the reardampening needs to be adjusted, i can do it myself. (hope i dont lose any of my fingers :fawk: )

denward

kwescott

I'm sure you could get some help from some of the guys in the San bernardino forum. I know I am always up for doing things/learning how to do things with our cars. If you got the space, the tools, time, or all three, and want some assistance...check into the thread and see how much help you can get. Advice, suggestions, and manpower are all available when you ask the right people.

Mikelikes2drive

i hate doing shocks/springs myself -____- if u screw up then ur gonna have to take it to a shop so might as well just take it to the shop first...

the place i know does installation AND alignment for 200

gh0st

whats that place called? lol thats pretty cheap.

denward

DPE

iTrader: (1)

With those spring rates in the rear, start with about 1-1.25 turns up from full-soft. That should be about right, though it may take a bit of adjustment.

And are you sure the Vogtland rear springs are 279lb/in? That seems WAY high for rear springs compared to the rest of the aftermarket, and would indeed be notably beyond MS in the rear which are 190lb/in. Additionally, on the tech sheet I have from Vogtland for the prototype RX-8 springs, it shows a working range of 140-171lb/in. Not to say the production ones didn't end up at 279, but that sounds pretty far off. And usually they give a range, since Vogtlands are nearly always progressive. Vogtland is generally fairly consistent with other manufacturers as far as rate, too. Just something I would double check. Regardless, the Konis will be able to handle them, but you'll want to know the rate so you can set the rears accordingly.

Anyway, best of luck with the install, and do feel free to call if you have questions. I'm not feeling 'hurt' by you not buying the Konis from us, either, so no worries there . Always happy to give folks advice based on our experiences, and generally help those in the RX-8 community get the most out of their cars.

gh0st

thanks DPE, i could tell by our conversations that your not the type to take offence. its just a little embaracing :P would have been nice to have been able to save $30.

denward

Mikelikes2drive

ef1 motorsports

oh and in the front i did one and a half turns from soft
and a full turn in the rear
with my konis w/ RB springs

gh0st

thanks mike. well.. i call vogland again and got a different answer this time. now.. the front spring rates are higher then the rear at 230lbs F and 170lbs R. thats about a 50% increase in the front and about 60% at the rear. originally they said that it was an 80% increase and the front was 270lbs and the rear was 279lbs. i also called koni and they said that about 1 full turn up from full soft is about right with the new spring rates front and rear.

as of right now, im pissed because i missed the malibu drive to do the installs and fist thing that happens to me is the Muteki lug key breaks! cheap pieces of CRAP! you get what you pay for.

this sucks cause i prolly wont be going this weekend to the san bernardino meet either because ill hopefully be doing the installs then.

denward

kwescott

you could always catch a ride with one of us if you're car is not ready by then and you are interested in still checking things out. Give one of us a PM if you need a ride.

gh0st

i went on the last san bernardino trip. if i go, im definatly gonna wanna drive. riding bitch would drive me nuts. thanks though

denward

kwescott

true