noob to G....SUSPENSION!!

[broke_kanic]

just picked up a G, wanted to kno whats a good coilover setup that will not lose spring rate(so not lowering the spring to lower vehicle) and able to slam the car. had experience with the tein super drifts on my 240sx but wasnt able to really slam the back unless i dropped the spring, which i didnt want to do. i also had megan tracks on my s14, besides the crazy stiff ride i was able to slamm without losing any spring rate. any other suggestions besides the megans?? i kno its rediculous to put megans on a G, thats why need some advice. pics would be nice if anybody can provide any. thanks!

[C-Kwik]

You need to clarify what it is you want. You mention that you don't want to drop the spring rate, but it seems to me you don't actually understand the term correctly. Spring rate is the amount of force it takes to compress a spring by a certain amount. For example 200 pounds of force for an inch of travel.

That said, if your question is asking how to lower your vehicle more without adjusting the lower collar of an adjustable system to a lower position, then its going to depend on the spring itself. Either a spring of the same length with lower spring rate or a shorter spring with a higher spring rate will do that. You could also go with a longer spring with even lower spring rate. But that would require more forethought and calculation to make sure such a spring would work.

Perhaps you could clarify what it is you are trying to achieve...

[tollboothwilley]

This all depends on what you are willing to spend and what type of driving you plan on doing.

A good starter coilover is the TEIN Basics. You can add EDFC to that as well. A good step up from that is the Tein CS, you can keep and use the EDFC on this setup also.

The KW Variant2 are really nice. BC makes some good coilovers.

You can check out the specs. Cost and Usage are huge though....what you want to do?

[broke_kanic]

sorry for confusing everyone i ment. i didnt want to have to drop the spring causing a gap betweent the top mount and the top of the spring when you jack up your car and cause the rim to sag. anybody got good sites where to get d2 coilovers??

[C-Kwik]

You can try to find a system that uses a shorter shock or uses a helper spring or perhaps a "Tender" spring system. Look up Eibach Helper spring for an idea of what it looks like. Its function is to fill the gap when the suspension is in full droop. But due to it's light spring rate, under the weight of the car, it will fully compress so that the main spring will then be the only spring acting (unless your wheel leaves the ground).

A tender spring will also fill the gap, but is a bit different in that it can bear more weight without being fully compressed. This allows for a sort of progressive rate type of spring as the tender springs will fully compress sooner than teh main spring and once the tender spring is fully compressed, the main spring's rate becomes the final spring rate. However, I'd probably recommend the helper spring as calculating which springs you need to be able to obtain predictable rates may be quite complicated. The downside to using either over the existing spring is that it will take up more room between the perch and the retainer. So if your desired ride height with the existing spring is achieved pretty much at the bottom of the threading, then it will raise the vehicle slightly. Then again, typically lowering a car that much will likely result in poor suspension geometry anyways.

Eibach sells all their spring hardware a la carte so you can add to existing springs or replace the existing ones if they are of a compatible size. I can't recall which height adjustable coilovers are compatible (I'm sure its changed since I last looked into it) but you can probably call Eibach for a list of systems they know their springs will work with. Personally, if I were to be in the market for any kind of height adjustable system, I'd likely make sure its compatible with Eibach springs as it allows for a much more versatile set of choices in the springs.

Lastly, if you are going to be buying a higher end system, I've seen systems that use adjustable length shocks. That is, in addition to the threaded collar for the spring perch, they added threads to the bottom of the shock mount and the lower mount itself can be threaded in or out. This can allow you to lower the vehicle simply by reducing the shock length without loosening the spring. However, it should be noted that since the rear suspension on the G does not use a coilover set up(technically coilovers mean a coil over the shock arrangement; not necessarily or specifically ride-height adjustable suspensions), this type would only apply to the front suspension.