i know pretty much all coilover companies recommend not going +- more than 2k on spring rates from what the shock is valved for. i'm assuming +3k could damage something? the car is valved for 9k front and 8k rear. i was hoping to bump the rears up to 11k, seeing how it's the only spring i have left LOL.
not worth it?

 

It won't damage anything. It just won't be an optimal setup ..

 

more optimal than running a 8kf/9kr spring rate? car is nearly stock weight with 255 R-S3s.

 

This my car with 9kf/11kr springs and 255/40 Z2's lol. Stock sway bars. Decent amount of body roll still..

 

but what are they valved for? i'd hate to kill mine because they were sprung too stiff for the valving. or not be able to slow rebound enough at 110mph.

 

You'll work them hard and they won't be able to control movement as easily. I'll post some pics of my car at 8f/10r and 10f/12r. At 10/12 it does alright for damping, but I can tell its not as well damped as the stock spring rates. What shocks anyways? Ohlins?

 

AST. i'll give them a shot and see how they do.

 

This is 8k/10k f/r springs on ohlins r&t. Note the wheel gap on the front tire.



This is the same corner with 10k/12k. Although I think this is a bit later through the corner but you get the idea.



This is a rear view entering the same corner. 12k in the rear does well on RS3s at least.



In conclusion, with (rear) spring rates 4k+ above the factory spec, the damping is at its limit and you'll know it, and its probably working the damper hard. But it still maintains sufficient control and the benefits of the higher rate springs are worth the tradeoff at the track. IMO.

 

i'm not worried about body roll, fellas. i'm worried about the dampener not working correctly because i am running a spring that is out of the shock's efficiency range.
my fear is a rear end that is under dampened and bounces me all over the track LOL. or maybe damage due to excess heat after a session.
i really don't know, to tell the truth. so i thought i'd ask.

as for body roll, i run softer springs anyway, so i expect and plan for that.

yes, that is the info i'm needing. so it sounds like it won't be optimal, as mentioned above, but the trade off is worth it. we'll see how it goes! fingers crossed. i have an event on the 10th, if the car is ready. i'm stoked.

 

The coilovers are valved for the springs since they came with those rates. That's also with the clickers at almost full stiff. I think I was running them only 4 clicks out in the front, and 2 out in the rear.

 

Ah. My concern is when the shocks aren't valved for the springs.

 

It can make the car bouncy. But it depends on how much range of adjustment the clickers provide.

 

I have 16. Ill try it. Hopefully it works, otherwise I gotta buy some 10k for the rear.

 

Some shocks have a wider damping adjustment range than others. That's why I asked if you had ohlins. They're known to have the widest adjustment range for not-a-pure racing shock. AST shouldn't be far behind afaik.

 

That's why I was shopping FA 510s. Terry says they never need to be valved. Wow.