As most of you evo owners out there, I HATE the stock wheel gap. Id like to get rid of it by puytting on some new springs, but I would not like to sacrifice any performance or quality of ride.

I have researched a little and ruled out the Tein Stech, simply due to some peoples gripes with them in hard cornering, and not having enough "chutzpah"

Would the Tanabe springs be a good option to eliminate the wheel gap while still providing ample control, response, and rate?

Also, WIthout going to Adjustable rate Coilovers, would replacing the OEM shocks with aftermarket provide noticeable handling gains? (Such as KYB AGX's?)

 

Bump. 85+ views

 

Eibach ProKit

teh stock shocks are pretty damn good... wouldn't waste the time / money to go with the KYB's...

 

Just keep in mind that if you lower the car, you really will need new shocks. It amazes me when I see some people on this board dropping their Evos 2 inches and still using stock shocks! They will not be doing their job properly and will fail in no time.

Aftermarket springs are not only shorter, but also stiffer. That means you have a damper that's always compressed and is now trying to control the movements of a stiff spring. Handling will suffer and the shocks will fail.

Emre

 

Hmm, my Supra has the Eibach pro kit and stock shocks, no worries with 41000 on the springs..

 

My Ohlins coilovers lower the car AND handle better AND ride better, and have more chutzpah! ........... but they are not cheap

 

I heard have heard that ALOT about changing out the springs its not that true the evo has very good factory shocks and they will last for a while an long while. People said this about the wrx as well, it wasnt that true thier either.

Dont get me wrong the shocks will fail quicker than they would if the suspension was left alone, but with stiffer springs that restrict shock movement they will last longer than people who just cut springs on ****ty boge struts or worse yet on civics. the suspension in these cars has a alot of money into it already so you can get away with things like this and have it last a while.

ALL of that said, you will do your handeling no real favors, but if you want to do it and when the shocks go replace them with KYB's or Koni's if they are out then. As an aside I know many people who did this with prodrive springs on the wrx including me and I got 25500 miles on that set up with out blowing the shocks

 

how expensive if you don't mind and has anyone tried the Tanabe Sustec Pro S-0C (comfort) ones?

 

You might try John at Road Race Engineering. He will set up and custom tune a set of JIC coilovers specifically to your taste. It wouldn't be the budget solution, but his work is top notch.

I'm having him do my suspension - once I have it in the car and set-up I'll add more info.

 

But that's not really how it works. It's the shock that dampens the motion of the spring (not the other way around). Stiffer springs put more stress on dampers than softer springs since they generate more force for the shocks to control.

Emre

 

You are right given that the springs have equall travel but when you lower a car and use softer or cut springs the shock are worked harder because of the springs tendancy to bounce combined with the fact that the shock is not out of its tunned sweet spot and constantly it the active travel area.

what this does short term and on rough roads is shock fade as the oil in the shocks heats up with the excesive stress. siffer springs that dont move as far require more dampening forcebut less activity so the fade doesnt happen.

Like fade in brakes the fade in a shock accelerats the tax ation of the internals and brings about failure faster. In a car like the EVO with beefy stock shock they will hold up for a substantial amount of time with shorter stiffer springs due to what they were designed to do. However if this is compuonded with a softer spring that alows for a longer bouncier travel the shocks will fail faster.

 

Ohlins PCV.

I wouldn't go as far as saying ride is "better"; I'd say it is definitely "smoother" than stock but when you encounter big humps on the road, the car feels "harder".

Can't complain though, for street coils I think they are very good.

My 2 cents.

 

WHAT? Equal travel? The damper does not only control the stored energy release in the spring, but also plays a major role in vehicle dynamics (ie. weight transfer, pitch, roll, etc.)

You are correct in stating that a damper that was valved to damp a spring rate of say....200 lbs/in, that it might have a hard time damping a spring of say 400 lb/in. When you "cut" a spring, you add more "rate" to the spring, however the reamining coils are not designed to handle the added stress. Spring rate is determined by wire diamter, # of coils and mean coil diameter. PERIOD! If you had a 10" spring that had roughly 5 active (open) coils and was say a 500 lb/in spring, you removed one coil, you would now have a rate of roughly 600 lbs/in. If this 10" spring was designed near the wire's (the material used to manufacture a spring) stress limits, the spring would certainly fail, either by sagging or catastrophic failure (wire breakage). We can all agree that cuttting springs is bad..Good.

Damper....here is a good way to picture a crude damper....fill a bucket full of oil....affix a weight to the end of a soft, lanky spring. Release the weight (not over the bucket), and it will extend and compress and extend and compress until the spring finds it's steady state. ...this could take a while. Now, do the same over the bucket of oil. Notice how it takes a lot less time to slow that weight @ the end of the spring down...the bucket of oil is your damper. Now on to the rough roads bit....if the damper is not valved to handle the additional rate, then the vehicle with most likely "overshoot" (it will ocsilate past static ride height...aka da bouce or porpoise yo!). Yes, the suspension fluid can overheat, but I can assure you that nobody on this forum is "over-heating" their suspension fliud and having viscosity breakdown/shear. Unless you are running Acropolis or any SCORE (Baja 1000) events don't even worry about your shock oil....I'm sorry dude....but everyone who read that might have lost a few brain cells.....

 

??????????? If a damper has more valving that the spring, the car will "ratchet" itself down untill there is no "bump" travel left, a soft spring will NOT wear out a damper because the piston inside the shock is moving further in its available travel. It's still oils through holes and shims to dictate when this happens. As far as sweet spots go, unless you have position sensitinve dampers with bypass tubes, you can forget about that too....

 

"Mttam510, hold you fire! Hold your fire....... I think you have demolished the entire thread!"

very well spoken sir, and thank you for the lesson.