Operation Ground Control = Success

[Rogue_Wulff]

I finally got around to installing my Ground Control coilovers a while back. I was a little nervous about the spring rates making the ride too harsh, since they were 350#/in front & 200#/inch rear. However, the ride is much better than it was before with the old ST springs. The old springs had sagged a bit, and the bumpstops were seeing far too much action. The front was even missing the rubber spring isolaters that go between the spring and upper seat, allowing the car to sit ~3/4" lower. This made for less than 1" total travel before the front bottomed out.
I don't have a working camera, so no pics are available. Not too sure I would have taken any, even if I had a camera.
Only pic available, is the pic of the parts. I bought a complete set, with pre-modded strut housings. The strut housings were 84/85 large bearing, while my car is an 83. I chose to mod my small bearing housings instead.

[PercentSevenC]

So how does it drive now? Would it be overkill for a daily driver? I've been thinking of going the coilover route with mine.

[Rogue_Wulff]

Rides and drives fine. A little stiffer than before, but not as harsh due to the bumpstops not seeing plenty of action.
Overkill? For a car that is primarily used as DD, softer spring rates would be better. This is even moreso, if you have stiff shocks/struts.
I autox my car frequently, and do track days a couple times per year. These spring rates are better suited for those situations, than for normal street driving. I still haven't upgraded from the KYB GR2's, so that helps absorb the bumps on the roads.
What I like about coilovers, is the vast selection of springs that are available. Different lengths and rates allow for tuning the car to your liking. Of course, the cost is a bit higher than normal aftermarket springs, but you can choose which spring rate you want, based on how you intend to use the car. They're a little more work to install, due to the cutting/welding, but you gain adjustability.
The initial cost was hard to justify, but I really wanted to coilover. I found a good deal on these parts slightly used, and jumped on them. That made it to where I didn't have to justify the cost.....

[PercentSevenC]

I guess ReSpeed's spring rates go down to 200/125, so that would be just fine for a daily driver, and I could get a second set of springs for track usage. Cool. I'll definitely get some, then.

[Eatmyclutch]

What type of suspension setup did you have before? Have you tried the Tokico adjustable shocks if so, what do you think of them?

Thiis a set of 2 or 4? And for how much?

Looks like fun though.

[Kentetsu]

I'm running Respeed's 150 rear/275 front. This is on my daily driver/weekend racer. The ride is fine, even the wife doesn't mind it.

I've used the Tokico Illumina adjustable shocks/struts too. I still use them on the front, but now I have Bilsteins on the rear. Great shocks.

[warwickben]

iam running re-speed street, front coil overs and rear coil over kit(its a adjustable spring perch in the rear no mods needed.
iam running 250 in the front and 125 in the rear i think.(i mite be off plus or minus 10)
this is on a 1980 sa rx7. i have kyb gr-2 struts and shocks. with the re-speed front sway bar.

i cant really tell you how great of a improvement it was. because my rear shocks where blown. i pressed them in by hand and they never sprung back out. my front struts where not that bad.but all 4 springs where sagging. pulse the fact that i had to replace every bushing.

but what i got now is a really great handling car. i dont hear a big bang every pot hole i hit ect. no body roll what so ever. my buddy shit a brick when i let him drive my car after i put it back on the road. he drove it from the cape to the mass nh line where i live before i did the install. only thing i dont like about my setup is that billy has not put or a rear sway bar yet. i want more re-speed blue in under my car. lol

sorry i dont mean to sound like a fan boy or some thing but billy is the best person i have ever dealt with when buying parts. heck he added ss break lines for my car to his web site after i cut the rubber ones by mistake.

[PercentSevenC]

Originally Posted by Kentetsu

I'm running Respeed's 150 rear/275 front. This is on my daily driver/weekend racer. The ride is fine, even the wife doesn't mind it.

I've used the Tokico Illumina adjustable shocks/struts too. I still use them on the front, but now I have Bilsteins on the rear. Great shocks.

How do you like the spring rates you got from a racing perspective? Are the rears stiff enough?

[warwickben]

iam running all most the same spring rate little bit softer and have no problems.

[bwaits]

How many would like rear bars? I have always pulled them off and tossed them in the trash

Must be a road race verses AutoX thing.

-billy

[warwickben]

well count me as a for wanting a re-speed rear sway bar. not a stock one. can you make it adjustable like your front. and have new mounting plates for the body? your then man.

[Kentetsu]

Originally Posted by PercentSevenC

How do you like the spring rates you got from a racing perspective? Are the rears stiff enough?

The ride as a daily driver is pretty good. It will knock you around a bit at lower speeds going over rough intersections and such, but the street performance makes up for any discomfort.

For racing, it simply kicks ass. I see a lot of guys running much higher spring rates for autocross, and I just can't understand it. I can't see how there would be any benefit from it. My car has practically zero body roll, as you can clearly see in my more recent videos, and weight transfer is instantaneous.

For the rear springs, I may end up having to go slightly higher in spring rate to get a little more reduction of understeer. Not sure on this yet, I need a couple more races in to be sure.

[Kentetsu]

Originally Posted by bwaits

How many would like rear bars? I have always pulled them off and tossed them in the trash

Must be a road race verses AutoX thing.

-billy

Billy

I'm running an adjustable ISC rear bar, set on the stiffest setting. If there was an option out there for something even stiffer, I would snap it up in a heartbeat. I need a little more oversteer than I currently have, but the 150 Lbs. springs I have on the rear are about as stiff as I'd want to go with for a daily driver.

I can induce some oversteer with tire pressures, but hate to reduce traction in order to correct an issue if you know what I mean. Turn in spacers would probably help, but they are illegal in CSP.

[Rogue_Wulff]

Originally Posted by bwaits

How many would like rear bars? I have always pulled them off and tossed them in the trash

Must be a road race verses AutoX thing.

-billy

Sometime down the road, I may be interested in a rear bar, especially if you were to design it to be adjustable, and offer it with the front bar. I'm currently running the stock bars front and rear. I tried removing the rear bar, and wasn't impressed, as that really compounded the understeer.

Autox does differ from road racing in this aspect. Autox tends to be slower speeds and tighter turns, where the snap oversteer is far less likely, and mild oversteer can actually be useful, if it's controlable with the throttle. Even with R-comps, the tires never get to optimum operating temps, which also reduces the SO from becoming a big issue. The lack of heat in the tires is one reason autoxers set the car up to work with a little slide action, so they can build heat quicker.


The S3 chassis may be able to utilize an even stiffer rear bar than the S1/S2, due to the lower arm relocation.

[orion84gsl]

I would definitly like a properly adjustable rear bar to replace my RB bar. Stupid thing is supposed to be adjustable but have fun trying to get it right. I just set it to full stiff and stuck it on there.