Bryans951

I need new struts. I looking at going with the Koni inserts. My problem is what spring to go with. I'm thinking about either leaving the stock springs or going with a 200# or 250# from Paragon.

I know there have been alot of people here change to the koni's what springs did you use and what are you thoughts about them?

P.S. If it helps, this is a daily driver that I want to autocross as much as possible with a DE or 2 a year.

Bryans951

While I'm at it...Can stock springs wear out? How can you tell that they are bad?

Robert D

Hmm. Springs usually keep their constant rate for a long while..if you were using worn struts for extended amounts of time.....maybe but not likely.

As for the weltmeister springs, big thumbs up. If you are upgrading the shocks, and plan to autocross while maintain a driveable streetcar. I use koni sports and the #250's personally, and with the rears half-stiff and fronts on full-soft the car feels great on the street. I've never been in a car with #200's, but I do know the #250's do not feel to be too much by any means.

Bryans951

Will it make a huge difference in handling if I do nothing to the rear right now? Considering that I started on a budget of $0....

slevy951

I just put in the Paragon front coil-over setup with 200# springs. Very noticable difference from stock. Ride is very nice, not harsh at all. Roll has been reduced by half, IMO. I like it.

Ken D

I split the difference and used 225# Hypercoils along with the Paragon coil-over kit. Koni sports front & rear set to 951S specs. 968 M030 sways with Delrin bushings (Racer's Edge). Using this setup I did not need to replace the torsion bars. Ride is just about as stiff as I'd like on these Northeastern roads, but 250# would still be acceptable IMO.

Ag951

I have Koni Yellows all around, The Paragon coilover kit with 375# hypercoils and 30mm torsion bars that I'm going to get put in soon.
On the street it feels okay, a bit stiff and I definitely avoid rough terrain more than before.
When the autocross season starts this fall, I'll let you know how it drives.

If you stiffen or lower the front, do the same to the rear or you'll get massive understeer.
Oh...and after putting on anything like that, go get your alignment, ride height, and corner weights checked, since your old alignment will be gone once you make the changes.

Bryans951

ok. That helps alot. I think I'll just use the stock springs until I save enough to go with a rear coilover kit and change front springs to match then.

Again, thanks guys,

Ag951

You don't need a rear coilover kit.
You can adjust the rear ride height with the torsion bars. Just make sure to get torsionbars that have a 'spring rate' corresponding to your front increase.
I did the front coilover kit when I did the struts, since you have to take the whole front suspension apart for both, it's just easier to do it at once. Also you'd need a new alignment after each. I'd wait and do the whole front at once.

Bryans951

So if I went ahead and got new springs (say 250#) and set the konis close to full soft would that mess up the rear too much. BTW, what # springs are the stock springs?

zakk

I just did some suspension work, with a bit of Skip@Paragon's advice in selecting components. I'm running Konis front and rear, with 250# weltmeister springs up front. Skip suggested I beef up the rear sway if I did the 250# front springs (or upgrade the torsion bar, but I wanted to avoid changing that for now). I picked up the 968 M030 rear sway.
I still need to experiment and tweak with the suspension, but here's my impression so far. I have both the front and rear konis set to 1/2 turn from full stiff, and the sway set to full stiff. I have a feeling I'll need to soften up the konis all around a bit, the front seems a bit..weird at full highway speed when I encounter those 'wavy' stretches of interstate. I haven't had too much opportunity to push it very hard, but my initial testing and impression is that there may be a _bit_ too much oversteer tendency. The ride isn't too rough, at least for me, but I'm a bit more tolerant of such things.
I also need to properly align the car, especially the front and rear camber. Overall the 250# springs seem to be a good choice, but I'll have a better feel for it all in a few weeks, I suspect.

Ag951

The stock springs are 180#.
Doing it piecemeal probably wouldn't hurt you for the street, but for autoX, you're probably better off getting struts, shocks, springs, and torsion bars at once.
And if you get sway bars, get both bars at the same time (and make sure they're designed to work as a pair).
Basically when you change the front, you need to do something equivalent to the rear, and vice versa.

If you really need new struts and can't do the springs and torsion bars at the same time, you might want to get the struts and shocks by themselves just for now. If you can manage on the current struts while you save up the money, you'll save a lot of time (or labor money if you pay somebody to install them) and alignment money.