rogue55 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I am just moving up to HPDE 2 and I only have about 5 track weekends under my belt. I have quickly realized that the nice street suspension setup I installed a few years ago is not cutting it. I was looking for some suggestions from you guys on a moderate step up in suspension that is still "ok" for driving back and forth to event and occassionally to work a few times a month. Car is a 94 civic hatchback; currently on H&R sport springs for ITR (advertised 274 lb/in front and rear) and skunk2 shocks. I was looking at the ground control kit with custom spring rates but I'm not sure how stiff to go. I know you racers and experienced track drivers have some crazy spring rates, especially in the rear. I'm not sure I am ready for 1000lb rears springs as an example. However, I am slowly working the car towards an H2 goal as money allows. A little guidance is much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILIKETODRIVE Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Hey! Since you're ultimate goal is race group and H2, I would say going the Ground Control route at the moment is a good choice. If I were you I would get 350lb/450lb Front/Rear and put them on the Skunk2 shocks for the time being. That way you can get a little stiffer all the way around and get used to having stiffer rear spring rates while not losing a ton of around town driving comfort. In the future you can get a set of short-bodied Koni shocks and up your spring rates to, say, 650/850 (or 750/950 or 450/650 or etc) once the car is a track-only car. (PS my rates are roughly 675/785) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbrew8991 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 spend some coin on quality shocks with a wide range of adjustment - that'll be what you need to ramp it up on track and dial it back for the ride home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lo-bucK Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Shocks are the important part of the equasion. Springs are cheap. 900/1100 was last years spring set up. Still too soft for my liking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogue55 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 Thanks for the replies guys. I understand that shocks are the important part on a suspension. I was looking at getting Koni yellows to go with the GC springs. So this discussion is about those as well. Does the shortened shock body offer anything other than added stroke? Would I have to order that differently than a regular set of Koni yellows or are they all shorter bodies? I like the idea of dialing the suspension up and down. Also, if I am right, isn't it the shocks that determine how long it takes your car to "take a set" between braking acceleration and turning? The main reason for me wanting higher spring rates is that I am rubbing the tire on the outside front, mostly at CMP (turns 1, 11, and, 14) but a little at Reobling and Road Atlanta turns 3, 5, and 7. My car is not very low as you can see in the picture below. Just soft rates I think. I do not feel comfortable moving up from all-season tires with this supension since more grip will mean more lean and more tire rub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 the shock will control the movement through transitions but the springs will control the maximum lean angle especially in the longer corners. I have gone from 300f 400r and kyb agx, to 550f 900r on omnipowers to 900f 1200r with race valved koni yellows, and in some ways the car is more complaint now with the latest setup and a better shock on the car. I dont street drive the car but the bumps down the back straight of RA have disappeared and the car is softer to the push/bump test and is easier to drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogue55 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 550f 900r is really rear biased! You were getting close to twice as much rear spring than in the front. I can imagein that had its moments when it was tricky to drive. It seems to me that most people are finding ideal rear spring rates between 1.25 to 1.45 times higher than the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calif_Kid Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Hey! Since you're ultimate goal is race group and H2, I would say going the Ground Control route at the moment is a good choice. If I were you I would get 350lb/450lb Front/Rear and put them on the Skunk2 shocks for the time being. That way you can get a little stiffer all the way around and get used to having stiffer rear spring rates while not losing a ton of around town driving comfort. In the future you can get a set of short-bodied Koni shocks and up your spring rates to, say, 650/850 (or 750/950 or 450/650 or etc) once the car is a track-only car. (PS my rates are roughly 675/785) I think the above suggestions make a lot of sense... I'm using 750F/1000R on my car (2000 Civic hatch with splitter and wing running in TT but setup basically for Honda Challenge H2). If you haven't, then you might also want to spend some time looking at the Road Racing/Autocross & Time Attack forum in Honda-Tech with the main page being http://honda-tech.com/. Make sure to use the Search function to try to find info in Honda-Tech before asking questions though... - Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 550f 900r is really rear biased! You were getting close to twice as much rear spring than in the front. I can imagein that had its moments when it was tricky to drive. It seems to me that most people are finding ideal rear spring rates between 1.25 to 1.45 times higher than the front. yes that was a typo it was 650, but I am also in the long wheel base accord and it has never been too loose for me. All my setups were with no front bar and a standard aftermarket rear bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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