NotNew!!NewSN!!

lots of questions, i been searching, but no one is asking these direct questions.

yes i should do them at once, but i cant afford ground controls and agx at the same time, its the same concept as financing my car, i can afford it just not all at once.
I dont care about having to take apart suspenspion twice, if i put on ground controls and only drop it like an inch at most, is that gonna rilly destroy my stock SE struts that only have 60 k on them? This is what i would like to do until i buy the agx's which would probably be mid summer, or end of summer.

I know we should get different spring rates in the front and rear, does anyone know what spring rate, gives a good mix of a dropped spring without the harshness that coilovers have gotten a rep for.?

dont worry i already anticipate the flames, just help me out? i know what i "should" be doing, but this is how i have to do things, im in highschool, and between car payments, gas and personal exspense, i have to do everything in stages, but i want stiffness and small drop, and get the agx's when i can afford them, i just wanna know if stock's would still blow even with little or no drop, i just want to have the gc's cocked and ready when i get the agx, i dont see the point of buying them and letting them sit around till i can afford agx's, and i cant buy them at once.

basically i want ground controls and agx, i plan on doing both, i want gc's first, becuz i could at least drop a tad bit, im talkin inch at most, ok, lay it on me, help a junior max enthusiast out,

Slickismax

iTrader: (4)

I got my GC's way before I got my AGX's....as a matter of fact, my AGX's are still in the mail. With them all the way down, it took around 45k miles to completely blow my struts on my GXE. My friend has a 97 SE, and with about a 2" drop, his are just starting to feel shot. I would say buy the GC's and put them on, then get the AGX's when you can. Also, my spring rates are 450 front, 275 rear, but I ride with them all the way down all the time. I would say get 375 front 225 rear, unless you wanna go all the way down.

NotNew!!NewSN!!

i rilly appreciate you giving me such a detailed answer and tellin me some educated information from experience, i expected a lot of useless answers, so thanks a lot man, this is my plan so i can have a small drop till i get my agx, one more thing, if u dont adjust the coils, will they drop ur car none the less? meaning if i slapped them on, are they naturally gonne be lower, or can i keep it at the same stock height, thanks

Slickismax

iTrader: (4)

I haven't exactly measured them, but with them all the way up, they seem close to stock height, maybe 1/2" drop? In the winter, if I have to drive the max, I just raise it two turns above the top being flush. It sits about factory height then. I would put them on, and put it about 5 turns down...also, cut off your front lower spring perch, or else you won't be able to go all the way down...It will also help them seat right, and it will make the car actually level if they are all the way up.

Xtreme5053

I didn't know we could choose spring rates for coilovers. This is pretty basic, but what would be the difference between 375 and 450 say in the front? Is this measured in pounds/inch? Are there any progressive rates for GC's or are they just one flat rate per spring? My goal is to have the coilovers ride about half an inch lower in the front than the sprint springs and of course evened in the back. What would be a good spring rate for me as well as the setting on the agx's? I'm in the same boat as the highschool guy, can only afford things one at a time, but I like to get the best i can, one at a time. My final setup should be GC's, AGX's, and some camber plates. Of course some other choices are the Cattman's and the JIC's. I've been told that the JIC's are a lot nicer, but correct me if i'm wrong, they only have a max drop of 2" The cattman's can go down 4, but recommended max is 2.5 for daily. I'd prob only have the front 2.5-3in. down. Please let me know of any recommedations anybody might have. Thank you for your time.

krzymax

iTrader: (2)

where can i learn more about these spring rates you guys are talking about?

Gotrice4

How is your ride right now? why would you suggest 375 front and 225 rear, that seems that would be really soft...i've never heard of anything thing below 400 suggested...i too want ground-controls but want to find a spring rate that is going to be a compromise between ride and performance...more toward ride though...

for sHo

If you are looking for handling and don't care about looks for the time being, then I say you get the AGX's first. Especially if you have the stiffer SE springs, your car will handle way better with the new struts. I don't know how your handling would be affected if you put aftermarket springs/coilovers on stock struts, but I don't think that'd make you feel any more confident on curves lets say than you did with your stock set up. But again it depends on what you're looking for... want a dropped look first and don't care about handling = drop on stock struts. Want handling and can do looks later = get AGX's first. I don't think springs should be installed until you have some shocks that can handle them. That's just my opinion at least.

Slickismax

iTrader: (4)

If your going to get AGX's, and your not going to slam your car, and your worried about ride quality, then I would get around 400 front and 225 rear. 375 is still acceptable, but on the low end of the spectrum. I personally love the way my max rides, but its a little harsh over big bumps. I also drive all the way down, all the time, so I have to expect a little harshness when I only have 1" of travel left.

Dave B

The drop doesn't kill the struts as much as the spring rate does. I higher spring weight on a softer strut will kill the strut very fast because the strut is having to work far harder to control the rebound. The goal these days of most auto makers is to use very stiff struts with softer springs. This gives a good ride and good handling without the harshness. BMW is a excellent example.


Dave

NotNew!!NewSN!!

im getting a lot of useful information and i appreciate it, i also wondered is it possible to get a progressive spring rate on ground controls, im pritty sure u cant, but just wondering. ive also heard of people binding the coils, meaning where the springs actuallyare fully compressed on bumps, if i plan on only going a little over a 2 inch drop at most, would i have to worry about that, and if so, what do i do, more coils? less coils? ive heard of people getting either 7 or 8 depending on their situation, is there anyone here who is using the 400/275 spring rate combo? thanks again, sorry so many questions but i finally decided im gonna do gc's and 400 bucks is a lot to me, i know u can get them for 350, but im gonna be changing the spring rate anyways which is 50 bucks from them, so i might as well buy it directly.