H&R G Springs

[sfwilliams@comcast.net (Scott F. Williams)]

> So if I loose some travel it's not the end of the world
> to me, it will most likely just slow me down which is a good thing.

Perhaps you are missing my point. Dropping the car 3" will eliminate *all*
suspension travel. That is, 100%. There will be no movement whatsoever in
the struts. The only spring rate that you will have will come from the tires
and bushings. You seriously might as well remove the springs entirely and
weld your stock struts  together in the fully compressed position. Think
about it.

> So by getting nice stiff springs, and brand new shocks, couldn't
> things only improve?

Again, with a 3" drop your springs won't move at all. Every time you hit an
imperfection in the road the suspension will feel like it has bottomed. Why
is this? -because it is *permanently bottomed*. To travel any farther would
mean immediatly breaking parts. Does this sound like an improvement to you?

> The springs I'm getting offer a 2" drop, and with them being A2
> springs will more realistically give me a 2.5" drop.  However, my car is a
> lot lighter than an A2 so it would most likely ride about 2" lower than
> factory.

Why go through this guesswork. Why not install a suspension that makes sense
for your car in the first place?

> So I think I've got the height right.  I just don't want it to bottom out
> when I hit a bump going around the odd cloverleaf overpass.  So I
> thought I had the formula right.  Stiff springs with lots of damping.

Actually, your formula of matching spring to damping rates is right on
point. However, you've completely ignored the suspension travel issue. Since
your car will handle horribly with the car dumped 3" why are you worrying
about proper damping? Just lower it and break lots of parts for cheap!
Getting everything set up "correctly" will lead to breaking more expensive
parts. (I'm sort of speaking with tongue in cheek with that, but sort of
not.)

> What do you think of those taller upper mounts that give you an extra inch
> of travel?  Would this be a good application for those?  I hate how
> Scirocco's have no front travel and boatloads of rear travel.

If you are talking about relocating the mounting point higher up in the
shock tower, then this is a very good idea. However, with that done you'll
have a rigid (all-metal) mounting system which is even less forgiving. So
long as you don't bottom out the regained travel will be a blessing. If you
*do* bottom out there will be hell to pay. :^) You must also make sure that
there is enough clearance so that these mounts do not hit the bottom of the
hood when you close it.

If using a conventional mounting system, I say drop the car as far as 1.5",
use some stiff springs(400lb front/300lb rear, for example), and Bilstein
Sport or Koni Yellows. If you go with the mounts that bring everything up a
bit, then you can lower it whatever the distance that it raises the mounting
point. That is, if these units raise that point 1/2" then there's 1/2" more
that you can lower the car without trouble.

P.S. Keep in mind that optimum handling will come when the a-arms are
parallel to the ground.
--
Scott F. Williams
NJ Scirocco nut
'99 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
Mazda 323 GTX turbo "assaulted" vehicle
Golf GTI 16v "rollycar"
ClubVAC: "Roads found. Drivers wanted."