Lowering springs advice Please !!!

[SweetChuck]

Time to bite the bullet and lower the car . Im looking at

Tanabe GF210 Front rate 5.7 kg/cm
Down 1.3 inch
Rear rate 4.8 kg/cm
Down 1.3 inch

Tein S/tech Front rate 224 lb/in
Down .7 inch
Rear rate 4.8 246 lb/in
Down 1 inch

Now looking at the stance of my car with 16's on front and 17's rear which would be ideal ?? seeing the wheel arch on front has the greater void it wouldn't make sense to go with tein as it lowers front less than rear . But at the same time the Tanabe at 1.3inch all round seems a bit extreme . I would be scrapping every speedbump . I know nothing about suspension , so I guess what i'm after here is best looks and improved handling without greatly affecting ride comfort , I realize its a tradeoff so maybe I'm asking too much Any advice much appreciated . BTW going adjustable not an option ATM unless someone has coilovers for sale at around $200 :wink:

 

[NSXGMS]

First, I can tell you that the Tanabe GF210 is a much stiffer spring than the OEM spring. It's fairly similar to the Zanardi spring in terms of stiffness.

The OEM shocks and even out-of-the-box NSX Bilsteins aren't valved to handle them ideally. It's not going to be a disaster but I wouldn't recommend it as your handling will be compromised not to mention the ride will most certainly be harsher than stock. Your shocks' lifespan may also be diminished.

The Tein S-Tech is not as stiff as the Tanabe but significantly stiffer than stock. I would not really recommend OEM or Bilstein shocks for use with them but you can get away with it. And as with the Tanabe the ride will not be as comfy as stock. Better than the Tanabe to be sure but noticeably firmer than stock.

In reality, the only aftermarket spring that I am aware of that lowers, increases performance (only slightly IMO) and provides as similar a level of comfort as the OEM setup is the Dali progressive rate spring. It lowers 1.25" and that's a bit much for some but unless there's a new spring on the market I'm not aware of the Dali spring really has the market cornered there.

Unless you're prepared to replace your shocks the Tein S-Tech is really the only one you could get away with IMO and as I mentioned the ride will be slightly firmer than stock with the Tein and it only lowers ~.70" not to mention performance won't increase much over stock.

I personally would not recommend the Tanabe spring to anyone unless they were also upgrading the shocks and could tolerate a significantly firmer ride. I might recommend the Tein but would strongly recommend at least installing the Bilstein shocks for use with them and I would also point out the ride will be noticeably firmer than stock and performance won't improve much over stock.

If you don't plan on tracking the car or really want or need a significant handling improvement my advice would be to consider simply replacing your OEM shocks with Bilsteins and retain your OEM springs. You'll be able to choose a drop of either ~.875" or ~1.25" and ride comfort will be similar to stock.

 

[ChopsJazz]

If you don't plan on tracking the car or really want or need a significant handling improvement my advice would be to consider simply replacing your OEM shocks with Bilsteins and retain your OEM springs. You'll be able to choose a drop of either ~.875" or ~1.25" and ride comfort will be similar to stock.

Great advice.

 

[goldNSX]

Considering your budget the OEM springs are not bad at all just high. So I'd not buy new springs. Springs and shocks work together. The springs you've mentioned will most likely overpower your OEM shocks and you'll buy new shocks soon. The additional money for the shocks is one dimension but you'll pay for installing and alignment double in the end. With OEM ones the car will feel bumpy and won't be a joy to drive fast.

I'd go for Bilsteins because
- they lower the car by 0.875'' (or more if you cut additional perches)
- the street ride is perfect and their performance is better than OEM
- they last very, very long

Your car looks higher in the front than in the rear. An additional perch on the front Bilsteins at around 0.4'' from the lowest perch will help. If you do that the bump stop should be shortened by about 0.3-0.4''.

Please remind: the NSX doesn't like it too low. At least the alignment can't be done afterwards if going too low and that's only one drawback.

If you like to remain most of the comfort the following measures should not be smaller (distance between wheel center and fender edge):

- front: 33 cm/13.0''
- rear: 35 cm/13.8''

Hope this helps.

 

[payam972]

here are my h&r's....the ride quality is pretty much the same as oem. drop looks amazing in person, get compliments all the time.

 

[SweetChuck]

If you don't plan on tracking the car or really want or need a significant handling improvement my advice would be to consider simply replacing your OEM shocks with Bilsteins and retain your OEM springs. You'll be able to choose a drop of either ~.875" or ~1.25" and ride comfort will be similar to stock.

Thanks for your great advice , this sounds like an ideal solution for now , so this won't improve handling much ?? I didn't know you could use shock to lower !! but like I said i know nothing about suspension .

 

[21acres]

I just took a set of H&R springs off my '92 NSX because I got tired of cringing at every bump and dip in the road (lost my front lip driving from LA to Nebraska last month, and scraped the front bumper more than once since being home). They are yours for $200 including shipping, probably have about 20K miles on them.

Cool looks are one thing, repairing the front bumper and buying lips is another matter. Car has plenty of speed and handling for my abilities and needs sitting about 1" to 1.5" higher. Actually sticks to the road much better, but that is probably due to the new shocks and tires (Falkens). I think the shocks were OE with 120K miles and 17 years.

For what it's worth I went with the CGI Bilsteins for $624.92 (including shipping), mounted on the normal perch. The previous owner gave me the OEM springs with the car. For the not-always-smooth roads and brick streets in my neck of the woods, this works best for me, ymmv. I've yet to scrap the front bumper and could even think of putting a new lip on. I'll try to attach an "after" pic.

If interested in the springs, you can PM me at [email protected]

Paul
Blair, NE

 

[SweetChuck]

I just took a set of H&R springs off my '92 NSX because I got tired of cringing at every bump and dip in the road (lost my front lip driving from LA to Nebraska last month, and scraped the front bumper more than once since being home). They are yours for $200 including shipping, probably have about 20K miles on them.

Cool looks are one thing, repairing the front bumper and buying lips is another matter. Car has plenty of speed and handling for my abilities and needs sitting about 1" to 1.5" higher. Actually sticks to the road much better, but that is probably due to the new shocks and tires (Falkens). I think the shocks were OE with 120K miles and 17 years.

For what it's worth I went with the CGI Bilsteins for $624.92 (including shipping), mounted on the normal perch. The previous owner gave me the OEM springs with the car. For the not-always-smooth roads and brick streets in my neck of the woods, this works best for me, ymmv. I've yet to scrap the front bumper and could even think of putting a new lip on. I'll try to attach an "after" pic.

If interested in the springs, you can PM me at [email protected]

Paul
Blair, NE

Sounds good , free Shipping though ?? Did you check my location :tongue:

 

[NSXGMS]

Thanks for your great advice , this sounds like an ideal solution for now , so this won't improve handling much ?? I didn't know you could use shock to lower !! but like I said i know nothing about suspension .

The out-of-the-box NSX Bilsteins aren't going to increase performance measurably. I do think they're slightly superior to the stock shock, are less expensive and carry a lifetime warranty.

Also, a quick correction to my earlier post: the normal Bilstein perch will keep the car at the stock height while the lower perch will drop the car ~0.875". If you want to go lower than ~0.875" the only option that suits all your stated needs IMO would be the Dali progressive spring on either the stock shock or Bilstein shock on the normal perch.

 

[kreh]

Quote:
<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> Originally Posted by NSXGMS
If you don't plan on tracking the car or really want or need a significant handling improvement my advice would be to consider simply replacing your OEM shocks with Bilsteins and retain your OEM springs. You'll be able to choose a drop of either ~.875" or ~1.25" and ride comfort will be similar to stock.
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Great advice.
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Ken Crowell
'91 Sebring Silver
FSTR N U

This is the best advice I can give. After a lot of experience and dollars, the Bilsteins on the lower perch with stock springs is the best bet.