Do I Need Camber Plates?

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 5th, 2006, 4:40 am

Ground Control adjustable coilovers are on order from CorkSport.
I have Tokico HP struts already installed.
Do I Need Camber Plates?

Steeb · Post by **Steeb** » September 5th, 2006, 7:56 pm

u do not need camber plates but make sure u specify that u want some softer spring rates. like around 200 max 250. tokico hp's were made for sport lowering springs which arent too much firmer than stock

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 5th, 2006, 11:31 pm

thanks for the input.
i've told Corksport.
They'll ship to me by Sept 9th.
also requested red eibach springs, if not, black

Steeb · Post by **Steeb** » September 5th, 2006, 11:52 pm

i never knew eibach ers came in black

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 9th, 2006, 2:08 am

Hey Steeb, I asked CorkSport to make my spring rates what you said, 200, max 250, and they replied "what spring rates do you want front and rear". hehe. so is it the same all around? and could you give me an exact number, not a range? i hope i'm doing the right thing.

Sam Baker · Post by **Sam Baker** » September 9th, 2006, 1:42 pm

you could do 200 rear 250 front.. seems ultra soft to me but it would work. just fyi, front springs on our cars are always stiffer because of the engine.

Steeb · Post by **Steeb** » September 9th, 2006, 2:53 pm

im not sure of the max spring rate that tokicos can handle because it really depends on road conditions. your car may not feel uncontrolled if the roads are perfect which can allow you to run higher spring rates for better handling.
here are some recommendations i can make.

1. for an awesome handling car with greatly compromised ridequality 500 front and 400 rear.
2. for a great handling car which compromises ride quality 400 front and 350 rear.
3. for a very good handling car and somewhat decent ride quality id suggest 300 front and 350in the rear. (or buy some megan racing springs in the same rates)
4. for a more comfortable ride with good handling 250 front and 275 rear. (btw, this is still stiffer than most lowering springs)
5. for a great riding car and better handling than stock get some regular lowering springs and call it a day.

tokicos can handle option 4 and 5 no problemo. option 3 should be close to or at limits of the tokicos and may be fine IF u drive on pretty decent roads, if not it may feel underdampened. for option 1 or 2 better struts are definately required because they will be underdampened with the tokico's

ers for ground control are linear rate springs which means the 200# spring rate will compress 1 inch for every 200 lbs of weight regardless of spring length. the lighter the spring rate the longer the spring u will need.

do some quick weight distribution math and u should be able to determine around what length of spring u will need for the ride height drop range you would like.

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 11th, 2006, 5:04 pm

Corksport: "We could do a 250 front and a 175 rear which would keep the ride softer than the normal setup but quite a bit more firm than say a set of eibach or intrax springs."

250 front, 175 rear.
is that good?

is it so bad to do one number all around? why is rear less spring rate?

Steeb · Post by **Steeb** » September 11th, 2006, 9:14 pm

lots of reading but if you are serious about your car it is very worth reading before u dump 400 bucks on ground controls and then some on struts. make sure u get the spring rates you want because if u dont the car will not drive how u want it to.

first thread is very long, extremely informative and the rest elaborate a bit tiny bit more.
http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=285747
second thread is good food for thought on ride quality vs handling of the different suspension tuning styles.
http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1439827

http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=285747

http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=357415

same spring rates front and rear is definately not a bad thing if it is your driving style. on one of the threads it talks about the integra-r with same spring rates all around from the factory but take into consideration the difference in weight distribution of that particular integra.

also try not to base your decisions on the subjective comments made in the posts and try to decide based on what you want of your car.

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 12th, 2006, 1:37 am

well for one thing, those descriptions of 400+ spring rates are not what i want since i am not racing this thing and would prefer to have more "pillowness" over some of the rough roads my city has. With the stock "springs" right now, I'd say my Tokico HP struts are fairly harsh, making the ride rattly over the average rough road segments my city has. the only vehicle i can compare to is a 1997 Toyota Camry, and man is that ride ever pillowy. obviously i don't want too much of that either, since the mx-3 is a sports car and should act like one, not pillowy. but you must know what i mean about those rough road segments. oh yeah, i also drive a 2000+ Mazda Protege 5 for work, and it is a nice and firm ride: its suspension absorbs every hit but at the same time avoids getting all pillowy. I like that type of suspension. Firm but shock-absorbing.

i'll read your links tomorrow. thanks.

illapino · Post by **illapino** » September 13th, 2006, 5:51 am

i think i'm gonna throw in my dice.
Spring Rates: 250 front and 200 rear for the Ground Control springs (eibach right?) ... on Tokico HP struts, 17" Motegi wheels, 205/45Z

i plan to move the battery to the rear someday so that i can get a klze straight-neck. two subs and an amplifier will add to the rear weight someday as well, so i decided 250/200 ... how is that