My Next Upgrade: Suspension

[speed2horizon]

The reason y Bilstein maintaining the comfort is due to the nature of monotube. Monotube has a big difference in terms of characteristic and long run performance where the oil and gas are separated by a float pistons. Whereas twin tubes have the n2 gas right above the oil surface. In long run, aeration may occur can cause absorbers to react differently from it's designed to.

 

[g4i8y0t]

Really? Why? Not fun ah with stiff suspension haha .

Hmm, not really fun on harsh roads, potholes infested road etc. My balls bouncing with each other lohh.. But in corners, no doubt, can become King of the road. However, since the time I spend negotiating corners is only about 3-5% of my total driving time, I think having a very stiff suspension is not my cup of coffee..

Just my 2 cents, I'm still have much to learn 'bout suspension settings.

 

[Izso]

Iszo, what brand of adjustables you got? My past experience with stiff and rock-hard GAB Hi-Lo made me scared to use adjustables again..

Hmm.. Mine's the Hotbits Silver. Rock hard I think hast to do with the springs la.

Thanks for the tips Izso. As for now, I need to learn more about spring rates. I think I know what is that but how to choose the right one, I am still quite unclear.

I think for the tests you did, perhaps the Perdana is the only car there that's close to your own cars weight.



Generally this is how I chose my spring rates, stock rates for Wira fronts are in the 3.5k region, I opted for 4.5k which is harder but not unbearbly harder, rear stock is 2.8k (roughly) and that was sagging for me pretty badly. Since I carry a custom floor board, spare tyre, a heavy subwoofer, amp and sometimes people, I opted to up the spring rate to 4k. Now with all that junk in the back + people, it no longer bottoms out and still maintains the height I need to go over speed bumps without scraping something. However the offset is when I take out all the heavy things and people, the rear becomes too light and skips over speedbumps quite violently. But I can live with that since it's rarely ever empty (my boot).



Cornering bodyroll isn't too far away from my previous setup (lesser roll) but it's not as 'wishy-washy' compared to my old suspension. It's more responsive meaning it rebounds and compresses fast enough and is hard enough to follow my change of directions and the springs help the absorbers support the weight of the car to keep the bodyroll to a minimum.

 

[g4i8y0t]

I see.. So that means you can choose any spring rate you prefer with Hotbits? That's interesting.. Glad you're happy with your current setup. How about steering feel? I mean do the steering feel lighter or heavier?

The GAB hi-lo adjustables I used in my previous Sentra N13 came with 5k spring rate at the front, 3k at the rear. According to the dealer, that's the softest spring rate available. No doubt body roll and car response improved tremendously, but at the expense of my car bouncing on the highway and ride quality suffered quite a lot. To top it all, the rear absorbers leaked only after 2 months. Luckily they were covered by the warranty, but I still have to pay for workmanship.

I'll never use GAB products again even if they were free.

 

[ddv_nk12]

Can I say that the harder the spring rate, the lesser it will bounce?

When I get an adjustable suspension, regardless of the brand, will I be able to choose my preferred spring rate?

 

[^pomen_GTR^]

Can I say that the harder the spring rate, the lesser it will bounce?

When I get an adjustable suspension, regardless of the brand, will I be able to choose my preferred spring rate?

i think its the other way around..the bounce controlled mainly by damping...so if got damping adjustment can play and check which suits u...

harder springs=more bounce (if damping is still same) <<<main reason why ppl say adjustable suspension is bouncy....(and also reason why stock absorber coupled with harder,lower sport spring=bumpy ride)

 

[g4i8y0t]

I agree.. Unfortunately, with hi-lo adjustables, you have to live with whatever damping rate they give you.. :motz:

 

[^pomen_GTR^]

I agree.. Unfortunately, with hi-lo adjustables, you have to live with whatever damping rate they give you.. :motz:

well if happens u send your absorber for servicing/repairs then it is worth to re-adjust the damping while doing the service since the valve inside also removed for cleaning....so change it according to new damping preference...

if got money then go straight with hi-lo/soft-hard suspension....

 

[ddv_nk12]

Ok now. I am planning to get a high low soft hard suspension. I will need to get suitable spring rates for the front and rear. Next, the damping rate is something that I can adjust with the high low soft hard suspension. Right? With this, I can still lower my ride and have people sitting at the back seat and with some travelling bags in booth without having to worry much about my rear tyres hitting the wheel arches? I still don't quite get what damping rates are???

 

[Izso]

ddv : Damping rates are just how fast the absorbers move. When going over uneven roads, the absorber will compress and extend according to the surface of the road. If it's too slow then you'll get a magic carpet sort of ride feel. If it's too fast you might get too harsh a ride. Essentially it's how well the absorber 'absorbs', that's in layman terms dampening rate.

g4i8y0t : wah..5k is too hard la. I suspect your Sentra stock front spring rate shouldn't be more than 3.5k since it's almost the same weight as my Wira. I'm using 4.5k now and it's just nice. Still a tad bit bouncy on some slow roads but everything else it's perfect.

 

[LittleWhiteWagon]

Recently, I have driven a few different rides. 1st was an Odyssey with Bilstein. Not sure of the model. I find it comfortable and cornering not that bad. Still I have to take into consideration that Odyssey is a higher vehicle plus it's not really intended for hard cornering.

2nd was an Iswara aeroback with GAB springs only. Not adjustable coilovers but with hard bushes. To my surprise, cornering was really good and comfort wise I would say 7/10. I think I can bear with that. On the highway, on bumpy sections, I could feel the bump but it was not as bad as my friends Kancil with some lowered sports spring.

Lastly, it was a Perdana with Tein HA. This was my favourite among the three. My friend set the adjustables at the hardest setting and yet to me it was comfortable. Cornering was good. I liked it, I didn't feel scared the car would turtle. And I also like that when I change the steering direction quickly, it was like... how to put in words??? Easy I think is the word.

However, these are all from other types of cars. Not DB8. I don't know if those setting would suit my car. And consideering the Iswara's GAB springs and the price he paid for it, it's really worth it. I think I can say that the difference between Tein HA and the GAB springs were quite unnoticeable. This is just my 2 opinion.

Thanks for the tips Izso. As for now, I need to learn more about spring rates. I think I know what is that but how to choose the right one, I am still quite unclear.

The perdana has the same double wishbone suspension you have, saga's just use mcpherson struts at the front and unequal A-arms at the back, how fast did they corner?

 

[muzhaffar]

Ok now. I am planning to get a high low soft hard suspension. I will need to get suitable spring rates for the front and rear. Next, the damping rate is something that I can adjust with the high low soft hard suspension. Right? With this, I can still lower my ride and have people sitting at the back seat and with some travelling bags in booth without having to worry much about my rear tyres hitting the wheel arches? I still don't quite get what damping rates are???

Damping rate can be define as the resistance of the suspension system to oscilate. means the higher the damping rate, the lower the tendency of the suspension to bounce. so, if you change the spring to the higher spring rate, you need to change the suspension to the higher damping rate or else you car will bouncing more than the usual

 

[ddv_nk12]

Is there any figures or any form of measurement to determine the damping rate? Like 4k or 5k for spring rate, for damping rate?? And just to confirm, damping rate is something you can set with your adjustable suspension, unlike spring rate which is fixed, right??

 

[Izso]

Is there any figures or any form of measurement to determine the damping rate? Like 4k or 5k for spring rate, for damping rate?? And just to confirm, damping rate is something you can set with your adjustable suspension, unlike spring rate which is fixed, right??

Damping rate is measured newtons per meter, but I'd be genuinely surprised if you came across any seller that knows the damping rates for their products.

Hi/Lo/Soft/Hard (HLSH) adjustables means you can adjust the height of the suspension and the damping rate of the absorber. But the truly fully adjustable suspension, there's actually more you can adjust, but that's on a completely different scale and I don't think I've actually seen any fully adjustable suspension being sold in KL. HLSH plenty, but fully adjustable rare probably because of the cost. Titan and RCS can be considered a fully adjustable but you need the help of the tuner to revalve and all that.

Spring rate is fixed after you've installed them lor. But some say for hi/lo adjustables when you over-compress the spring by adjusting it very low or allow for too much 'travel', the characteristics of the spring changes. But in most cases these springs were designed to be compressed anyway. Oh don't forget there are two types of springs, progressive and 2-step linear springs. Progressive Springs this explains it quite well

 

[ddv_nk12]

I think I'd prefer the fully adjustable suspension. I'd like to try Titan. RCS is too expensive for me. Just called Titan. I would be in KL this Saturday, if I can make it by 6.30, I'll pay them a visit. Too bad they're closed on Sundays.
As for the springs, I think progressive spring is more suitable for street use but it's more expensive.