Spring Rates

Jeffblue

I am in the market for a set of springs, and its hard to find all the info. I figured i would start a thread so we could have all of the spring rates from each manufacturer in one place in the same format
I'd like to be able to compare those of H&R, Swift, Tein, Eibach and any others.

Brand:
Spring rate
F:
R:
Drop
F:
R:

s30z

I am in the Indy car chassis design & tuning industry, and have tested out those 2 springs just for my interest. Your numbers seem to be off a little bit.
Here is the actual numbers converted in Kgf/mm on Roehrig Tester.

Regular
F - 7.5
R - 8.1

Nismo
F - 8.6
R - 9.3

Jeffblue

thanks,

what is that in lbs/in

s30z

Regular
F - 7.5kgf/mm (419lbs/inch)
R - 8.1kgf/mm (453lbs/inch)

Nismo
F - 8.6kgf/mm (480lbs/inch)
F - 9.3kgf/mm (520lbs/inch)

Jeffblue

Tein S:
F: 8.5kgf/mm (476lbs/inch
R: 9.4kgf/mm (526/inch

Drop:
F: -.9"
R: -.7"

Based on the nismo rates, the Tein seem VERY close. i like that. seems like the TEIN with Nismo dampers would be a good match from a longevity perspective. any info on any other brands spring rates?

corbin09

I have Tanabe NF210, and My struts/shocks seem to be busted or giving me a horrible ride. I just purchased the Nismo shocks, and I am hoping they pair up nicely, but I saw that the spring rates on the Tanabes are a little off from the Nismos. Does anyone have any idea if this will work together?

The spring rates listed for Tanabe are:
F:5.9
R:6.8

tjlazer

I am also having a hard time deciding what springs to go with . I have the S-Tune suspension and want about an inch drop. I kinda want to avoid a rear camber kit so .5 to .75" drop would be ideal. I am leaning on TEIN as well, but I am getting conflicting info. Manufacturer says .8" drop and users are saying up to 1.5" drops!

__________________
2009 370Z Monterey Blue,Nismo Conversion,RE-11's, K&N Typhoon intakes,Blue Kickplates,Homelink,FI 18" CBE,ERZ HFCs,Hotchkis sways, Swift Spec-R, EVO-R Highwing, UPREV

Jeffblue

according to their site the tanabe nf210s are softer than the oem springs (if i am understanding this correctly)
Tanabe:
Front: 5.9kgf/mm
Rear: 6.8kgf/mm

compared to nismo/oem below:

you're probably worse off with the nismo shocks than the OEM, since the nismo shocks are to be paired with a spring that is Firmer than OEM. am i understanding this correctly s30z?

s30z

Stock (Regular) F 7.5kg R 8.1kg
Stock (Nismo) F 8.6kg R 9.3kg

Tein S-tech F 8.5kg (-0.9") R 9.4kg (-0.7")

Eibach pro kit F 8.6kg (-0.9") R 9.5kg (-0.8")

H&R Sport F ? (-1.3") R ? (1.0")

Tanabe NF210 F 5.9kg (-0.8") R 6.8kg (-1.0")
Tanabe GF210 F 8.8kg (-0.8") R 9.1kg (-1.0")

Swift Spec-R F 10.0kg (-1.2") R 10.5kg (-1.0")

tjlazer

RS*R Down

15mm drop (0.6") Linear F 8.15 R 8.87

__________________
2009 370Z Monterey Blue,Nismo Conversion,RE-11's, K&N Typhoon intakes,Blue Kickplates,Homelink,FI 18" CBE,ERZ HFCs,Hotchkis sways, Swift Spec-R, EVO-R Highwing, UPREV

Jeffblue

Thanks s30z, you're helping out this thread a lot. so from a longevity perspective, closest to stock will make the shocks last the longest?
if you are like me and looking for a nice drop just for looks, you basically want the closest to OEM spring rate, correct? is it better to go higher or lower than oem? it seems H&R doesn't release their spring rate. i'm really interested in theirs.

Jeffblue

i like the idea of those springs b/c they seem like they are a good match for oem, but i feel like the drop is borderline not noticeable. 300+install etc, for .6 inch drop, not sure how i feel.

how does the linear/progressive play into the equation?

s30z

Generally speaking, oem shocks (Nismo also) have a good amount of range to stray from the stock spring rates. I would definitely not run Tanabe, because the ride will be over damped.

And Tein on the other hand in my opinion will also be a waste of money on the Nismo shocks. THere will be absolutely no performance gains, it will just be lower.

I have been looking through the forum and I see that Swift would probably be the best bet when they come out. They are relatively stiffer than the Nismo rates and they have dynoed both nismo and stock shocks.

On the chassis that I work on, I like running Swift coilover springs, so material and design wise of their coilover springs at least are unbeatable. I haven't used their lowering spring kits so I really can't say anything about them, but it seems to me like they do a good amount of homework before they release anything.

Again its just my opinion and what I'm probably going to do.

tjlazer

Well I do not want to go stiffer on Nismo struts thats for sure. Its pretty stiff right now. If I could get a spring that is the same as Nismo that is .75" to 1" lower that would be perfect IMHO.

__________________
2009 370Z Monterey Blue,Nismo Conversion,RE-11's, K&N Typhoon intakes,Blue Kickplates,Homelink,FI 18" CBE,ERZ HFCs,Hotchkis sways, Swift Spec-R, EVO-R Highwing, UPREV

tjlazer

From how I understand it. Progressive is less stiff on the small inconsistencies in the road, (so you get OEM like ride) but once you start to push the car, it stiffens up. (thats why the spring is not evenly coiled) Where Linear is stiff all around and the small inconsistencies in the road will be felt more. (spring will be evenly coiled)

__________________
2009 370Z Monterey Blue,Nismo Conversion,RE-11's, K&N Typhoon intakes,Blue Kickplates,Homelink,FI 18" CBE,ERZ HFCs,Hotchkis sways, Swift Spec-R, EVO-R Highwing, UPREV