Coil over spring rates

[rastta]

It's also not just about spring rate. The type of shocks make a difference as well. I was very concerned with the spring rates on the Ohlins RT's (400lb front and 450 rear or something like that) I put in my Cayman as its my street car. Surprisingly enough, due to the valve design of the Ohlins - they were more compliant than the stock springs and shocks. My Boxster runs 700/800 as it's track only - and the Moton 2 ways were built for those rates.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by rastta

It's also not just about spring rate. The type of shocks make a difference as well. I was very concerned with the spring rates on the Ohlins RT's (400lb front and 450 rear or something like that) I put in my Cayman as its my street car. Surprisingly enough, due to the valve design of the Ohlins - they were more compliant than the stock springs and shocks. My Boxster runs 700/800 as it's track only - and the Moton 2 ways were built for those rates.

Absolutely! Spring rate, dampening, ride height, tire choice, sways, all up weight, and setup are all important pieces of the equation that must be considered for best results. Changing one or two elements without considering the impact on other variables will sometimes make the suspension worse... much worse.

As instructors we spend a lot of time in other people's cars at the track. My impressions:
-Best by far: A well-tuned performance suspension with a pro setup.
-Next best: Bone stock with pro performance alignment.
-Often worse: DIY shade-tree suspension changes without an experienced pro connecting all of the dots.