Springs for rally?

[mach1one]

Our area has rallycross on a monthly basis. It's not crazy fast with lots of elevation changes, but the course are pretty long (90-110 seconds) with plenty of sweeping corners and a couple small hills.

For susp. I just have GR2s + 1" rear swaybar. Anytime my car saw any decent bump, it bottomed out. Plus when it started raining and ruts got much deeper, it was bottom-out city. I have hotbits coilovers on the way, but they're for the street and I don't want to put those coilovers through that kind of abuse. If I want to rally I'll just throw the GR2s + springs back on for the event.

What springs would be stiffer, yet not drop the car? Most of the springs I see have an 1" drop, and I don't think that'd be wise for the courses they usually draw. Stock height would be fine if the springs could keep it from bottoming out.

 

[DG-FNR]

Coilovers are your friends. They'll allow you to swap in stiffer springs and/or raise the static ride height - either of which would solve your bottoming problem.

DG

 

[jtmcinder]

I run my stock suspension for rallycross (for similar reasons to what the thread-starter suggested). I just add spacers between the upper isolators and the plates to raise the car.

- Jtoby

 

[mach1one]

Good ideas. Hotbits sells a rally coilover which can lower the car about .5" and raise it on up. They don't run rally events enough for me to drop $1000 on a second coilover system.

I'm a little leary of how soft the hotbits "street" coilover rates are. Everyone seems to like their absurdly high rates, I believe mine are only 375f 220r, if I remember right. I might swap in stiffer ones after a few autocrosses, but I still don't want to chance getting all that trash in the coilovers.

I'll chance asking a dumb question; where'd you get your spacers jtmcinder? Stock height seems like it'd be fine if my springs that weren't soft.

Locally I'm competitive with WRX's at autocross, but they thrash me at the rallies. I could get stiffer springs + spacer to raise it back to stock height, I might be in business.

 

[jtmcinder]

I'll chance asking a dumb question; where'd you get your spacers jtmcinder? Stock height seems like it'd be fine if my springs that weren't soft.

To be fair, I'll chance giving a really dumb answer: I got them at Lowes. They are parts for installing a toilet. Only thing I could find that was the right diameter. But, hey, it worked.

I slammed the bumpstops so hard (even after raising the car) that I knew I was either breaking things or weakening the unibody. But I didn't care. I was having an incredible amount of fun and kicking butt. So far, the only real damage I've found was a swaybar bracket.

Now I've teamed up with another guy to build a 1G. If we don't find one, I'll run the Legacy wagon since SWMBO is getting a minivan. Ah, the joys of getting old and having kids.

- Jtoby