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How low can you go on stock dampers?

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95
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Hey guys,

I currently have BMR lowering springs on my boss (got them for free a few days after buying the car so I figured why not). I like them for street use and some spirited driving but want better. I'm looking at H&R springs but I'm curious as to how low I can actually go on the stock dampers? I plan on going to coilovers eventually but not soon so I'm wanting to get as much as I can out the stock dampers so I don't have to buy parts twice and keep putting off my coilovers.

I'm also open to suggestions to springs for a DD/auto-x car.

Thanks
Kody
 
I'm not sure how low you can go but you should be fine with the H&R lowering springs. The question is how long will they last and if you're eventually going to upgrade I wouldn't worry about it. See member Fat Boss for a good deal on a set of used H&R springs he removed from his Boss yesterday.
 
95
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I've had my BMR springs on for almost 10,000 miles and I've not noticed any difference in ride quality. I do plan on swapping to coilovers sometime next year... hopefully. I also plan on starting to auto-x the car this upcoming season with NASA at Sebring so I'm looking to put a more cornering oriented spring on the car.
 
95
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Also does anyone have any idea as to what how much the spring rates differ from the race springs to the super sport springs?
 
367
1
They won't go very low at all.
I had these same shocks on my 240z, dropped 1 inch to matched Tokico springs. I hit the bump stops regularly.
On another car, I paired these with H&R race and the struts died in a matter of months.

Not that you would want to put an aggressive spring on this shock anyway. The Illuminas get shock fade very quickly as is already on a stock setup. You can read about fade http://dreamingin302ci.blogspot.ca/2013/08/shocking-behavior.html

If it's street, that's fine. But if you are concerned about how the car will behave lap after lap, I'd be careful with the stock shocks.
 
95
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So really I'm not gonna get outstanding performance out of these shocks period?


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367
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kody said:
So really I'm not gonna get outstanding performance out of these shocks period?


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They are great for what they are (an OE spec damper).
The car does well on the track with them--that is for sure. However, with repeated lapping, performance will deteriorate faster than most. This is one thing that I've found on this car. For an out of box, show room stock car, our cars behave wonderfully. But how many laps can it take repeated hot lapping abuse whilst retaining top levels of performance? Not many. I'm only able to get a handful of really great laps on a local "street style" circuit (lots of corners, all tight turns, low avg speed but demanding on brakes and tires). Courses like that will bring shock fade promptly. And the loss in performance isn't only something that's felt (we all know sometimes this can be placebo). But rather, something immediately measurable on the lap timer. The shocks will go before your brakes and tires do (at least on the circuit that I'm thinking of)!

If you're concerned about daily street performance, they are fine--even with lowering springs. But paired with lowering springs + competitive track work? Not really.
 
95
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I highly doubt that I'm at a point where one I could push my shocks to that point and two know the car enough to really tell. Like I said I plan to start auto crossing soon so I will just have to see what happens with that.


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367
1
kody said:
I highly doubt that I'm at a point where one I could push my shocks to that point and two know the car enough to really tell. Like I said I plan to start auto crossing soon so I will just have to see what happens with that.


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Good, then you're set :)
No need to budget for some overkill stuff. You're doing it right. Seat time #1.
 
95
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Im ready to start getting seat time it's killing me slowly having to wait! I just know my bmr springs are far from ideal and I honestly just want to go lower than what I am now.


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