Long Stroke Springs - Espelier 40mm Tokico ???

[juantonwan]

I am looking to get some springs to go with my Tokico 5-Way Adjustable shocks.

I basically want some stiff springs that will swap right on, go with the Tokicos without any mods for around $200. Not sure if coilovers are an option or not.

I was looking at Tanabe, but they are not as stiff. 30% over stock I believe. Would this fit the Tokicos 5-way on the stiffest setting 5??

[4000GT]

TRD springs... 210mm high.

[juantonwan]

4000GT Wrote:TRD springs... 210mm high.

Okay, so the Espelier won't work? I would like the 40mm drop if I could do it. Not sure if it will affect the shocks though.

[4000GT]

I dont know the Espelier product, never heard of it before. Why not just go with whats a proven route though. If you want exactly 40mm drop, go get some custom springs made or go coilover.

[NoHachi]

For 40 cm drop the cheapest method is to just cut the existing springs. I know that the interwebs have a lot to say about that, but its no worse then short springs on stock dampers. In both cases the bumpstops are carying most of the load.
Wasting good money on lowering springs on an otherwise stock suspension is a waste of funds.
With the AE86 there are 3 possible routes:

Slightly stiffer springs (custom) or swaybars (aftermarket) with stiffer shocks (longstroke koni, bilstein, tokico white). Max 2cm lowering, better to have none at all. End result, great handling car on most surfaces, basic rally setup proven all over the planet. Best setup on a budget and best setup for the real world. Only drawback is "the look"

A lot stiffer springs (2 times the stock freqs minimum), 5cm lowering, tutti lampioni : shorter struts, shortstrokes, springs, rca's, panhard rod. The track setup. Lots of money. Looks good, but gives up grip and comfort on real roads.

Anything in between is equally bad. Cut springs or lowering springs -> not much difference. Shocks.. don't really matter etc.

[juantonwan]

NoHachi Wrote:For 40 cm drop the cheapest method is to just cut the existing springs. I know that the interwebs have a lot to say about that, but its no worse then short springs on stock dampers. In both cases the bumpstops are carying most of the load.
Wasting good money on lowering springs on an otherwise stock suspension is a waste of funds.
With the AE86 there are 3 possible routes:

Slightly stiffer springs (custom) or swaybars (aftermarket) with stiffer shocks (longstroke koni, bilstein, tokico white). Max 2cm lowering, better to have none at all. End result, great handling car on most surfaces, basic rally setup proven all over the planet. Best setup on a budget and best setup for the real world. Only drawback is "the look"

A lot stiffer springs (2 times the stock freqs minimum), 5cm lowering, tutti lampioni : shorter struts, shortstrokes, springs, rca's, panhard rod. The track setup. Lots of money. Looks good, but gives up grip and comfort on real roads.

Anything in between is equally bad. Cut springs or lowering springs -> not much difference. Shocks.. don't really matter etc.

Thanks for the info!

I have Tokico 5-way adjustables that I have been running with stock springs for years now. I like the stiff setting on the shocks, but don't think the stock springs can compliment them. I think the shocks are working more than they should without stiff springs.

So basically I want to find some springs that are:

A) Stiffer
B) Will work with the Tokico 5-Way shocks
C) Lower as much as possible without need short stroke of affecting anything else.

[jondee86]

Hey... 25 years ago I bought an "AE86 suspension kit" from Koni. It had
a set of Koni yellow shocks and inserts, plus a set of Koni lowering
springs. I put them on the car with no other modifications, and they
worked fine.

Ride felt much the same as stock, but with better grip and handling. I
tracked that car for 5 years, did hillclimbs and street sprints, and my wife
drove it to work every day. Never had any problems with the suspension.

So it is possible to have it all

Cheers... jondee86

[juantonwan]

jondee86 Wrote:Hey... 25 years ago I bought an "AE86 suspension kit" from Koni. It had
a set of Koni yellow shocks and inserts, plus a set of Koni lowering
springs. I put them on the car with no other modifications, and they
worked fine.

Ride felt much the same as stock, but with better grip and handling. I
tracked that car for 5 years, did hillclimbs and street sprints, and my wife
drove it to work every day. Never had any problems with the suspension.

So it is possible to have it all

Cheers... jondee86

Okay, so I guess may main question is which spring. To follow up on my post above - would the Espelier springs be fine or are they too much of a drop? Will they go well with the Tockios?

Basically I was looking at either the Espelier or the Tanabe.

I just want a stiff spring I can swap right on to go with the Tokicos for around $200 without any other mods. Springs or coilovers, whatever is stiff and swaps on, works with Tokicos around $200.

[Jezza_hr]

jondee86 Wrote:Hey... 25 years ago I bought an "AE86 suspension kit" from Koni. It had
a set of Koni yellow shocks and inserts, plus a set of Koni lowering
springs. I put them on the car with no other modifications, and they
worked fine.

Ride felt much the same as stock, but with better grip and handling. I
tracked that car for 5 years, did hillclimbs and street sprints, and my wife
drove it to work every day. Never had any problems with the suspension.

So it is possible to have it all

Cheers... jondee86

Is there anywhere that sells a KONI setup off the shelf for the AE86 anymore? I haven't seen them about for a while.

[jondee86]

I think that Koni stopped doing the kit more than 20 years ago. And I
don't know what the kit specifications were ? They didn't publish any real
detail, so I don't know if the spears in the inserts were shortened (the
insert bodies were full length - no spacers), or what the spring rates were.
The drop was approx 35 mm all round.

I bought the kit because I trusted Koni to know what they were doing

Cheers... jondee86