what do you use like suspensions ?

[NoHachi]

kungfumaster Wrote:T3 also sells this "Advanced Strut Tube Spacers". http://www.technotoytuning.com/productdetail.php?p=110
Which is a spacer for the bottom of a long strut. Then you won't have to cut your stock struts if you want to use shortstrokes.
(Don't know much about these btw, i know some pro's (like Mux with long posts ) here can provide more info!)

Does someone have experience with these? What are the pro/cons for this kind of setup?

One of the problems with stiffer springs is that there is no way to keep the springs captive while the suspension is at full droop (aka on the bridge at the MOT garage). One way of solving this problem is limiting the amount of droop you have available aka: mounting short stroke shocks in the stock position through the use of spacers under the shock.

Is this then a good solution to use instead of strut shortening?
In one word: NO, strut shortening was never meant to prevent the springs from becoming non-captive. When you use lower springs, in effect what happens is that the car rests lower with regard to the shock. Now if originally the car rested at 50% droop and 50% bump travel, then it now rests somewhere at 80% droop available and 20% bump.
So you have just reduced suspension motion in one direction by 60%. By using short stroke shocks in this setup, basically what you do is set the available range from 80/20 to about 30/20. The springs keep seated.
The problem is that with the new reduced travel, the shock will impact on the bumpstops a lot earlier..if there wasnt a bumpstop, the entire car would bang onto the strut-top, so be carefull about removing them.
That is the reason that most lowered cars, including those of tons of people on the forums here, have a miserable ride. People claim that it is the stiffer springs and that they are getting a sporty ride, while in fact it is the car slamming into the bumpstops over every small sharp bump in the road.
I have driven cars with 10F/6R kg/mm that were perfectly comfortable. ITS NOT THE SPRINGS THAT RUIN THE RIDE!!
The solution is gaining back some of the suspension travel that we lost through lowering. The only way to do that is to lower the entire shock top..aka using shorter stroke shocks and shortening the struts to match. Not only have you now gained some much need comfort, the car will be better able to follow the road and the tires will not experience the shockloads induced from hitting the bumpstops. That translates directly into real world performance.

Furthermore: Bumpstops rule. Basically they are what allows you to construct a setup that works not only on the track but also on the street. On sticky tires and very fast corners the car gently drops onto the bumpstops effectively raising the springrate linearly from 12 to about 18 kg/mm. That means that if you have a good match between springs and bumpstops, you can use slightly weaker springs for max. traction and corner on the bumpstops.