Ride Height / Spring Rate

  • Thread starter GoTham-R
  • 11 comments
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GoTham-R

GoTham-R

62
Rodi-
Hi everybody,

I'm having serious problems finding good settings for the cars refering to the connection between the Ride height and the Spring Rate.

How do you find the best option, changing both at one time and testing the car or you change one first and then the other?

I've read that there's a formula to find the best option but here, with no especific units in the spring rate, I think it would be difficult, isn't it?

What do you think?

PLEASE help me and sorry about my english...

P.S.: Are the Ride height and the Spring rate the first things you change in a car set up? (excluding Power and Weight)

THANKS
 
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Normally when I tune a car I do small changes on one thing at a time. It also depends on your track that you are tuning for as well.
 
Well, "Spring Rate" is basically a measure of the spring's stiffness. The higher the number, the more weight it takes to fully compress the spring.

In general, spring rates are changed in response to a car's weight distribution or in response to the way the car tends to shift its weight under braking and acceleration. For example, a car with a weight distribution of 60% up front and 40% in the rear would need a spring rate 20% higher in front to sit perfectly level when it's not moving. When it IS moving, however, a number of other variables may influence necessary spring rates (length of the wheelbase, for instance, will greatly influence the way the car transfers it weight).

In relation to ride height, you generally want to increase the spring rate when lowering the ride height so as to retain adequate suspension travel.

Also, lower ride height equals a lower center of gravity (which often means a lowered roll center) which equates to less lateral weight transfer in corners; more stability! Lowering ride height is most often very beneficial, but you CAN lower it too much--to the point where a car's suspension travel is limited enough to cause a loss of performance.

While we're talking about this, I might as well touch on dampers. Think of dampers as little guys who are trying to prevent the springs from expanding and compressing. The higher the damper number, the more resistant the springs will be to expansion/compression.

You may be thinking, "if I stiffen the spring, shouldn't that be enough?" Well, a stiffer spring WILL be much more difficult to compress, sure, but when it DOES get compressed (like right when you hit a large bump in the road, or the front springs right when you smash the brakes hard), it's going to follow that compression with an expansion (or "rebound") that's much stronger and more violent than a softer spring. That's what the dampers are for--they basically keep the springs in check. It's very important to differentiate a stiff spring rate from stiff dampers: a bump hit very hard will compress even the stiffest spring, but it's the stiffened damper that keeps that spring from rebounding wildly and putting your control of the vehicle in jeopardy.
 
That's generally what I do. Slightly lower and slightly stiffer is almost universally better, but beyond that takes some trial and error. It may also help to take your driving style into account when making adjustments. For example, if you're very aggressive, stiffer dampers may help keep the car stable. Things like that.
 
GoTham-R
Not a bad guide. Thanks
Click to expand...
Hey buddy, a lot depends on the weight of the car, tires used, and the track. If you're using a light car with hard racing tires, it'll handle so tight that you'll fishtail. I've been playing for 20 yrs, all the way back to gt1 on a ps1. There's a formula, but there's variables in it. So in essence, you're gonna have to do time trials to find your setup. And lots of them..
 
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Glubags
Well, "Spring Rate" is basically a measure of the spring's stiffness. The higher the number, the more weight it takes to fully compress the spring.

In general, spring rates are changed in response to a car's weight distribution or in response to the way the car tends to shift its weight under braking and acceleration. For example, a car with a weight distribution of 60% up front and 40% in the rear would need a spring rate 20% higher in front to sit perfectly level when it's not moving. When it IS moving, however, a number of other variables may influence necessary spring rates (length of the wheelbase, for instance, will greatly influence the way the car transfers it weight).

In relation to ride height, you generally want to increase the spring rate when lowering the ride height so as to retain adequate suspension travel.

Also, lower ride height equals a lower center of gravity (which often means a lowered roll center) which equates to less lateral weight transfer in corners; more stability! Lowering ride height is most often very beneficial, but you CAN lower it too much--to the point where a car's suspension travel is limited enough to cause a loss of performance.

While we're talking about this, I might as well touch on dampers. Think of dampers as little guys who are trying to prevent the springs from expanding and compressing. The higher the damper number, the more resistant the springs will be to expansion/compression.

You may be thinking, "if I stiffen the spring, shouldn't that be enough?" Well, a stiffer spring WILL be much more difficult to compress, sure, but when it DOES get compressed (like right when you hit a large bump in the road, or the front springs right when you smash the brakes hard), it's going to follow that compression with an expansion (or "rebound") that's much stronger and more violent than a softer spring. That's what the dampers are for--they basically keep the springs in check. It's very important to differentiate a stiff spring rate from stiff dampers: a bump hit very hard will compress even the stiffest spring, but it's the stiffened damper that keeps that spring from rebounding wildly and putting your control of the vehicle in jeopardy.
Click to expand...
Bravo! Beautifully done sir
 

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