Springs and Ride Quality

[CarsSuck]

I currently have BavAuto springs and Bilstein sports (all else is stock) I want less body roll, but given where i live i dont know if i can swing something as aggressive as say, IE stg 3s. So my question is, how much worse is the ride quality of the IEs over stock/other sport springs.

[StereoInstaller1]

Will, have you thought about better sway bars, or urethane mounts for yours?
Luke

[Jordan]

BavAuto springs are very soft and saggy. If you want less bodyroll get some large diameter swaybars. They won't affect ride quality much, and will reduce roll significantly.

[CarsSuck]

twere my very thoughts. But the question stands, how bout that ride quality?

[Jordan]

IE's are roughly twice and some change stiffer then your BavAuto springs.

[hankook_killer]

does anyone know how H&R sports compare to BavAuto? those might be good.

and if you want to eliminate roll and maintain nice ride quality, swaybars are a good route.

[Digitalwave]

BavAutos are up there with Eibach Pro's as some of the softest springs available. H&R Sports and some sway bars will probably transform your car into exactly what you are looking for.

[CarsSuck]

Ill start with sway bars. You guys ever installed the reinforcements (i.e. TMS)?

[nando]

reinforcements aren't optional with bigger swaybars. you'll eventually rip the dinky stock mounts out - hell mine are bent up just from the stock swaybar.

[StereoInstaller1]

Factory rear stock swaybar endlink broke in half on my car. I am gonna do some IE or ST bars with upgraded mounts come spring.

I am using B+G springs. From what I can tell, they are soft, but not very soft. I like the ride and do not want stiffer, but I want a flatter corner. I also want the ass end to hook up, so I want the adjustable end links.

More food for thought.

Luke

[Mystikal]

I'll chime in.

Springs don't really dictate ride quality. Dampers and tires do. The only significant difference is between linear and progressive springs, where you can definitely feel the uneasy jittering of GCs.

For an example, I have driven in two different E30s, both with stock dampers. One had IE Stage III's, the other had Eibach Pro-Kits. There really wasn't a difference in ride between the two, they both felt damn near stock. For those that don't know, the IE's have close to double the stiffness on paper.

Dampers and tires. High spring rates are fun and prevent you from running out of shock travel.

[tonytony]

I'll chime in.

Springs don't really dictate ride quality. Dampers and tires do. The only significant difference is between linear and progressive springs, where you can definitely feel the uneasy jittering of GCs.

For an example, I have driven in two different E30s, both with stock dampers. One had IE Stage III's, the other had Eibach Pro-Kits. There really wasn't a difference in ride between the two, they both felt damn near stock. For those that don't know, the IE's have close to double the stiffness on paper.

Dampers and tires. High spring rates are fun and prevent you from running out of shock travel.

I agree with that statement. i just recently swapped out my garbage soft/saggy tokico springs for IE3s for the time being, and ride quality was hardly noticible in daily driving until i the took hard corners and bodyroll was very minimal. Still waiting on my konis

[CarsSuck]

Well how are the roads where you guys live? In the D.C. area there are a lot of potholes and the highways have terrible joints and there are speedbumps galore. That said, when the my dad put in the BavAuto springs there was no difference in ride quality. The Bilstein Sports are what really firmed things up.

[rwh11385]

H&R sports ride well with Bilstein sports.

[Mystikal]

Well how are the roads where you guys live? In the D.C. area there are a lot of potholes and the highways have terrible joints and there are speedbumps galore. That said, when the my dad put in the BavAuto springs there was no difference in ride quality. The Bilstein Sports are what really firmed things up.

Terrible roads. That said, upping my spring rates (375/475) actually made the ride better; there is no longer the issue of bottoming out (what REALLY hurts).

Bilstein Sports ride very firmly. Lots of compression dampening, to help cover up their lack of travel. Koni SAs ride noticeably softer, and have better rebound + travel.