Hi all

Has anyone done any work regarding coilover spring rates, if not anyone have a formula to enable me to order some once the maths have been done ?

The trd gas coilovers i have along with the car being lightened are just awful, i am working with a ex tte hydrollics guy to try and get some decent wheel alignment figures on my car but after he drove it he said the suspention was the worst hes ever driven due to the stiffness of the set-up but this guys stuck in the old X-Trac set up.

TIA

Ian, have figures for aftermarket stuff but not for the actual 205 TTE cars

Maybe these figures will help a little? (all in kg/mm)

Tein HA Damper coilover kit - F10 R8
Tein Superstreet coilover kit - F10 R6

TRD Coilover kit part 48000-ST0B0 - F10 R8

I have the Tein superstreet and am happy with the results for the roads.

Have you also thought about the anti-roll bars?

iirc Don had some TRD coilovers and his considered opinion was much the same as yours

_________________
Kris
95 ST205 - slept for 10 years, now waking up...
Avensis
http://www.gtfours.co.uk
_______________________________________
Turbocharging - the replacement for displacement

hi chris, i can get the tte rates off richard but there all for the xtrac setup, so there pretty useless i guess, the car has front and rear trd rollbars.

If you can get the rates then that would be interesting


Sounds interesting, do you know their diameters?

_________________
Kris
95 ST205 - slept for 10 years, now waking up...
Avensis
http://www.gtfours.co.uk
_______________________________________
Turbocharging - the replacement for displacement

Hi Ian,

Richard Doig's site has some TTE specs relating to the ST185 @1100kg.


http://gtfour.supras.org.nz/suspension.htm



FYI: my ST165 weighs 1385kg 58% front 42% rear bias.

i'm using 450lbs inch front 350lbs inch rear 60mm x 10" coilover springs. A firm but supple ride with 1" > 1.5" of travel.

_________________
ST165 turbo 4WD
ST185 GT-FOUR RC Carlos Sainz Limited Edition 825•5000
ST185 turbo 4WD Carlos Sainz Limited Edition 2541•5000

Cheers for the reply gary, due to the lack of "Free" knowledge i have booked the car in with a company in wiltshire whos going to do all the measurements and weights, then virtually run the car around various tracks with different spring rates, roll bar thicknesses and rear wing height/ angles to find the best set-up and then give me a full report on what i need to make it a true "Track car"

You will have to develop your own set-up Ian, not being funny, but a rally car set-up, is very much different from a track race car.

Then geometry time, overall quite hard, it not something that can be easily worked out, with out some testing, many days worth.

You need to book a few test days, box of springs, wheel aligner, telemetry data to chew over, with out telemetry data you will be lost, cornering G’s required, this is used for working spring rates.

Even then, configuration will be down, to driver style.

I heard stories of people getting into problems, if the car has been developed without driver input, be-careful whom you use, make sure you drive as well.

Been here before, its not an easy job, will cost a few quid. Be prepared, its not achieved over night, any one who say’s otherwise is lying…or they have not set-up vehicles before.

What car would this be, front, rear, four-wheel drive, how heavy, how much power, wheel track, wheel base, weight balance, all required for a starting point of spring weights..etc.

who you using in wiltshire.

Good luck

Hi jon

its ian @ toyauto centre, the car will be set up for 500bhp for the track @ approx 1.5 bar on pump gas.

The company is based very close to castle coombe track, i think there called track solutions (will check on my garage pc, dont have the link here)

i am prepared to spend what ever it costs to get the car set up correctly m8, i cant see the point in all this time and money ive spent just to go in a straight line, so i am determined to get it set up correctly, the trouble i have is i dont know where to start

Good luck with the track setup Ian. I shall be very interested to see how this goes.

With 330-340bhp at Bruntingthorpe I had reached the limit of what the 4-way adjustable KYB dampers, TRD springs and Whiteline ARB could cope with.... and that was with Toyo T1-R road tyres! I have high hopes with the TEIN Super Street coilovers which have a much greater range of damping plus its easier to change the ride height and spring rates. With my Yoko A048R's this may still not be enough so custom ARB's may be needed.

Trouble is, once you reach a setup that works on the track the car will most likely be a real pain to drive on the road. My own personal holy grail will be a car that I can comfortably drive to the track and be capable of beating GT3 Porkers.

_________________
Don
GT4DC Chairman
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205WRC JDM 269bhp @ 0.9bar
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four Special GT 590bhp @ 1.8bar
1989 Van Diemen RF88/89 Formula Ford 1600
2008 Nissan Patrol GU 3.0L ZD30DDTi 154bhp

Hi Don, at the moment i have TRD coilovers, J-Speed 3 point upper strut brace, Cusco Rear upper strut brace, cusco roll cage (allthough more cosmetic, it will also help with protection and stability) i also run A048r tyres (235/45/17) and i have a choice of differentials, although the trd locking diff i have will be useless at this power i hope the cusco 1.5 way will be an improvement, and TRD front (?? need to check mm) and rear (22mm) antiroll bars and superflex bushes.

I hope i have the basics

Pretty good starting point but I'd be a bit dubious about using the TRD coilovers as the damping rates on mine were completely unsuitable for UK roads and bumpy race tracks. AFAIK you can't revalve the TRD's although TEIN claim to have this capability in the UK now.

The Cusco rear diff will be interesting compared to the stock Torsen unit. With the 1.5 way type it looks like you cant vary the ramp angle? Which one did you go for, RS or MZ? Shock loading with the fiercer MZ might be an issue?

_________________
Don
GT4DC Chairman
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205WRC JDM 269bhp @ 0.9bar
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four Special GT 590bhp @ 1.8bar
1989 Van Diemen RF88/89 Formula Ford 1600
2008 Nissan Patrol GU 3.0L ZD30DDTi 154bhp

i have concerns also over the TRD coilovers, i am pricing up C-One, Bilstien or Ohlin coilovers from japan at the moment with a view to changing the trd setup as for the diff, i have the TRD one, but the cusco is going to come with the coilovers from japan.

Ian - have you considered the Tein units?

Whilst they may not be to your exact requirements, different spring rates are readily available, (and cheap) and the shocks can be re-valved to your specification pretty easily...

Also, the Tein units are re-buildable, unlike some of the other 205 front suspension units iirc?

_________________
Kris
95 ST205 - slept for 10 years, now waking up...
Avensis
http://www.gtfours.co.uk
_______________________________________
Turbocharging - the replacement for displacement

i have considered using tein m8, but i am scared off with the amount of reports of them being poor quality, all the TRD stuff is also rebuildable.

Just out if interest, what particular area has been reported as dodgy?

I am unaware of a quality issue with the Tein gear. Have seen a few older kits and they all appear fine?

Heard of KYB "issues" but nothing with the Tein gear...?

You know that the Tein stuff uses a shock bought from Toyota/KYB? OEM quality on the suspension leg Mind you, I suspect all the aftermarket guys knocking out suspension are all using the units produced by KYB?

Interesting point regarding the TRD shocks. Have heard that the front was re-buildable, but not the rears for some reason, must've heard wrong.

I would've thought that there was some mileage in using Tein due to the re-valving etc service these guys can offer at less than eye watering prices?

But, I suppose if you are after a more professional setup then thinking outside of the "box" might be in order?

_________________
Kris
95 ST205 - slept for 10 years, now waking up...
Avensis
http://www.gtfours.co.uk
_______________________________________
Turbocharging - the replacement for displacement