Rear springs

[jonrunaas]

I'm considering rebuilding my rear suspension as it seems to be getting a bit tired, and was looking around to see what Pelican had for springs. Has anybody tried the progressive wound 165lbs? I'm big into vintage motorcycles and everyone raves about progressives in their front forks; do they work as well on cars? What is the ride-to-handling trade off like? Ride harder or softer than stock springs? Thanks for any info!

[djpateman]

I have not yet tried them, but they are on my list. I trhink for an ordinary street car with occassional track use they would work fine. Stock springs are very soft, under 100 lbs IIRC. Original springs were tired at age ten, you could see them bowing. The big problem with aftermarket springs is their short length. At full extension many springs get loose in their perches and pop out of place, then they don't work. So you may have to tie the bottoms onto the lower perches for security. The 165's may not suffer from this fault.

[Tobra]

They will cause the car to ride more firmly. I would be concerned about having differing roll resistance comparing front to rear.

I put progressive springs on my Super Beetle. Was a huge improvement in handling, minimal penalties in ride quality.

Progressive springs resist compression more as they become compressed. For example, it may start out at 165 lbs/inch for the first inch, 200 lbs/inch for the second and so forth. or that is how I understand it anyway.

[jonrunaas]

Yeah, that is my understanding of progressive springs as well. Thanks for the opinion on the effect on your Super Beetle; good handling/decent ride sound about ideal since I drive my 914 equal amounts on super curvy (and astoundingly gorgeous) Iowa Mississpi River roads and long stints (600+ miles one way) on the not so smooth interstate 80.
Does anyone know if they start at 165lbs at their softest, or do they end up at 165lbs at their firmest?