Too Bouncy!!

I lowered my 91 a few day ago and now i got a problem. I burned the springs($20), but now my car is too bouncy. On the freeway I cant go any faster than like 90mph -100mph. Because my car starts to bounce from side to side and up and down in a wavy motion. So now Im wondering what can I do to make it go away. :confused:

By heating your springs, all you did was lower you spring rates. If you want it to handle well, get better springs, and some good shocks.

is lowering spring rates a good thing?

Originally posted by integra91red
is lowering spring rates a good thing?

In your case, no. Spring rates are given in lb/in, which means, for a specified load in pounds, the spring displaces one inch. Now, there is calculus involved if you want to calculate the exact diplacement for a given load or vice versa, but I hated that part of calc. and physics so I wont go into it. However, the rate has an obvious effect on both static ride height and dynamic handling characteristics. If you lower your spring rates, the spring will have to compress more to hold the same amount of weight. That is why it lowers the car. However, the spring will also compress more for bumps in the road, as well as load transfer under positive, negative, and lateral acceleration. This is why your car bounces so much. If you look at an aftermarket spring for our cars that has a rate of 400lb/in, you will notice that it is much shorter than the stock springs, especially the rear which are under 200lb/in stock, I believe. This is because it will not displace as much as the stock spring under the same load. Thankfully, the engineers that design springs have already done the calculations for us so we don’t have to figure out, to an extent, how much a certain spring will lower a car. Anyway, to sum up what I just said into how you can fix it, while still keeping your car lower, get real aftermarket lowering springs. They will have a higher rate. Ask around and figure out what type of ride height and ride quality you want. Based on that, make an educated decision. Also, if you do that, I would recommend getting a good set of spring dampers(shocks), to dampen the increased rates of the springs.

ok man thanks alot for the help and your time in you took to answer my question. now i understand this all much better. thanks. (any other suggestions out there people?)

everything gsr01 said was sound advice and info. to summarize again, if you want to do it right and do it safely, get aftermarket lowering springs and mate them to aftermarket shocks that can handle the increased springrates.

wavy = shocks are too soft

Originally posted by XDEep
wavy = shocks are too soft

True, stiffer shocks would definately help, but it doesn’t change the fact that heating springs is a big no-no…

Get some good quality lowering springs… I have a nice set for H&R’s I’m selling for 100 bux if you’re interested… :smiley:

what do u guys think if i get air bags? is that a big no no too?:confused:

Originally posted by XDEep
wavy = shocks are too soft

That would have been my first thought had he raised his spring rates. However, since he lowered them, the stock shocks, assuming they are still good, would be more than able to dampen the heated springs’ oscillations.

Originally posted by integra91red
what do u guys think if i get air bags? is that a big no no too?:confused:

to not go into detail, YES. However now we’re getting into more reasons than ride quality as to why you would perform this modification. This all depends on what your “goal” for the car is.

there is calculus involved if you want to calculate the exact diplacement for a given load or vice versa, but I hated that part of calc. and physics so I wont go into it

if anyone really wants to know this I’ll post it, but it’s not really that necessary and unless you’re going to order custom springs it really doesnt matter

:bow:

well the car is going to for racing and show i dont got a lot of money at once so thats why im doing things step by step but mainly its going to end up being for show. so why is air bags a no no?:danger:

:confused:

Originally posted by gen2ls/vtec
[B]if anyone really wants to know this I’ll post it, but it’s not really that necessary and unless you’re going to order custom springs it really doesnt matter

:bow: [/B]

Yes please.

Ben