[Biturbos4] Quick question about springs and shocks

[Wilson Northrup]

The reason some say not to  use the stock shock with the aftermarket 
springs is because of the  increased spring rate and the ability for the 
shock, or damper, to handle the rebound.

I agree with that in many, but not all cases. It is really spring 
dependant and while often true, there are exceptions that work very well. 
I do not claim any  knowledge about your purple springs.

The reverse, however, adding an aftermarket shock to a stock spring is 
more likely to work to your advantage.  The aftermarket shocks are often 
designed to work with the stock spring rate.   It is quite common for the 
auto crossers in the stock category to change the dampers, but leave the 
stock springs, as this is acceptable and does improve the times.  As far 
as times are concerned, a good set of dampers goes a long way to improving 
your time.

Basically here, assuming a performance minded shock,  you get a shock 
which may add a bit of compression  resistance and increased rebound 
control.

All in all, lots of so-called-tuners like to match some popular brand 
shock with some random spring and call a solution.  Sometimes that works 
out better than others, but rarely as well as a matched coilover solution. 
STaSIS and HR are popular brands, I have KW's that work well for my 
daily driver needs.

So as Damon says, you should be OK with a performance shock, stock spring 
configuration.  Chanes are you will be pleased with the configuration.

If you are interseted in figuring out which spring and shock combonation 
is ideal for your  needs, start reading the Caroll Smith books and work 
your way into the SAE catalog of suspension design.  Maybe you'll decide 
to pick a main spring, weld it to a tender spring and get some dual 
adjustable remote resevoir shocks :)


wilson
'00 S4 Biturbo
'94 RX7 TwinTurbo

On Fri, 26 May 2006, damon03 at ix.netcom.com wrote:

>> From what I have read it is important to match the spring and shock to each other.  So,  it sounds like what you are suggesting, a stock spring with a performance shock is not ideal.  It probably depends how differant the Koni shock is from stock.
>
> This is not really based on my experience just from reading to what others have said,  maybe it is OK.
>
> Good luck,
> Damon
>
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: mike mcclurg <rrrrraudi at yahoo.com>
>> Sent: May 26, 2006 7:15 AM
>> To: biturbos4 at audifans.com
>> Subject: [Biturbos4] Quick question about springs and shocks
>>
>> Right now, my '01 S4 is lowered (Intrax springs, I
>> think - they are purple anyway) with Koni shocks.
>>
>> From reading the archives and looking on audiworld, I
>> have found that it is a no-no to put stock shocks on
>> lowering springs, but my question is the reverse.
>>
>> What if I put stock springs back on? Can I still use
>> the Koni shocks?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Mike
>>
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