Coilovers vs Springs

[Pdaddy1280]

Pardon me for my ignorance on the topic, but can anyone explain in layman’s terms the advantages and disadvantages of coilovers vs lowering springs? My car is going to be a daily driver but I’d like to make some suspension upgrades for periodic trips to the track or spirited back road driving if I ever get my car.

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[Biggsy]

Pardon me for my ignorance on the topic, but can anyone explain in layman’s terms the advantages and disadvantages of coilovers vs lowering springs? My car is going to be a daily driver but I’d like to make some suspension upgrades for periodic trips to the track or spirited back road driving if I ever get my car.

im no expert but the advantage of coilover is the adjustability in height and rebound/compression. With coilover dampers (shocks or struts) they allow you to run a higher spring rate because they are valves to do so. For track use, drivers run coilovers to make adjustments for high speed and low speed corners. The money spent on coilovers is really mostly in the valving.
Springs are a “set it and forget it” option and is fine for 95% of drivers. There are springs with different rates but it’s all preference. Some dampers like steedas pro action allow you to adjust either rebound or compression(can’t remember which) similar to a coilover. Hope that helps. I track my car and have been on springs for years. Coilovers some times require a learning curve.

 

[horned-toad]

the advantages and disadvantages of coilovers vs lowering springs?

springs = $
coilover = $$$$+

lowering springs shorten shock stroke in some extreme cases by more than 1" up to about 1.5" but the original damper is not valved to compensate, so the lowering spring runs a higher rate to help the shock from blowing thru the now inadequate stroke.

Coilovers over the $2500 price point generally have pretty decent valving and some can manage to give you drops as low as 2-3" though that can vary widely.

For casual track use, ~0.5" drop and modest rate increases and a much better damper than factory garbage, is generally sufficient.

 

[tj@steeda]

This is a pretty comprehensive article - I think it was well written in "Non-Tech" speaks about the advantages:

https://www.steeda.com/mustang-coilover-benefits

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