Rear coilovers 1303

[Hinken]

Hey folks

Doing a bit of modification on my 1303S, and I want coilovers on the rear.
The car will mostly be used on the streets, but I hope to get some runs each year on tracks.

I have been searching some forums but I get confused.. Im going to mount a kafer 5 bar brace, I will not have the torsionbars.
Im simply looking for some coilovers that allows me to adjust the height and if possible stiffness. (Or do I just change the springs for other stiffness?)

What are my options? Would be best for me to buy in europe, because I live in Sweden.

Im also interested in coilovers for the front, I want to be able to adjust the height etc on those too.

If you know about some threads that I should read, please link them!

Please help me out

[evilC]

Full rear coil overs are available from all the racing damper suppliers - Bilstein, Koni, Spax, AVO etc etc in Europe. I would keep to a European supplier that is fully conversant with the typical road conditions on this side of the pond so you can be more confident in their recommendations. Spring rate will be determined by the corner weights of the vehicle and the maximum available compression (essentially how heavy/low the vehicule is)

The same is true for the front of the vehicle and if you have a two bolt strut then the supply is good being very similar to Porsche 944 struts that are used extensively used in racing.

Spax do a complte coilover kit called the RSX but you will have to tell them there are no torsion bars so the right spring rate is given.

Why are you getting rid if the torsion bars? Adding a coil over to the TBs is very practical for a road car whereas without the TBs and the use of a uniball/rod end will transmit road harshness and vibration into the chassis that will be unpleasant. Uniballs/rod ends are best for the track only. Also, unless you use rod ends at the front with spherical top mounts then there will be an inbalance between front and rear suspension.

Clive

[Hinken]

Originally Posted by evilC

Why are you getting rid if the torsion bars? Adding a coil over to the TBs is very practical for a road car whereas without the TBs and the use of a uniball/rod end will transmit road harshness and vibration into the chassis that will be unpleasant. Uniballs/rod ends are best for the track only. Also, unless you use rod ends at the front with spherical top mounts then there will be an inbalance between front and rear suspension.

Clive

Can I just swap the original shockabsorber for a coilover, if I keep the torsionbars? I dont want it to be ultra stiff, the roads we have aren´t the best.

I had 1303 which was lowered with just turning the torsionsbars, and it was pretty stiff.

Do you recommend any shop?

Edit: I have done some more searching.. I think ill keep the torsionbars and add a coilover. Please give some tips on stores and which coilovers that are good.

[Obiwan]

Hi Hinken,

They are sevral coilover manufacturers in the UK taht you can contact.

For example, I will contact LA perforamnce for my future front & rear AVO coilover setup LA performance - suspension

[Hinken]

Originally Posted by Obiwan

Hi Hinken,

They are sevral coilover manufacturers in the UK taht you can contact.

For example, I will contact LA perforamnce for my future front & rear AVO coilover setup LA performance - suspension

I emailed LA performance last night, waiting for a answer I guess he knows his stuff.

[evilC]

Originally Posted by Hinken

Can I just swap the original shockabsorber for a coilover, if I keep the torsionbars? I dont want it to be ultra stiff, the roads we have aren´t the best.

I had 1303 which was lowered with just turning the torsionsbars, and it was pretty stiff.

Do you recommend any shop?

Edit: I have done some more searching.. I think ill keep the torsionbars and add a coilover. Please give some tips on stores and which coilovers that are good.

Lowering the 1303 won't have increased the spring rate so it should not have been stiffer? To give you an indication on the suitable coil spring rate in addition to the torsion bars we need to know the corner weights (are they standard?). I would guess that you probably only want to stiffen the rear by around 30% so the rear coil won't be much more than 100lb/in.

As to suppliers, the list that I gave still applies although if you talk to AVO (who supply LAP) and Spax they will advise a suitable damper rates to go with the coil spring/TB combination. You would be best to talk to their competion department as they are more used to the bespoke set ups. They will need to know the lever arm distances of the TB centre to both the damper bottom mount and to the centreline of the axle to calculate the wheel rate. The standard torsion bars are 22.5mm diameter. For a road car I would recommend poly bushes in the eyes rather than the uniballs to keep the NVH under control.

Clive