Choosing Sports Spring For Your Car

Lowering Your Car Properly Using Sports Springs


Rate vs. Load vs. Sag

It's all too easy to get lost in suspension lingo. However, when it comes to springs, there are a few terms that you should get familiar with and understand.

- Spring rates are generally rated in pounds per inch (lb/in), which represents the amount of force required to compress the coil spring by 1 inch. For example, a 900 lb/in spring will compress 1 inch under a load of 900 pounds. This is not the same thing as pounds per square inch (psi), which is a measure of pressure.

- Spring load is the amount of weight that a coil spring can support at any given compressed height. More simply put, if a 10-inch-tall spring at free height with a 200 lb/in rate were compressed to a height of 6 inches, it would be supporting 800 pounds at that height.

- Spring sag happens over time and will eventually drop a car's ride height even lower. While this won't affect its spring rate, it can cause other problems, such as ground clearance, causing the tires to rub or the chassis to compress onto the bumpstops.

Be sure to check your alignment any time you alter the ride height. While lowering your street machine will vastly improve the center of gravity for better handling, it can also increase negative camber--the inward tilt of the top of the tire (as shown above). This causes excessive wear on both the tire and suspension components.

Hope this info will help you when considering to lower your car.

Fitting a Car Performance Body Kit

How To Match Your Car Performance Body Kit

Choosing the right car performance body kit for your vehicle depends upon whether you're adding these features for performance, style or a combination of both. In addition, cost and materials can be significant factors when you select the skirt, spoilers and bumpers for your car.

Step 1
Select a car performance body kit based upon your specific performance needs. For instance, a ground skirt kit can improve aerodynamics and reduce the amount of lift underneath your car, which could cause you to lose control at high speeds. A spoiler on the rear deck lid can also reduce wind resistance and carve a few tenths of a second off your sprint times.

Step 2
Choose a body kit for your performance car based upon the materials used and the overall cost of those materials. For instance, fiberglass offers a better-looking level of fit and finish over urethane and is less expensive, but it is easily damaged in collisions. In addition, new types of resin-infused fiberglass have been developed in the United States in recent years, which combine the strengths of both materials at a significantly higher cost.

Step 3
Ask for the manufacturer's recommendations when you select a car performance body kit. By checking with the car maker, you may be able to find a body kit that has been designed with your specific make and model in mind. By picking a body kit that has been approved by the manufacturer, you may reduce the chances of voiding your warranty due to excessive modifications.

Step 4
Seek the advice of a respected body kit installer for a specific recommendation for your vehicle. These installers should have a lot of experience with what does and doesn't work out in the street and on the track. Ask for references, look at their portfolios and discuss your options.

Step 5
Use online resources, such as Mudah.my or any other Car Modifications sites, to select the right body kit for your performance car (see Resources beside). Many of these websites offer virtual galleries so that you can see mock-ups of the body kits on your specific vehicle before you make a purchase.