stock spring rate specs for AE85

[AE85.6]

just curious as to what the stock spring rates from an AE85 are, does anyone know what the kg per mm or lb per inch specs are ???

reason being ive asked what to replace them with spec wise but just curious to see difference between the two and it will help for choosing the new parts

cheers

[TRD Man]

On an AE86 - fronts are 115lb, rears are 135lb.

Just to help a bit.
TRD street spec springs are - 180lb front, 170lb rear.
TRD rally spec are - 150lb front, 145lb rear.
Race spec springs range from 270lb to 500lb front & 245lb to 565lb rear.

[AE85.6]

huh shouldnt front be harder than the rear ? drifter4ag said he had 12kg/mm on the front and 6kg/mm on the rear ?

or harder ones on the rear so it slides easier, softer on the front to cut in and turn a bit more,

if i go to hard on the front then compared to the back the front will not lean in at all and will make it understeer easier i spose ????

[PumpN]

no, the front end carries most of the weight of the vehicle read: a huge hunk of metal resembling an engine, where as there is hardly anything in comparison in the rump
You want them like that so that there is more balance, remember you dont want too much body roll at the front (same as the rear) if you have too soft springs on the front not only does it look like arse but the weight shifts more to the outside wheel and reduces grip by heaps on the inside wheel and your not using your two tyres to their full potential and it will probably induce understeer.
8kg front, and 6kg rear seems to be popular for amatuer drift in japan, and is supposed to be at the limits of a streetable spring rate, but then in high ranking D1 drivers are known to have spring rates of 12kg (+) at all corners

[AE85.6]

aha cheers once again PumpN, ye i think ill stick with the 8kg front and 6kg rear should be good i think, 12kg prob a bit heavy for me and it is still a fairly light car so i wont go that extreame, not sayin it doesnt work well thou i have seen Drifter4ag pulling off some pretty mean slides.

[suberimakuri]

turbo gear and what not adds up a little bit more.
In the rear.. most of our weight is in the hilux diff too..

In any case.. you'd be surprised at what's "streetable"..
8/6 would be good. You would probably get away with that on the track... but your car would be leaning a bit more... like Bungs 86 (white Dcorp one) compared to Drifter4ags.

Also.. for an ae86, there are different spring rates depending on the car specification.
GTV had stiffer then APEX..... and AE85 were softer still.

Also.. the TRD Rally spec springs quoted are damn soft....
softer then Kings/Jamex springs. And I personally wouldn't even go on gravel with kings springs at speed.. it'd wobble all over the place.

At the end of the day.. get some short stiff as gas shocks too to hold it all together..
If you've got money Tokico HTS range perhaps.

[AE85.6]

so 8 and 6 would be ok for street and a little track action aslong as i try get some stiff shox and will prob throw couple strut braces on too, i was planning on compressing or chopping a little more off the springs so hopefully that will reduse roll a little more. no hilux rear end at moment so its still fairly light in the rear, will prob just use an 86 rear end that will start sourcing later,

[suberimakuri]

Ok.... everyone has their own suspension preferences and theories. but here goes.

The hilux rear is unsprung.. so it won't require you to run a higher then normal spring rate, as the springs will only work on the body.
You will see Japanese SR20 powered ae86s running 14kg front, and 6kg rear for example.

And, don't get me wrong.... it's not like you're going to roll off the track or anything like that.
Just in my personal preference, it might be a little softer then my optimal for nz tracks I have driven on.
But as you said you're going to be street driving it, it should be a great comprimise.

Changing the swaybar bushes will make the initial turn in much better, as the car doesn't have to "flop" or "roll" onto the swaybar.

Strut braces will help regardless... in fact they almost do the opposite and make stiffer spring rates feel "less stiff". I don't really know how to say it. ... maybe like running better shocks... the body doesn't flop around as much like springs flop around with soggy shocks.
Doing the castor rod bushes help here too. The wheel isn't "pushed back" by every bump and by the road when cornering.


Don't expect the inside front wheel to give much grip... except that if it's off the ground, you may find that the back inside wheel is getting light too... depending how hard you're on the gas.

When going sideways over ripple strips you can feel the inside wheel run over them, but it doesn't seem to upset the car. Poor driver gringes a lot though.

If it was bad... then wouldn't expensive race cars avoid them (v8 supercars, jgtc, etc)?. (not talking about f1 as I don't follow it).

[86 Power]

I have 8kg / 6kg and took it to the track on Sunday. I can't compare it to anything else really since this was my first time. But I can say that I do drive it everyday and shocks seem to be the biggest determant of how bangy the ride will be. Also, get out on the track cause it's mean fun. Just make sure you have some good pads and all the safety bits. You will quickly be able to pinpoint what areas of handling you would like to improve.

Best to get some coilovers for the front, or you run out of travel when you lower it lots.

I have GT4 front and Mark II Corona rear KYB shocks. I would like to upgrade these to an adjustable eventually.

I have done the 4 link arm bushes which helps with throttle input control and high speed stability. I will do the rest of the bushes eventually also.

I am not sure about the effect of sway bars, I have an AE85 sway bar clamped to the rear AE86 one. Anyone have any experience with upgraded sway bars?

[suberimakuri]

cool bro.... was that at the manfield open day?

[86 Power]

No, this was a club Sprint day at Pukekohe run by the Commodore Club NZ. I went with the Northern Sports Car Club.

We were timed for 3 lap sprints. I was doing about 1:25 laps but with some skids at the hairpin so I could definitely get down to 1:24 or even 1:23 with some good braking etc. But this was my first time so trying to stay safe. Damn fun though!

I think manfield would be a nicer track to start drifting on. I think the corner after the front straight at Pukekohe is a damn hard one drift! Gives me a greater appreciation for the guys out there at D1.

What times do you normally run around the circuit?

I would like to try Manfield next. Bit of a hike if something goes wrong but

[suberimakuri]

I haven't timed my runs...... can't remember what drifter4ag got or bung either....

1:24 sounds pretty good though.

[Stealer Of Souls]

When i upgraded my front sway bar on my 85.5 the effect was reasonably dramatic. I also did the bushes at the same time so it's not 100% comparable.

Turn in was improved and cornering is much flatter. It's much more responsive now. Which is partly due to the bushes as well... But now I need to upgrade the rear bar to return the handling bias/balance to what I want... Leaning a little more toward understeer now during street driving... Can't wait to try it on the track... but I'm not gonna get a chance till early next year...

I think the strut brace thing is to do with roll resistance of the chassiss and accompanying system. Less chassiss flex which improves the rate at which weight is transferred. The springs are able to resist the roll better and the shocks will help to return the car to the full upright position... good for landing a plane...
I think that's right... it's been a couple of months since I read the tuning guide I got from the library.