H&R race springs ride really soft?

[DunKrS]

I have all 4 koni sport shocks (yellows) I bought brand new about a year ago, and just purchased H&R race springs to go with them. So far the ride is not what I was expecting, K have the shocks on full stiff and it's still really plush and over larger dips and bumps at speed it does a slow motion bounce. I was expecting it to be firm if not a bit harsh, but it's mushy and loose. I have 205/60/15s on, but I don't know if the feeling can solely attributed to tires.
I can even shove on the trunk or front fenders and it takes a good bounce and a half to come to a rest. Again, brand new springs on year old koni sport shocks, not blown, on max stiffness setting all the way around. Other information that may be important, neuspeed 4 point front strut bar, megan rear strut bar, vigor sway bar on the rear. Car is a 4 door ex. I was almost kinda excited for a harsh sporty ride but it rides only sligbtly stiffer than stock I feel like. My driver side rear koni needs to be sent it for warranty because it's adjuster no longer stops while adjusting it. It free spins infinitely with no stopping point so I can't say for sure it is at full stiff but the other 3 are, but other than that they are healthy with no leaks or anything. Any input about the ride of other members cars with this setup would be great. I'm at a loss for why my car rides so mushy and takes as many bounces to come back to a rest... I'm especially worried because I don't forsee them stiffening up over time. In fact I would assume the opposite would occur. =(

[93twodoorLX]

well a couple of things i think could be a problem. First would be that if the springs are brand new they probably have some settling to do before they are at their normal operation. secondly i believe h&r race springs are progressive. meaning they might have a few coils at the top of the spring that are "softer" then once those are compressed the reaminder of the spring offers the stiffness. someone correct me if im wrong, but i have h&r sports which ARE progressive. nice ride but good handling.

-sean

[buzz11]

What suspension setup did you ride before? If you compare the Yellows/Race with FnF type 2.5, the ride is going to feel a bit softer. But besides that, i did have the same problem with the adjuster but that was because the 2 nuts were loose. I almost have the same setup as yours. You should feel pretty stiff with the koni's on MAX and H&R race. To be even more stiff!, I would upgrade the rear sway bar if possible to progress or ST. The vigor bar is great but I would get aftermarket to be stiff. I would upgrade the front sway bar also. It makes for a bit more understeer but the stiffness is there.

[illinois_erik]

why did you set the shocks at full hardness out of the box. sounds like you f d them up, iirc it even says not to do that you do like a 1/4 way to break them in for 1000 miles then you can set them how you see fit, i put mine in out of the box and gave the fronts just a twerk, and im on some H&R sport cups and its like riding a cloud and i can carve turns like on rails

[buzz11]

why did you set the shocks at full hardness out of the box. sounds like you f d them up, iirc it even says not to do that you do like a 1/4 way to break them in for 1000 miles then you can set them how you see fit, i put mine in out of the box and gave the fronts just a twerk, and im on some H&R sport cups and its like riding a cloud and i can carve turns like on rails

Wow. I didn't know your not suppose to adjust before 1000 miles. Good info for future reference. Luckily for me, I always break in parts before more modding/ adjusting. I think I drove a good few months even before I played around with the firmness

[illinois_erik]

Wow. I didn't know your not suppose to adjust before 1000 miles. Good info for future reference. Luckily for me, I always break in parts before more modding/ adjusting. I think I drove a good few months even before I played around with the firmness

dont quote me on it as i installed them about a year and a half ago and before that looking up stuff i think i came across something along those lines, but luckily those shocks can be rebuilt even revalved for something custom and its cheaper then new, but the downtime is what sucks unless you have spares for the turn around. have you checked for leakage inspected the boots for tears or pitting /scratches on the strut rod, make sure the adjustment tabs are clean and free moving, i found some vinyl caps for mine to keep out the crap accumulated under the hood

[jdm92_accorn]

If its bouncing with h&r race springs, odds are its time for new struts, time to rebuild the struts or take some weight out of the trunk. When the front struts on our cars get weak you hardly notice but when the rears get worn down it floats like hell. Also +1 on the progress rear sway, its probably the best suspension upgrade Ive done so far, besides full new oem bushing, balljoints and steering rack.

[gloryaccordy]

Yea the Koni Yellows are excellent at low speed damping, your shits are blown, mine didn't budge on Neuspeed Sports when you pushed the trunk/hood down, and that was on like the 2nd softest setting

[xkjnboix]

its your tires !. I am rolling on 195/60/15 oem rims while im restoring my 16" konigs. Currently Im tucking tire rolling on F&FT2's about 17/36 clicks front and 15/36 clicks rear ( you always want the rear to be softer for DD otherwise you are going to bounce like crazy with or without a spare tire ). My ride quality took a shit for soft when u put on the fat sidewall oem 15"s. IF you want FIRM you need a lower profile tire at least in the front ( either a 45 or 50 profile 15" )

You will also be amazed at how much the Energy Suspension Master bushing kit will improve ride quality! After I installed it, the cb7 takes bumps like a champ ( Bag runners are amazed at my static ride quality )

Ive never used koni struts so i cant tell you about how firm or soft they range, because i believe in a full threaded shock body for a TRUE coilover.

[10thAnnivCB7]

Do you have any pictures of how the car sits with the konis and H&R race springs ?

I'm definitely going with Koni yellows but I'm not sure if I should go with the H&R race or sports.

Just got my 2 front upper control arms done. Once I get most of the important parts on the suspension done and the energy master kit then I want to do this.

[DunKrS]

Well that escalated quickly.... so I was worried everyone would just jump to conclusions. The struts are barely a year old and spent the first 6 months of their life on my car on stock springs on full soft. I live in a small town with very smooth roads, they do not leak. they still look brand new besides the few scuffs from taking the stock springs off and putting the h&r's on.

So I'm starting to think it's probably just my tires, I have some new 215/45/r17's to put on and I'll just have to see how it rides once I get them installed. And I'm going to start the warranty process for the left rear shock.

[gloryaccordy]

Maybe you are low on air?

[deevergote]

I've had H&R Race and Koni Yellows before, and the ride was compliant, but far from soft. Granted, I got it all used from a friend, so any breaking in was already done. Sean could be right about the breakin period.

The best thing to do is adjust your shocks. Although I spent most of my time on full soft, it's likely not ideal for the rate and travel of the springs. Setting the shocks a bit stiffer may firm up the ride without making it too harsh.

Tires as well. If the tires are too soft, the tread is too deep, or the size is too large for the wheel (like if those 215/45/17s are going onto 7" wide wheels) then your ride is definitely going to be pretty squishy.

[19dabeast85]

Lol at you guys thinking you can dial in koni yellows. Their adjustment range is a joke. Go with bilsteins or for actual matched adjustability, f&f.

What rim are you running those 205s on? Should be a 7-8" rim. Otherwise you lose performance

Begin with all new polly bushings and increase tire pressure (temporarily) to 35 psi and see what response you get.

[DunKrS]

My shocks are set as stiff as they go deev, but I've noticed that the ride has progressively gotten stiff like I had hoped they would be. The dead coils were not so dead to start with and were not sitting on eachother but actually acting as part of the spring. But now they are resting on eachother and the actual portion of the spring that is supposed to do the work is doing the work now without the aid of the dead coils. The tires are still very plush and cushy, but it's nice to know I can have my car be comfy or sporty based on my wheel and tire combo. I have 3 sets of wheels and tires and don't mind changing them to achieve a certain ride quality. Thanks for the input everyone, I guess I kinda jumped the gun and should've just trusted the H&R and Koni engineers!

I definitely want a progress rear sway bar though. There seems to be a lot of misinformation on oem upgrade front swaybars after you have an ex front swaybar. I tried to find a 94-97 ex swaybar and it was larger but did not fit. What are my options?