lan_evo_mr9

iTrader: (10)

I posted a thread on how I just put hotchkis springs on my MR9. People are saying these are the wrong springs and my struts are going to blow. Why would AMS sell me the wrong springs? How would my struts blow if the drop is so little, they came with new bumpstops, and the spring rate is damn near identical ( 5 lbs under on the front and 5 lbs over on the rear)?

I now have read that Swift and Work spring are made for the MR. The only thing I can gather from the information on those springs is that they are more specifically engineered for the bilsteins. Is it because the bilsteins are 30% softer that they could blow? I haven't been able to get a definitive answer and I would like to know before I do any potential damage to my new baby.

lan_evo_mr9

iTrader: (10)

I guess no one truly knows the answer. Oh well, I'll just hope for the best and if they blow put the stockers back on and get warrantied.

dcvolki

iTrader: (9)

never heard hotchkis or any other company makes spring for special to MR...

EvoRicer

iTrader: (7)

Every other Evo MR has used the same springs used for all the other Evos...they havent blown anything...

djskyy

iTrader: (14)

relaxxxxxxxxxx............you got nothing to worry about....

TEXSRT4

just remember, people are morons...enough said

fromWRXtoEVO

iTrader: (18)

I am afraid that what you heard is right. I am not agaisnt the flow of AMS but I had similar experience on my MR.
I put some Tein H springs 2" F, .9" R and my struts blew up within the first 3 days.
My MR was absolutely trashed, all 4 of my shocks were leaking very bad, the undercarriage was oily all over, my car was making noises when I was going over the bumps and the worst of all, I completly wear out my front tires within a couple of weeks.

It was a very bad experience, I start to belive the suspension on the MR is very unique and matched to the Bilsteins.

My friend Matt(Sloweveo) has the Hotschkin on his 05 Blue Evo and it looks really low and aggresive but I really would not mess around much, I was very very disapointed with my results(I posted a topic in evolutionmr.net a year ago)

I am not aware of the spring load of the Hotchkin compared to the Teins but be very aware that on the MR you can't just put anything.. what you heard wasn't a rumor, it is real..

Carlos

TEXSRT4

the MR handles so well because of suspension travel. it is valves softer, which means that it makes up for it in travle. when you lower it you have to stiffen it up, and when this occours you exit the reasonable specs of the struts, and you end up blowing them. the way to prevent this is to be mild on the drop. realise that the car is designed to have some suspension travle, so dont get rid of it all together.

you can also swap out the struts for a brand new set (struts have memory) or for an aftermarket set, and prevent all these problems! or just blow the money and get a set of KWv3's!!!!!!!!

Most-Wanted

iTrader: (88)

The mr's rear perches are different and the only spring maufacturers are works and espelir I believe. The drop is only 7/8". If you replaced them with something different than those two with a more aggressive drop you will more than likely blow the struts. This is from what I've gathered on the net

Warrtalon

iTrader: (6)

Most-Wanted, include Swift springs, too.

Andrew LB

I've been told by a few shops that anything that gives you more than a 1.5" drop will cause your shocks to have a shorter lifespan. I'm probably going 1.5 front and 1.0 rear.

djskyy

iTrader: (14)

no matter how you look at it...your OEM shocks will go out quicker w/ any aftermarket springs...it could go out the next day, it could go out 10-yrs from now, who knows...if you're worrying about it so much, you should've saved up and picked up some coilovers instead...

CBRD

iTrader: (60)

well.....

it is true what people are saying, serious lowering will result in premature damper failure. However.... bilsteins have an inherent spring rate because of the gas charge.... you will notice most people use combinations like h&r/bilstein because the softer spring balances itself with a stiffer damper rate.. or eibach/koni which generally is the opposite.... of course this isnt true as u get into more expensive dampers...

On our EVO MR project car we just used standard Eibach springs, and I am more than pleased with the results. The lowering is about an inch, and we did not trim the bump stops.... The rear perch on the MR was a tiny bit narrower than the standard EVO setup, so we put rubber clear hose over the spring to isolate it.

I've put 7500 miles on the car without a problem, and I have had it on the track briefly, but not abusively.

Most people that lower the cars excessively tend to trim the bump rubbers, which of course allows you to "bottom" the shock out.

If you just did a moderate drop (no more than an inch) you should be fine. We have lowered plenty of bilstein equipped cars over the past few years... from bmw, porsche, etc...... without a problem. Generally, you never want to lower a car more than 1.25" or so on a standard damper...thats what coilovers are for, and even then performance is reduced.

anyway..... my 2 cents....

chad b
chadblock.com
cbrdspeedfactory.com

lan_evo_mr9

iTrader: (10)

Here's another thought or possibility. I'm not sure if this would work but what if I bought the MR specific bumpstops from works for the springs that match my drop of height? Is that an option or just stupid, because they way I look at it a spring is a spring and it's the bump stop that's preventing the damage. Someone correct me if this thought process is wrong.

CBRD

iTrader: (60)

ill have to do some damper measurements, or dyno them for kicks...

we generally actually lessen the bump gap on purpose with packers and such...

i know.... race car drivers... hee he...

ill try to measure some damper travel this weekend.

cb