949 BGK: Too much for the street?
 

The car: Stock suspension '91. 205/50/15 RE-11's on 15x7.5. Stockish 1.6 (head had a little work by Rebello), currently NA but will eventually be unnaturally (thanks California!). FM Happymeal, 4.1 torsen, blah blah blah

I'm looking into getting the 949 Big Grip Kit but am worried it's going to be too much spring (700/400) for a spirited, fair-weather daily driver/ weekend backroads car. I have zero intentions of tracking nor autocrossing the car.

Does anyone have any input as far as these spring rates on bumpy city roads? Or better yet, single lane back roads that haven't been paved since 1950. And if you don't recommend them, what springs should I purchase?

And would the spherical upper mounts be a worthwhile investment? It's the noise of NVH I cannot stand. The other two I consider a free back massage.


I apologize beforehand for any misspellings or grammar or plain stupidity. I'm leaving for basic training for the Air Force in a week so my mind is slightly elsewhere. Shoot, I don't even know if I'm going to keep this car (but the information will be useful as I have zero intention of being miataless wherever I end up).

Thanks,
Stephen

I dont mind my 650/400 (would have gotten 700 but nationally back ordered when I needed them) on the street. Its much better than the factory r-package suspension with fcm bumpstops was. And I drive in the city in the north east. Do you even have pot holes in california, much less ones that can make your car disappear?

I wish I got the upper mounts, I hate how the plastic spring cups match up to the NB mounts and pretty much let everything shift around at full droop.

I can comment to how that big rear bar effects handling. I run the same front bar as that kit with no rear bar.

I have 700/400, its comfy for the most part. I wouldnt daily on it though, the big bumps are a little too firm. Atleast for me.

But I have pretty much the whole setup. Xida CS, 949 sway bar set, bushings. It handles damn well.

i run 700/350 on my street only daily (previous owner used to track it). it is a bit too harsh for crusing around the streets especially with socals crappy roads but for decent canyon roads it is absolutely amazing. im willing to make the sacrifice

i personally think the BGK is pretty appealing for an aggressive street car

For street-only applications, you should definitely go with much lower rates.
High rates actually lose grip on large back road bumps.
Even 400f/300r is a bit on the high side.
Try and find a recently done FCM coilover setup with mild rates, circa 350f/250r.

How much tire are you planning to run? Match the springs to the grip.

Respectfully...you have clearly never driven or ridden in a Xida car. I have 700/400 on my track car (wish I went higher) and 600/400 on my daily. I chose those rates for my daily after driving my track car for a couple years, and put them in a car that sees 30-40k miles per year on the shittiest of Houston roads.

High rates "lose grip" when there is too much compression damping, this is not the case on the Xidas.

NB uppers are good, not sure if spherical are worth the cash on a street car.

You're forgotten what it's like to crash bump-stops. If it's too rough, twist the knobs. I've lived all over the country and there is a certain level of "badness"which cannot be exceeded, and then there's gravel roads. Houston downtown and Heights neighborhoods have some of the worst roads in the country. The nasty craters sound just as bad in the Cherokee as they do my Miata.

Lol, maybe im just getting spoiled. My car used to ride horribly on lowering springs + billies. the xidas do ride incredible for the rates im on.

I have 550/350 springs, and I like it a lot. From what I understand, going as high as 700/400 will only really help you out more if you are going to be running 225-wide r-compounds or stickier tires, so for a DD they just don't make that much sense.

If/when I want to stop DDing it and turn it into a full time track car or weekend cruiser, the new springs would be cheap.

LOL

Guys I want a street suspension
-"700LB XIDA BRO"

Guys I drive the car daily on terrible roads
-"700LB XIDA BRO"

Guys I want a comfortable ride that doesn't make every tiny little bump felt
-"700LB XIDA BRO"

Guys I want a budget suspension
-"$2000 XIDA BRO"

Makes me laugh. I'm sorry, if you think a 700lb race coilover is cool for a daily driver on terrible roads, you need to get the fuck back into the RACE section and stay there.

Have you ever driven on them? They defy conventional logic.

Anyone who has driven on a high end shock would understand. When I first tried Ohlins Motorsports on my Audi I was amazed at the ride quality even though they were spring almost twice what was normally considered streetable.

The secret is in the valving. XIDA's with dual springs is one of those rare situations where you gain on both ends.

DaveC- 205/50/15 RE-11's for now. Don't plan on stickier tires anytime soon. I see Emilio recommends 450/300 for that sized tire.

18psi- Are you happy with the FM Illumina kit? I have been eyeing their 2.5 as well. Seems like a very quality setup (with equal rave reviews) for the cash.

Mentioning the FM 2.5 kit and the 949 BGK in the same thread even is just ridiculous. They are completely different classes of suspension components in every aspect.

There are a lot of guys who have positively reviewed the Illuminas, yes - and every one of them has zero experience with anything better, so they have no reference.

People rave about the FM 2.5 kit when they upgrade from worn out and blown stock suspension. People rave about XIDAS when they upgrade from other high-end coilovers.

What does everyone think about the poly control arm bushings? I've heard complaints about poly bushings binding and squeaking.

If you were going to get Xidas, would you do the control arm bushings with them or not? Car is street driven to work once a week or so, will go to a HPDE once every month or two.

I would only do the bushing on a car like that if they were shot, and I would do new stiffer rubber ones., not poly.

And, they're likely not shot. I just installed FCM on my 200K mile car and the rubber bushings were fine. I was surprised.

With poly, you need to commit to maintaining otherwise they'll bind and you're worse off. 949 has great pictures of where to install grease fittings for periodic servicing.

Well there you go. If you have Emilio's advice then you really don't need anyone else's. :) Seriously, if you want to create an awesome driving experience on the road (and you're not already spoiled by super sticky racing tires) then those tires and those springs should be amazing.

I've been running Prothane poly bushings for two seasons and would not go back to rubber on this car. It's a package deal, obviously. The precision location comes with a little increase in harshness, but the lower friction is a HUGE plus. Hard to explain, but it really makes the car more fun to drive... for me, other people have different opinions.

I installed them in the spring of 2011 using generous quantities of ES lube (available from 949.) After 20k miles I still have no squeaks, but they're probably coming along with increased friction. I'll see what they look like when/if I have to pull the suspension apart. I might add zerks or I might just repack with ES lube. I'm sure the ES stuff lasts longer; anything from a grease gun will probably need to be 'refreshed' regularly. I wouldn't bother putting in ordinary grease without zerks.

I got 550/350 springs on mine. Love it for daily driving. Right now I have shitty 195 all seasons on it, but I'm not looking for the fastest times through the snow right now. I haven't gotten it on a track yet, so I can't say what they will do first-hand. Though I can say the car now takes corners fast enough that it is scary to try to push the limits on the street.