QA1 Coil over spring deflection

[Van B]

Anyone have any experience with spring deflection on QA1 coil overs? After returning from Faceoff at Road America the car was sitting lower on the passenger side so I went to adjust the spring up a little to even it out. I noticed a small divot worn in the shock body right about at the middle of it's travel.

I had just installed the Ridetech rear suspension in my 67 with 250# (I think) rear springs. Are the QA1 springs crappy springs, or do I have something else going on?

[ArtosDracon]

pics?

[dhutton]

I had the same problem with the Varishock springs on my G-Bar. How high are you on the adjuster nuts? I was quite high so I went with an Eibach 14 inch long spring instead of the 12 inch. Problem was solved. To install that longer spring I used an Chassisworks coilover spring compressor. The G-Bar comes with 175 pound springs, 250 sounds quite high to me. I've tried 165, 175 and 185 and finally settled on the 165's.

Edit: Longer springs might not be a good idea afterall. I had a shock failure the day after I wrote this...

[Van B]

Might have been 250#. I couldn't find my paperwork when I was writing the post. I am pretty far down on the shock with the adjuster. Will try to post a pic later.

[Van B]

Here is a photo of the shock. Notice how the QA1 decal is partially gone on the right side? There is a small divot where it used to be.

[ArtosDracon]

That is definitely not good, if you're getting that much deflection in the spring, and through motion(can tell by the vertical scrapes) it is very likely that the shaft of the shock is bent. and with that much deviation, you're probably not getting the proper damping because the seals on the sides of the piston are likely not sealing right anymore. I would definitely call QA1. Are you using their recommended spring length?

[MrQuick]

less angle on that coil over would help too.

vince

[killer69]

a 150 lb spring is light. specially since your shocks are not vertical. as the shock moves off vertical you need to increase the spring rate to compensate, so say the shock was mounted at 20 deg you need to take say 200 starting spring rate and divide it by a factor of .88 so that would require a 225-230 lb spring.
our torque arm kit runs the shocks vertical and we supply a 220 lb spring.
if the spring is too light i might suspect the coil would go into bind on a big bump. that is turn could cause the shock to bend??? and then start the spring rubbing? all speculation tho

[Van B]

Yeah, I am a moron as stated in another post by another guy with shock troubles. I called the vendor that I got the stuff from and he was pretty sure he gave me 250# springs but knew they were not 150.

I do not have a photographic memory when it comes to specs like some of the guys here. I guess I will jack it up and look tonight.

[Van B]

less angle on that coil over would help too.

vince

I didn't create the shock angle, only installed what the vendor sells, therefore would think it would be right.

[dhutton]

Yeah, I am a moron as stated in another post by another guy with shock troubles. I called the vendor that I got the stuff from and he was pretty sure he gave me 250# springs but knew they were not 150.

I do not have a photographic memory when it comes to specs like some of the guys here. I guess I will jack it up and look tonight.

Sorry Jeff, I wasn't calling you a moron. I was just pointing out that you thought they were 250 pound springs until I questioned it and then you thought they might be 150. I was clarifying this for some folks that were saying you had problems because you had 150 pound springs. If anyone was a moron, apparently it was me. It seems that G-Bars run higher spring rates now than they did on my early version. Sounds like the standard rate now is 200. Sorry again for making it sound like I thought you were a moron. That is far from the case.

Why don't you follow those calculations that were posted in my thread and see what rate you come up with.

[Van B]

Sorry Jeff, I wasn't calling you a moron. I was just pointing out that you thought they were 250 pound springs until I questioned it and then you thought they might be 150. I was clarifying this for some folks that were saying you had problems because you had 150 pound springs. If anyone was a moron, apparently it was me. It seems that G-Bars run higher spring rates now than they did on my early version. Sounds like the standard rate now is 200. Sorry again for making it sound like I thought you were a moron. That is far from the case.

Why don't you follow those calculations that were posted in my thread and see what rate you come up with.

No worries. I was poking fun at myself as much as anything. I'll check the numbers tonight. I am not sure I will know what to do with them. lol

[79T/Aman]

this is common and should be expected with coil over, springs bow as they are compressed.

[LowBuckX]

This sucks. I just installed coil overs and used the recommended spring length from QA1 but Im thinking I went too soft....

Anyway Ive seen in catalogs plastic sleeves that instal bettween spring and shock to prevent scuffing.

[Van B]

Keepin mind that I saw this after a track weekend your results may vary. I did not get a chance to check my spring rate but after looking at it last night I wonder if I had the right side fully compressed and that is when it happened.

[Van B]

All right. I am sure I am going to take some grief for this. My springs are 10 inch free length, 275 lb. From everyone's opinion I have seen, I should have a more than heavy enough spring. Is there anything else I am missing like shock length?

After some thought the only other explanation that I can think of is that the car was possibly driven without the spring seated straight on the shock. I know my fab guy drove the car to check it out after the suspension install but I can't imagine he would have had something like that happen and not tell me.

My solution for now is to put some masking tape over the worn spot and keep an eye on it to see if it gets worn off.

[dhutton]

Jeff, your springs are too short. Just kidding....:)

[cobraguy65]

this is common and should be expected with coil over, springs bow as they are compressed.

I agree. especially on small diameter (2 1/2") springs.

[Van B]

Jeff, your springs are too short. Just kidding....:)

This just in, the guy in post #6 may be right. I am pulling it apart in the morning to see if I have a bent shock. Could be a possible explanation why it has been sagging to the passenger side since I got back from Faceoff at Road America.

Most guys would have figured it out right away, but I am equal parts busy and lazy and sometimes take a while to absorb things.

[parsonsj]

Jeff,

Both my rear shocks did the same thing, to the point that it wore off some of the threads on the shock body. I put it down as "racing parts on the street" and didn't worry too much about it.

jp

[Van B]

Jeff,

Both my rear shocks did the same thing, to the point that it wore off some of the threads on the shock body. I put it down as "racing parts on the street" and didn't worry too much about it.

jp

Good to know. I am going to pull it apart to check anyway, doesn't take long. I don't like how I have the right side cranked up near the top of the threads and the left in the bottom of the middle third and the car still sits low on the right. It sat that way a little with leafs, I just attributed it to the technology of leaf springs.

[Van B]

Here are my observations. QA1's recommendation for my shock is a 12" spring. Mine are 10", 275 lb. Would a lighter weight 12" spring cure my problem?

In reading DHutton's post, with the Chassisworks setup a 200lb, 12" spring is recommended. From what I understand the Airbar system is very similar in design. My vendor might have given me a heavier spring knowing my car would see a fair amount of track use, but is it too heavy?

I spoke with QA1 earlier. They need the rear weight of my car in order to recommend a spring, which I will get as soon as I can borrow my buddy's corner scales.

[dhutton]

Here are my observations. QA1's recommendation for my shock is a 12" spring. Mine are 10", 275 lb. Would a lighter weight 12" spring cure my problem?

In reading DHutton's post, with the Chassisworks setup a 200lb, 12" spring is recommended. From what I understand the Airbar system is very similar in design. My vendor might have given me a heavier spring knowing my car would see a fair amount of track use, but is it too heavy?

I spoke with QA1 earlier. They need the rear weight of my car in order to recommend a spring, which I will get as soon as I can borrow my buddy's corner scales.

Nick from Chassisworks posted instructions for determining the correct spring rate in my post. You can use any springs (even your 275 pound ones) to determine the correct rate using the compressed length, uncompressed length and the desired shock compression at ride height. I'm going to try this when I get my shocks back.