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Corrolla KE 20/25, lower springs choice,help needed.


charasmat

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Hi Guys, I have a corolla ke 25 and because the car  is sitting so high. plus the 12" wheels with high profil tires,handling around corners and overall is average to poor. So i decide to make some changes,but because i don't know exactly what to do and also funds are limited,i am asking here for your help if anybody has done this on the cheap.

To start with,i have never seen a brand name lower spring live to compare it with the oem ones so  if my question is stupid please ignore it.Are the lower springs suppose to be physically lower in dimensions comparing to original ones,or are the same height as the original but because they are progressive?? they are the same height as original  and when installed from the  weight of car,sitting lower??

So of the springs from the car and going around reckers to find different springs. I have allready given by a friend of mine  corolla E80  inserts which are 33cm body lenth, 38mm diameter and 16.5cm rod lenth. Original 1 is: 41.5cm body, 38mm diameter and 20cm rod lenth. So i will make a 85mm spacer to put it under the insert in the shock so i will have 35mm less rod travel from the insert. Any suggestions are welcome. 

Now to the springs issue.From the picture i have posted,from right to left is: Corolla KE25 oem spring,36,5cm long, Corolla fwd rears uknown model  34cm long, and Alfa Romeo 33 '86 model 32cm long.

The fwd corolla is softer than oem but more progressive, alfa romeo is stiffer than oem but a bit more aggressive rebound(just press them with my hands). Any suggestions also here will be helpfull. So the question is , is any of these springs suitable for the KE25 just from looking at them?

Forgot to mention that the wheells will be changed to 13'' with 175/65/13 tires. 

Thank you in advance.

IMG_20180130_162801-2.jpg

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Do a google on spring rates and learn about the factors that are important.  Here's an online rate calculator

https://www.thespringstore.com/spring-calculator.html

or here-

http://www.pontiacracing.net/js_coil_spring_rate.htm

Then you can tell which is a stiffer spring. If its too technical, simply push the spring down onto a bathroom scale while someone else holds a tape and measures how much it has compressed. Rear springs are generally softer than fronts, but you're biggest problem will be the diameters and getting anything to fit. The wire diameter is important, & a mm change in that is a lot. The spring diameter is pretty well fixed by the top plate and the spring base on the strut.  The length is variable with a grinder...

Don't panic about cutting a couple of coils off the stock spring, the calculator will tell you how much stiffer they get, and you don't want to move away from the stock rate by very much anyway. Cutting a coil off will lower the car, but as the spring gets stiffer by doing this it is progressively less effective. Changing springs may or may not lower it as it all depends on their rates.

The coils are largely just for ride height with the shocks stopping the suspension from bottoming out, and if you lower it you will have less travel before it bottoms out & so will need stiffer shocks to catch it before it collapses to the bump stops.

The whole trick is not in the spring length, but in stiffening the shocks so they don't bottom out. Once they hit the bump stops all the force goes into the sidewall of the tyre and they just let go.  So one good pothole sort of depression in the road halfway through a corner and the car just goes straight..  or instantly sideways if its the rear that bottoms out.  Another solution to this is to cut the shock rod shorter by the same distance you lowered the car, so the shock still works over its normal length.

Assuming you never load the car to its designed capacity, you can lower it on stock springs and not have any trouble. They were designed to carry 4 people at 70kg each plus luggage, although this is more important at the rear as the front weight is more constant.  So you could cut the seat base off the strut and weld it on lower as an option.

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altezzaclub,thank you for your suggestions and the links.All these you mention i know them well,and from reading to thousands of opinions ...cutting coils from the oem spring is not a good option for the majority of those people...yes it can be done if is your last option. As far as cut the seat from the strut and welded in a lower position,i haven't done that because i am thinking ..correct me if i am wrong...that the tire will rubbing on the seat base. I did mention in the topic that i allready have different inserts from another corolla that are 35mm shorter stroke travel at the piston rod, 165mm the new ones vs 200mm travel the oem ones.

My question was if someone has a picture side to side from an oem spring and a performnce lower spring unmount and fully decompressed.The springs in my picture are the same outside diameter128mm to 130mm including the oem one,the sping coil diameter is different from the alfa romeo 11.5mm versus 11mm from the 2 corollas. Also i don't mind too much about the stiffness rate as long i can test compress them with my hands and my body weight since i have a reference from the oem 1,as you also suggested with the bathroom scale.

That is why i am looking for a picture side to side as i mention earlier so i don't start the trial and error thing...

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Scratch my last wish of seeking a picture for 50%.I did a research on the web  and i did see different oem springs with aftermarket performance lower ones and the results were some of them they had the same height as oem ones been lowered when the car's weight added and others that were significantly shorter than oem ones. None of those were for a toyota ke20 though. So back to square 1. I want if possible please an answer from someone who has done this for a corolla ke20/25 with different springs from other cars mix and match and not with springs from brand names.

Thank you.

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