Just noodling ideas... to make the 16 softer in a straight line but maintain the handling.

I'm thinking that softening (and lengthening, to maintain the ride height) the springs while stiffening the ARB would allow a softer spring rate to jolts which affect both wheels, while increasing the rate (and thus inhibiting roll) when only one wheel is loaded, in cornering.

Thoughts? I appreciate this is the opposite of most suspension modification, which lowers and stiffens to avoid roll.

I've wondered about something similar on a different car. However I couldn't decide at what point you end up with a solid axle. I think too far and you'd end up with a wallowy car that crashes over pot holes.

I think maintaining the independence of the wheel is important.

What I have changed on my other car is the top mount rubber. I got PU items which seem to help by getting the spring to work first.

Yes, it is.....

Would dampers need changing too, to compensate for softer spring rates?

Softer dampers can not "handle" stiffer springs........while some people's opinion is that stiffer dampers suit softer springs better.....however i'm not 100% sure it's true, but its a matter of style and taste.....

Yeah, there's three things going on here: the softer spring for a slightly softer straight-line ride (think the spacer gaps on a concrete motorway); the coupling between the sides which increases the spring rate of the outside spring when turning (but also causes a little more nose-dip than might be desirable); and the time constant of the system.

The resonant frequency of the spring is set entirely by the stiffness of the spring and the mass on it, which in the case of the car is constant. The stiffer the spring, the higher the resonant frequency. This is independent of the stiffness of the damping.

What the damping does do is affect the response curve of the system: displacement against frequency. At the resonant frequency, the spring oscillates in time with the exciting impulse and will eventually destroy itself (and perhaps the car and driver too...). As you move away from resonance, the amplitude of the spring's movement is reduced. A softer shocker will decrease the range over which near-resonance occurs; stiffer shockers will increase that range.

Shock absorbers of any stiffness don't have significant effect at slow impulses but they're there to get rid of high-frequency impulses. A soft shock has more effect there than a hard shock, but at a cost of a higher response peak. Swings and roundabouts; it's all a compromise.

But it's all complicated by the coupling between the sides; the spring is changing its rate depending whether its going in a straight line or round a corner. It might also be an idea to look at variable rate springs, such that a deflection of more than an inch or so from the static position leads to a much stiffer rate...

The only issue is increasing the chance of bottoming out. Give it a go!

Neil, you would have to go for a progressive rate spring or it's just going to be bashing off the bump stops every time you hit a bump, increasing the damping to prevent it from doing this would negate the softer spring.

I know you aren't into modifying but what about some new standard springs on bilstein dampers?

That's why I'm thinking about variable rates, Jimbo. I'm not considering halving the rates or anything, perhaps ten percent is all...

What's the advantage of the Bilsteins? Different/adjustable rates? Or just stiffer than normal (er, when I looked at shocks for the kit I had difficulty finding any uprated types that weren't shorter than the originals since they were expected to be used with lowering springs.

As I am, with standard shocks and springs all around - the entire system was replaced/refurbished a couple of years ago including rubbers and bearings - the handling is fine as I'm sure last year's Spa outing demonstrated (we'll ignore one excursion to the run-off area). Even with the less-than-low profile standard 55 sidewalls, though, the ride still kicks every groan and creak out of the bodywork. I feel every pebble in the road, every crack in the tarmac, every ridge in concrete. That's what I'm trying to soften a little...

Adjustable set would give you the freedom to experiment - fast and slow rebound. I would personally go with slightly softer dampers on quite standard rates as per my Nigel experience. I feel your setup with stiffer arb would exaggerate the Coupe's dislike for bad road surface in corners. But that thought is not based on the technical knowledge you have.

In practical terms, the cost of doing this, even if I knew exactly which way to go and only had to fit things once, would probably exceed the value of the vehicle! So without some practical experience, it's unlikely to make sense to do it...

Aye well, it was a thought...

What about trying a strut brace to help keep alignment? See it that takes some of the crash out of your ride.

Iv standard good condition shocks, with lowering springs, and the rides not crashy at all, firm sure, but not crashy... obviously have a strut brace as its an LE, not sure if the strut brace helps the ride or not?....

Depends how rigid the shell is I guess. I've used one on another car and it helped. I was wondering if Barnacle's ride may feel better if what's there is optimized?

I've had a strut brace on there for the last ten or fifteen years... the 20 is a completely different ride from the 16; I suspect the extra weight at the front and of course different springs and shocks.

Lighter wheels and tyres would reduce the unsprung mass; the ratio of sprung to unsprung mass is a prime factor in the smoothness of the ride.

After reading the above I'm not sure how relevant my 20vt experience is but I went from standard springs/shocks to using Bilstein shocks. There was the expected more 'rigid' feel but I was surprised to find that speed bumps became much smoother as did other small bumps. Downside was a worrying loss of traction on cornering over bumpy surfaces to thepoint where I wouldn't recommend a std spring/bilstein combo. I now suspect much of my improvement came from getting rid of my old shocks.

If your existing shocks are old it might be worth just replacing them with std new ones.

As above - the entire suspension was replaced with new standard about three years ago; it hasn't done that many miles since.