measure your coils please!!! request

[greencactus3]

jeremy got me a nice formula to use to find the spring rates of coils, but i have no easy access to measuring some types.

maybe this weekend ill drive home and measure the stock v6 coils and figure that out, but id also like to find out what the stock 4cyl coils and belltech 3in v6 coil's rates are. and maybe zq8s too

im sure some of you have stock coils laying around, so please get these measurements for me

info i need:

1. if possible, photos will help

2. what kind of coil? (stock 4cyl , belltech 3", groundforce 2". etc)

3. diameter of wire in inches used to make the spring. so the thickness of the metal in other words.

4. this may be a little tricky, so read carefully: the number of ACTIVE coils.
this means that you are going to count the number of coils that are NOT touching the spring pocket. so wherever it leaves the spring pocket, you star counting there, and on to the other side.
it should be less than the number of TOTAL coils, but not by a significant amount.

5. total height of the coil

6. tell me the units you meaured in. it should be obvious, but if you mix and match the measurement units, it will get hairy.


thanks a lot!


ill post the results i get in
http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f178/s...-coils-335452/



P.S. ask me if you need any clarifications to the directions. i know i suck at explaining stuff lol



maybe this helps a little bit?

[JChapoton]

let you know tommorrow. I have to hire a surveyor to measure my coil. A tape measure is just to short.

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by JChapoton

let you know tommorrow. I have to hire a surveyor to measure my coil. A tape measure is just to short.

a what?

i dunno if you read my post before i got to editting it, but i had misread the formula so i asked for some unneeded info originally, if you read that, im sorry, please reread it.
thanks!!!

[The Sos]

ZQ8s are 13.75"

[droppedime]

2.2 4cy stock coils




13 1/2 inches tall



5 1/2 inches wide



a lil less than an inch thick

[greencactus3]

awesome! once mythbusters is over ill plug the numbers in,
but is that wire diameter 'little less than an inch' or is it 3/4"?

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by The Sos

ZQ8s are 13.75"

umm... you have very little info there, thanks for the effort, but its kinda useless unless you give me all the other things too..... and zq8 4cyl? 6cyl?

[greencactus3]

i would like to stress that i need FINE measurements for the diameter of the wire, and the overall diameter of the coil, because those will be changing the answer by an exponential component of 4

[The Sos]

Quote: Originally Posted by greencactus3

umm... you have very little info there, thanks for the effort, but its kinda useless unless you give me all the other things too..... and zq8 4cyl? 6cyl?

Sorry, I'm an idiot. I read what I wanted and I went for it.

New measurements,
Height 13.5
Width 5 5/8
diameter 5/8

V6 ZQ8

[greencactus3]

from the iffy measurements given, i was able to determine that the stock 4cyl coil has a rate of anything between 130 to 2800 lbs.... which means i need more precise measurements lol

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by The Sos

Sorry, I'm an idiot. I read what I wanted and I went for it.

New measurements,
Height 13.5
Width 5 5/8
diameter 5/8

V6 ZQ8

thanks, still missing a key measurement tho.
the diameter of the wire itself. this is a KEY part, so please measure this one as accurately as possible

-edit- read too fast,
thats not the dimension you are missing. you are missing the active coil count

[The Sos]

I have it in there, it is 5/8"

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by The Sos

I have it in there, it is 5/8"

sorry, i editted my post, i read too quickly, please read my editted post again,
sorry i suck at reading it right the first time

[rentedmule]

I won't be able to get the active coil info (not on truck) but I'll measure a set of stock v6 coils with vernier calipers tomorrow if that helps

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by rentedmule

I won't be able to get the active coil info (not on truck) but I'll measure a set of stock v6 coils with vernier calipers tomorrow if that helps

awesome.
and the number of active coils doesnt have to be perfect
within half a coil or so should be relatively okay
just tell me like 6, or 6.5 or sumthing like that. you should be able to get a guesstimate based on the angle of the coils

[rentedmule]

V6, non-ZQ8, were on an extended cab if that makes a difference

Height 13.5"
Diameter across whole coil (outside to outside) 5.5"
coil diameter 7/8" if I read the caliper correctly
I think I counted almost exactly 7 complete coils

no pics, it was -30 in the garage this morning

I can measure the diameter of my ZQ8's sometime this weekend but they're in the truck so that's all I can get

[beandip]

Damn, i wish i didnt put my stock coils back in and sent my belltech coils back. (1" coil dropped me 2" instead)


sorry im no help though

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by rentedmule

V6, non-ZQ8, were on an extended cab if that makes a difference

Height 13.5"
Diameter across whole coil (outside to outside) 5.5"
coil diameter 7/8" if I read the caliper correctly
I think I counted almost exactly 7 complete coils

no pics, it was -30 in the garage this morning

I can measure the diameter of my ZQ8's sometime this weekend but they're in the truck so that's all I can get

assuming 6 active coils,
i get a number as 1389 lbs........
hmmmmmmmm
i gotta rethink this

[87wildside]

I did find something out from the POS Moog site.....4cy and 6cyl have the same part number.

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by 87wildside

I did find something out from the POS Moog site.....4cy and 6cyl have the same part number.

NOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo.......
that cant be!
any other info on there tho?

[Southern]

I've seen 4cyl coils and 2.8L coils and there were a visible size difference. Unfortunately I can't pull measurements off the 4cyl as I tossed them. (Previous owner cut them too much).

[Bowtiejunkie]

here's a simple to use coil spring rate calculator http://www.proshocks.com/calcs/coilsprate.htm

The stock springs from my 1997 S-10 V6 5spd extended cab measure as follows:

Outside Dia: 5.5"
Coil Dia: .750
Active Coils: 6
Height: Didn't measure (I'll input later)

Per the calculator in the link it comes out to 692. That's fairly high spring rate IMO.

[NORCAL SS]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bowtiejunkie

here's a simple to use coil spring rate calculator http://www.proshocks.com/calcs/coilsprate.htm

The stock springs from my 1997 S-10 V6 5spd extended cab measure as follows:

Outside Dia: 5.5"
Coil Dia: .750
Active Coils: 6
Height: Didn't measure (I'll input later)

Per the calculator in the link it comes out to 692. That's fairly high spring rate IMO.

that calculators been out for a while good oen also.

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by NORCAL SS

that calculators been out for a while good oen also.

when you reccomend 450 and 550 coils for the coilovers.....
why is that lower than stock?

[NORCAL SS]

spring rate with a regular shock is one thing but spring rate with the qa1s will be stiffer once you star messing wtih the adjustment.

yes spring rate is 350 450 etc but if you adjust the shock will become stiffer.

550 qa1s shit all over the zq8 or any belltech drop spring and how do i know this.. cause my ass spent the $$$ and happy i did.

[greencactus3]

stiff shocks are not a replacement for stiff coils.....
stiff shocks do not up the spring rate....

[NORCAL SS]

Quote: Originally Posted by greencactus3

stiff shocks are not a replacement for stiff coils.....
stiff shocks do not up the spring rate....

did i ever say stiff shocks are a replacement for stiff coils????

honestly everything i say you allways try to make me look wrong why??? Im not so lets move on.

[NORCAL SS]

also there is NO WAY that a stock s10 spring handle as good as a 550 qa1. If you actaully test these things out you would see this instead of doing everything on the internet.

[greencactus3]

Quote: Originally Posted by NORCAL SS

spring rate with a regular shock is one thing but spring rate with the qa1s will be stiffer once you star messing wtih the adjustment.

i just disagree with this statement.

i do agree the 550 around the qa1 shock will be better than stock.
but how about a stock coil around a qa1 adjustable shock equivalent to that shock within the coilover?

im not trying to rip on you, im just trying to get the facts straight to get my truck to do what i would like it to

Quote: Originally Posted by NORCAL SS

also there is NO WAY that a stock s10 spring handle as good as a 550 qa1. If you actaully test these things out you would see this instead of doing everything on the internet.

i would absolutely love to test them out, but being poor and in school means i cant do that for a long time

[Jake]

Im not exactly sure what you are going to do suspension wise, or what kind of ride you want. Springs control ride height, and how much the truck drops during cornering, the shocks control how fast the springs can compress, and the sway bar helps to stop body roll and resists weight transfer. On a cruizer i like softer springs with a big sway bar and just slightly stiffer shocks. If it is a performance vehicle and ride quality doesnt matter much, then i would go with stiff springs a small sway bar and some average shocks. If your looking for the performance feel for cheap, put some really really stiff shocks in it and some polyurethane bushings in the sway bar. Thats my two cents. Whatever you do, get some books and read up on road racing suspensions. That way you know what mechanical changes will translate into as performance changes.