how much of an improvement are the FMS springs?

[YpsiBob]

i know they lower the car but how much better do festivas handle with these springs? is it a big differance over stock springs?

[festivaWES]

im guessing yeah they are....heard nothing but great things from them but i think i'm gunna cut my springs because im cheap

[5spdStiva]

don't cut your springs to much in the front because it will wear the tires really fast

[YpsiBob]

so does anyone have the FMS springs on their car? what do you think of them?

also the KYB GR2 shocks, are they a good investment?

[Gforcefd]

gr2's and the fms springs together are great, mattswabb has them on his BPT car and I think on his BP car, both are nice.

I have gr2's with my coilovers and I like them alot, but I am going to get the FMS springs this winter because the coilovers are just to hard for everday use.

Logan

[YpsiBob]

gr2's and the fms springs together are great, mattswabb has them on his BPT car and I think on his BP car, both are nice.

I have gr2's with my coilovers and I like them alot, but I am going to get the FMS springs this winter because the coilovers are just to hard for everday use.

Logan

ooooo really.... i would be happy to trade you a brand new set of FMS springs for your coilovers

[mattswabb]

Well going from old stock struts and springs to KYB GR2's and the FMS springs it's a huge difference. My daily driver is still on the stock stuff and it's quite a difference. Another big difference is tires. Both my BP and BPT cars have the same suspension and wheels but the BPT has 45 series tires compared to 65's on the BP.

Get the FMS springs and KYB GR2's you'll love them.

[fastivaca]

Get the FMS springs and KYB GR2's you'll love them.

I agree with Matt. They are a vast improvement over stock. The car looks better too! I'll get photos up in while with the FMS springs installed.

Tires make a difference as well. I'm running 175-60-13 Falken Ziex 512's. Great in the rain and dry.

[5spdStiva]

where did you get the falkens from and do they rub?

[Mysticle31]

I've been considering upgrading too.

My only concern was is there any was there any design/thought in matching the springs to the dampers? In this case the KYBs although I've heard that you can install VW MK2 shocks physically on the car.

What about the front and rear rebound frequency?

Are the top coils dead? Do they compress together with just the weight of the car on them and therefore only look progressive (rather are progressive but the progressiveness ends when the cars weight is placed on them)

What is the position of the control arm under load? Don't want to mess up the geometry.

Relatively new to posting is this called thread hijacking? They are questions on the same topic.

[fastivaca]

where did you get the falkens from and do they rub?

I got mine from www.tiretrends.com and no, they don't rub. I have them mounted on mid 80's 13x5 Mazda alloys.

[fastivaca]

Don't want to mess up the geometry.

I turned my strut mounts around 180° which pulled the camber back to within spec. You could also install camber bolts to give you more precise adjustment.

Well worth the time and money to get the front end aligned after installing the springs.

Hope that helps.

[Mysticle31]

Not just camber I'm worried about. It's the control arm. Camber changes more under load as the control arm angles more up. Horrible effect. I should have payed more attention to the location of the control arm stock.

Others are just how good the spring and strut combination is. If the front and rear match in rebound.

I don't pretend to understand it all.

[quaddawg]

I am new here, but I just picked up a Festy with a na B6 and FMS springs with one coil cut in the rear, with KYB GR2'a at each corner.

I have had two previous stock Festys, and it's like driving a complete different car. It's that good.

I can't compare to any other combination, as stock is all I have to compare it to.... and wow.

The car is running 185/60 13 Sumi HTR's on 13x5 alloys...

A tiny bit of rubbing in hard corners or curbs, but nothing bad.

I didn't build the car, but the builder did it well.. this car handles like it's on rails. The rear coil was cut since the car is lightened quite a bit, and it sits just right in my opinion...

[Arnie]

No offense to Roger but I really don't think too much of the FMS springs. I've had them on my car for a couple of years now on GR2's. They are way too low, especially the front. The suspension geometry is completely compromised. I need to run a decent amount of neg camber to compensate the crap camber curve we are stuck with at that ride height. Plus, they are much too soft for that amount of lowering. I am on the bumpstops 90% of the time up front. Personally, i wouldn't drop the car more than about 1/2 to 3/4". Sure, with the lower ride height you have a lower center of gravity but that doesn't compensate for the lack of front end grip that results from the poor front geometry. The GR2s traditionally are around 10-20% more firm than the stock damper they replace. But they feel so underdamped on these springs. And that's not because the spring is stiff. Its because I have no suspension travel! I dunno, if I can save the money and rationalize the expense of the TEIN setup (coilovers that cost more than the car!), I will go for that instead. At this point, I really regret tossing my stock springs!

quaddog - could you do me a favor and measure your ride heights from center of wheel hub to bottom of fender? I've also consider cutting one coil from the rear. The lower rear ride height might "pull" the front up a tad as well get the weight distribution a bit better.