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SPS ION Project: Stage One |
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Written by John Comeskey
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Wednesday, 06 February 2008 |
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We send our project ION to Koni to develop a performance spring and damping suspension package.  | | Stage one of our ION project has begun. Recently, we delivered our car to Koni North America to develop a performance suspension kit. |
 | | The results are truly impressive! |
 | | Koni developed a wet-sealed ride height and damping force adjustable coil-over strut for the front. The stabar end link bracket was relocated and the spring rate was increased from 125 lbs/in to 350 lbs/in. |
 | | For the rear, they employed a compress-to-adjust shock absorber with a linear rate spring, with a rate of 175 lbs/in. Currently, the damping is set at full soft for both front and rear. This kit reduced the ride height by about 2 inches, dramatically reduced body roll, and reduced understeer for a much more neutral balance at the limit of tire traction. (Remember that the rear spring is located slightly aft of the rear wheel. Hence a motion ratio greater than 1:1. So the change in wheel rate is greater than the corresponding change in spring rate.) Even with damping set at full-soft, the ride quality on the street is excellent! |
| | And as you can see, the car looks MUCH better with a lowered ride height. As of 09-10-03, these kits are currently in production at Koni. Look for them to become available on the SPS site soon. We will post more updates on our ION project as they happen. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 22 April 2008 )
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