Anyone know factory spring rates?

[kermac]

I have just acquired an immaculate 2001 TT 225 Roadster with only 126,000 km (78,000 miles) on the clock. I'm well into planning engine upgrades, but I also have a real need to reduce the ride height. I measure 30m fender gap at the front and 45 at the rear. I don't know why so many TTs (a) ride so high and (b) ride even higher at the back. I guess no one can answer that...

The intention is partly to improve the look, partly to optimise handling qualities for the street.

I've read a lot on the various forums about spring rates of the various options, both coilovers and spring/damper (also called shock absorber) combos, as well as desired camber, caster, toe-in settings and so forth.

Remarkably, none of the learned discussions on these topics seem to mention the original (factory) spring rates as a baseline. Damper rates are also a mystery, but I have lower expectations in that area. Maybe I just wasn't looking at the right discussions.

Can anyone help?

[dolphinaudi]

Hey Kermac, that is kind of tough but there is some good info to get you going in the right direction to make decisions about your desired suspension set up. The spring rate is just one factor that is kind of not as simple as it seems when it comes to the ride. Here is a good excerpt and a link to a write up of how it works from H&R, it is a technical article.

"Since there is no standard for quoting spring rates, most manufacturers just quote numbers without any regard for spring function and spring rate ramping—spring rate ramping is the difference in ride feel between springs of different shapes with the same spring rates under suspension compression. The only way to truly compare spring rates is by using working spring rate numbers."

http://www.hrsprings.com/technical/

[dolphinaudi]

A good coil over set gives you the height and dampening adjustment you need.