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Springs

Discussion in '308/328' started by wrouster, Mar 24, 2015.

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  1. wrouster

    wrouster Karting

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    William Rouster
    I'm having the shocks for my street-driven 328 rebuilt and am wondering if it would be advantageous to buy new springs since I'm sure spring technology had advanced quite a bit in the last thirty years. Would there be an advantage to buying new springs, and, if so, what brand and who carries them? Thanks in advance.

    Bill
     
    wrouster, Mar 24, 2015
    #1
  2. ZOOOOMZ

    ZOOOOMZ Karting

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    Tim Cronin
    +1 - the original Konis are due back from Kentucky any day now for 78698 (my 88.5 GTS), and I'm driving on OEM Bilsteins in the meantime. I'd like to replace my springs (>60K miles), and would like to know from the Fchat sages what is the source for the best replacements - very concerned I don't want to change ride height, particularly.
     
    ZOOOOMZ, Mar 25, 2015
    #2
  3. maurice70

    maurice70 F1 Rookie

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    maurice70, Mar 26, 2015
    #3
  4. GordonC

    GordonC F1 Rookie Owner Rossa Subscribed

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    I am relatively new to 308s and don't know their suspension spring stories, but in general engineering terms - it's just a wound torsion spring, made of steel. If it's not flexed beyond the elastic limit (impossible on coil springs) and not corroded, then they typically don't fatigue or degrade, they just last forever.

    One option to confirm would be to have a shop use a spring tester to confirm the spring rate (X lbs/inch) matches the original specification (I'm not sure what those original rate specs are). If the current springs' rates match the original rate spec, then there would be little benefit to replace.
     
    GordonC, Mar 26, 2015
    #4
  5. andyww

    andyww F1 Rookie

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    If there is no wish to change the ride height then there is no benefit in replacing the springs at all unless they are very badly corroded.
    As GordonC mentioned above springs do not "wear out".

    Getting them sandblasted and powder coated is good.
     
    andyww, Mar 27, 2015
    #5
  6. nerofer

    nerofer F1 World Champ

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    Well, I do not want to be nitpicking again, but...

    Besides what has already been said, before ordering any new spring, I would be very, very careful with the provider and doublecheck the reference:
    because as any of you who had browsed the "Circolare tecnica n°331", published Dec 22nd, 1978 by the factory, knows: each variant of the 308 (GTB versus GTS, Euro vs US vs Japanese) had different springs, with different rates, different wire thickness, etc...
    So there is a lot of different springs here...

    Rgds
    View attachment 308 spring rates.pdf
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    nerofer, Mar 27, 2015
    #6

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