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It’s hard to overstate how vital suspension is to your car. It’s what keeps your wheels connected to the ground, after all. And if you’re rigging your 4x4 to tackle the ruthless terrain of off-road trails, you probably care about that even more than the average driver.
As you try to figure out the best way to level up the suspension, you’ll inevitably find yourself staring at a mountain of springs and trying to pick the right one for your car. Our tips for choosing a spring rate for your car will help you make the best choice.
Spring rate refers to how much force or weight needs to be enacted on a spring to make it compress a single inch. If someone tells you spring has a rate of 150 pounds, they mean it has a rate of 150 pounds per inch. Every 150 pounds makes the spring compress another inch. Springs with lower spring rates are softer, while higher rates are considered stiffer.
Standard suspensions have a linear spring rate. This means the rate is consistent throughout the spring, and the same force can be applied to both ends with the same results. However, some springs have what’s called a progressive or dual spring rate. This means one side of the spring will have a softer spring rate than the other.
Other than 4x4 upper control arms, your springs are the most important part of your suspension, and your suspension is the most important part of your car’s handling. Your suspension’s spring rate determines how well it will do that. In general:
Naturally, how you want your car to handle depends on what you want to use your car for. Those who are trying to trick out their car for racing tend to prefer stiff springs since they’ll be driving on smooth, paved roads and need to feel the way their car moves. People driving on normal, rough roads tend to prefer the comfort of soft springs.
There are mixed messages out there about whether stiff or soft springs are better for off-roading. Soft coils offer the traction that’s essential for rolling over obstacles during activities such as rock crawling. However, stiff coils are better for the higher speeds you’ll need if you’re hitting the dunes. Some opt for the best of both worlds by using progressive-rate coils.