My one significant criticism of the F-Type (mine is a V6S) is its very stiff suspension, in both Default and Dynamic modes. Particularly at lower speeds, it crashes over pot holes, broken and washboard surfaces and if the seat back is reclined to any degree, the experience can be like being repeatedly punched in the back - it's highly uncomfortable. But I've found a cure.

Velocity AP lowering springs, available from davidapplebyengineering.com, are advertised as being made from tapered wire, which permits more progressive absorption of bumps, and the Velocity AP website claims this "may" improve ride quality. I've just had some fitted, and I can confirm they most certainly do. For the first time I can make progress over broken and pot-holed country roads with the suspension absorbing the irregularities and the car flowing over them rather than crashing into them. In both Default and Dynamic modes, the car is now more comfortable than even my previous XK. Characteristic F-Type steering precision is retained, and stability in high speed corners seems improved.

Lotus and Porsche prove that sports cars don't need to be uncomfortably hard - Velocity AP springs show that an F-Type doesn't either. Sadly its an expensive modification at around £1000 fitted, but if you want to keep an F-Type long-term, I think it's worth the investment.

 

Thanks for this note MichaelBrazier. I have been putting off road trips exactly because the ride is just too tough. Honestly, it's not because it hurts my body or anything, but I just keep comparing the ride to a Porsche, Audi, BMW etc. But for me in San Francisco, lowering the car will certainly not work out well. Open to hear suggestions on how you guys drive on lowered springs lol

 

I don't see how it is possible that lowering springs would produce a softer ride.

 

The VAPs are progressive rate springs whereas the OEMs are not. The VAPs are probably softer at static ride height.

 

Thanks devman. The lowering is actually only by 2cm or thereabouts - would that be too drastic for your driving conditions?

 

Hi SinF, It depends what you make the spring out of. You can have a short soft spring. A Citroen Aircross is a small car with soft springs - cut one of the springs in half and you’d have a very short very soft spring...

 

I'm also in San Francisco and I regularly scrape on my own driveway...

 

That doesn't sounds bad. It's just the principle of the matter is that you don't lower your car in San Francisco. I think a softer ride is probably worth it.

Prime example here haha. The worst is when you go somewhere in SF and realize there is no way you can get your car into the parking lot.

 

Michael, what size wheels do you have? I’ve found the ride with the 19s to be fine (for me), but it’s possible your roads are worse. I occasionally drop out of dynamic if the surface gets bad. It’s a small difference, but noticeable.

 

If you cut one of the springs in half you'd have two half-length springs each with double the spring rate.

 

I have some springs I haven't installed because I'm worried that I'd then be unable to leave my neighborhood. I got them thinking that I'd be OK, but have been carefully watching everywhere I go to see if that's right. I think in height it'd be OK, but that long front overhang is where the trouble lies.

 

My wheels are 19” - I had 20s on my XK and had to change them down to 19 as 20s gave an unpleasantly rigid ride as well as terrible tram-lining.

I was actually getting used to the standard suspension stiffness on the F-Type before I had the VAP springs fitted - I accept that some people will think it acceptable and I was heading that way myself, but the improvement with the VAP springs really is noticeable...

 

A spring rate is measured in lbs of force per inch of compression. Cut a standard coil spring in half and each will have the same spring rate as the full length spring.

 

Until/unless I can recall my lessons on Hooke's Law from the distant past, I defer to your knowledge.

EDIT: I'm going to dig in a little here. If it were anyone else here I'd have stuck to my guns from the start. Spring rate for a coil spring is proportional to the wire diameter to the 4th power, but inversely to the number of coils. There are other factors, but given the premise of cutting a coil spring in half, we can assume uniform modulus of elasticity. Halve the number of coils, all else being equal, the rate doubles. This does ignore the number of *active* coils, but the initial premise was far from rigorous.

 

DOH! You’re right!

 

I think it's time to dip into the *good* scotch. ;^)

 

You know, when I met the manufacturer of our springs I was skeptical too. Seemed like a cool USP but I wondered whether it really delivered what it was supposed to. Now, 5 years on I'm still consistently surprised at how much feedback we get on the ride quality. We're always quite careful not to over-promise, my standard line is not to promise that it will improve, but that you will be able to lower the car and reduce roll without LOSING ride quality.

But perhaps out of an abundance of caution I am actually under-selling them. When I see feedback like this, I wonder.

The reason it works - our lowering springs are all produced using a unique process where the spring rod is heated and drawn to produce a tapered thickness. So rather than being a fixed spring rate like the original equipment, the spring rate increases progressively with compression. The net result is, when you lean on the car, you're running a nice firm spring rate, but when the wheel assembly starts traveling up and down over rough roads and the spring starts decompressing, you move smoothly into a lower spring rate than the OE springs, and the damper is able to control the bound & rebound more effectively, resulting in a more compliant ride.

 

Done!

 

@Unhingd Did you ever have the VAP springs? If so any reason you went with the H&R springs? I think the H&R have a 30mm drop vs the 22 drop in the VAP.

**EDIT** To clarify and be relevant to topic, any noticeable improvement in ride quality?

 

I never had the VAP springs so I can’t compare. I can only compare with the OEM springs, which by comparison were too spongee and allowed too much body roll.