It's part of the charm!

 

Did anyone get around to installing these?

I'm planning on installing them and would like to hear some feedback if anyone has any. The base suspension is way too "floaty" with lowering springs (I have the VAP ones).

 

That sounds more like a damping problem. Have you considered upgrading? I'm not even sure what's out there, to be honest (I've got the two-position adjustable). Perhaps Bilstein has something? They cured the floatiness in my previous car very nicely.

 

KW has some coilovers but they're running around USD 2.6K. Poly bushings would be around USD 500 but I'm not sure how bad the labour costs would be..

 

If the damping is wrong for the spring rate, no bushings will solve the problem. You might go from floaty to harsh and floaty.

I looked at Bilstein's catalog and they only have OE replacement. If they had the B8 for the F-Type that would be a strong choice, but no such luck.

 

Ah alright, got it. Not sure about the bushings then, might just go for a front sway bar upgrade (the Korean solid bar) to tighten things up in corners. Not going to help make the car more planted in the straights though...

 

At first you were complaining of the vehicle feeling floaty and now you're saying you want it more planted in a straight line. Those are different problems, so what specifically are you looking to fix here?

 

Just from my own driving experiences, my issues are (although I would like to add that I am no expert and not an engineer):

1) The car bounces when driving over minor bumps e.g. driving over an expansion joint on a bridge above 75 mph feels like I've just gone airborne..

2) You can feel the car wiggling massively during straight line acceleration. Doesn't feel planted at all. I'm not expecting the car to feel like a drag monster but it's a bit unnerving.

3) Body roll during the corners. Can hardly notice a difference between a Maserati Quattroporte GTS and my F-Type.

I would like to add that my base car is heavily modified (both pullies, 200 cell cats, Eventuri intake, VAP tune but does have MPSS tires) and has an open differential so that could be part of my problem, although I would say that I hardly ever push the car to its limits, just some spirited driving here and there.

 

Open diff certainly isn't contributing to this. I don't know the rates of VAPs springs, but they appear to be progressive and based on their experience in the industry I don't think they would screw things up this poorly... at the very least no one has complained of these issues on VAP springs to my knowledge. Points 1 and 2 almost sound like something is broken if the issue is as severe as you say. While the dampers are not tuned for these new springs, they should be able to control expansion joints and minor bumps without severe impact to your spine. Is the feeling the same with the suspension in comfort mode?

As for number 3, stiffer sways could help, yes. But you don't want to go too far and get understeer/oversteer. Keep in mind that the Maserati is no slouch; its not like your comparing the f-type to a pickup truck.

 

I doubt it's the fault of the VAP springs, more of a problem regarding the non-adaptable suspension and its spring rates being suitable for a lowered car, as I'm given to understand. I think Unhingd faced this as well at some point and has reverted to always driving with his dynamic suspension on (an option I don't have in my car, base V6 doesn't have adaptive dampers).

Maybe I exaggerated a little bit regarding going air borne on the expansion joints but it definitely causes a lot of movement, which can be a bit scary when driving at 75 mph.

I asked my local tuner to drive the car today and even they mentioned the floatiness is a problem (before proceeding to try to sell me some KW coilovers). Hence why I am interested in polyurethane bushings as a much cheaper alternative to coilovers for tightening up the suspension

 

Based on that description i think you have a dampening problem and that these bushings aren't going to really help you much. I forgot you didn't have dynamic suspension.

 

That does not surprise me. In standard suspension mode, the H&R springs create a "floaty" effect (insufficient dampening). In dynamic mode, however, the suspension is dialed in perfectly. I always drive in dynamic mode.

 

Depending on what you mean by 'floatiness' - any chance the alignment is off? Also, I've experienced tramlining in other cars (not the Jag) which at the time made me think I had alignment, tire or other issues.

 

Lance probably nailed it, as usual.

 

I always drive with the dampers in Dynamic and I have stock springs. It's close to what it should be, although I wish I had separate compression and rebound damping adjustment. I'd like to go up a click on rebound, but I don't have clicks

 

Cool, thanks for the inputs guys. Does anyone have any other recommendations for curing the floatiness barring coilovers?

 

A little off topic but where are you located? I would love to take a ride in a FBO base model to see the difference from stock.

 

I'd suspect that the only cure will be different dampers (shocks). I'm not sure about the coilover aspect though on the KWs. You already have replacement springs, and a coilover is a damper/spring combination where the ride height can be adjusted. Would they replace your existing springs?

On other forums I've seen people talk about coilovers like they are the answer to everything, but I don't see it that way. When I was racing bikes, people would brag about their shiny, new 27-way adjustable shocks. The problem is that the more adjustments you have, the more wrong combinations there are.

It'd be nice if someone made a replacement shock for the F-Type that paired nicely with the lowering springs we already know work well.

 

*cough**cough* @Stuart! Help us out a bit more please!

 

Here's the solution. For the V6S RWD, use the shocks from a 2015 RWD V8R. That's a stiffer shock to support the heavier weight. Might be just right for the higher rate H&R springs (maybe too much for the VAPs, but I don't really know without detailed specs on springs and shocks)