Advice for deciding between H&R springs or RS*R race springs with Koni's

Ok so after some weeks of research, then more research and when I thought I had come to a conclusion, did more research until I finally got to where I am now. I’ve settled for Koni yellows over BC Racing and HSD coilovers which I still think are decent coilovers. Now I’m in a dilemma choosing between H&R sport springs and RS*R race springs to match with the Koni’s. Ideally, I’d love to have a set of KW V3 but I’d be looking $2000+ on a car that’s driven as a daily. Interestingly, Koni sport kit are Koni yellows paired with H&R springs.

My current setup:
• 1990 G-Limited with Beams greytop
• Suspension: 93+ springs with basically new stock shocks
• Prothane bush kit from Two’s R Us
• Toyota camber bolts
• Sway bar – stock (F-17mm, R-18mm)
• Standard rotors with Porterfield R4S pads and Motul 5.1 fluid
• Track tyres: Stock 15s (205/50/15, 225/50/15) with Yokohama A048 (r medium compound semi slick)

Here is a video with this setup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naJWlZP9x84

With this setup I had some understeer but it could have been my driving style. I tried lowering the front tyre pressures but to no avail. Some people said maybe I was braking too late so I overloaded the front traction. My friend said maybe I should try a bit of trail braking. I also felt a lot of body roll with the stock suspension and you could also see it from outside.

This is probably 85% daily, 15% track (more if I can help it). I considered Eibach springs previously but decided it was too soft for when I take it to the limit with r-compounds. Also I didn’t want to rely too much on sway bars as to keep the suspension more independent. In fact I recently spoke to a certain MK1 owner (you know who you are) who suggested no sway bars and stiffer front spring rates, similar to the H&R rates. This setup is not so uncommon after digging up some threads on MR2oc.

These are the specs of both, taken from reading MR2oc threads/excel file

H&R sports: Front: 4.1-4.6 kg, Rear: 4.17 kg. Drop: Front: 1.4”, Rear: 1.3”

RS*R race: Front: 201, Rear: 346 Drop: Front: 0.8”, Rear: 1” (rear rake bias)

So the RS*R has traditional rates for the MR2 which is heavier at the back whilst the H&Rs have stiffer front at full load though not by much. The H&Rs height is also past the “optimal” lowering height of 1” from what I’ve read.
From my previous experience at the track, one would think that going for H&Rs would only make the understeer worse, am I correct? Or would it be a different story with Koni’s now in the picture? As stated previously I would rather avoid aftermarket sway bars but if after installing the shocks and springs it still does not perform as desired, I may use it for tweaking.

My order of importance: Price, Performance, ride, warranty.

I am still just a rookie in all this as you can tell so I would love to hear your opinions on this :)

Cheers and sorry for the long post!

the ONLY complaint i have about the above setup is that that rear springs are progressive (like most aftermarket) and can feel a tad floaty at high speed/cornering over bumps. Linear would feel more predictable. Apart from that it's brilliant. :)

Yeh I considered Eibach pro kit and TRDs but like MRTurbo said it's probably a bit soft for track days and would necessitate the need for aftermarket sway bars. According to the guys over at MR2oc, no aftermarket springs for the SW20 are linear (to a certain extent at least). The H&R and RSR are progressive but are designed to be more linear apparently. Interestingly, the stock SW20 springs are linear.
The King springs sounds like they would be similar to Eibach and TRDs since it feels good only after "taking a set".
I was looking for Ground control sleeves for the SW20 but looks like they only make it for AW11s so we probably have to design our own stuff. On the other hand aftermarket selection for SW20s should be wider hehe
 
 

I also was looking into gc sleeves. I emailed them with the correct strut sizes and got no reply.

Instead of using the Ground Control sleeve kits, look into the HSD ones.
They come in a bunch of difference sizes, $299 / pair and any spring rate from 2kg/mm - 20kg/mm. If you decide you want different springs in the future, they are $100 / pair
http://otomoto.com.au/c/4037307/1/sleeve-kits.html
 
They also have universal camber tops for $299 / pair, if you want to go all out .
http://otomoto.com.au/p/4...al-camber-top-kit.html

Why konis and sleeve kits over something like bc?

Konis are about 1k plus the sleeve kits for 600 then add the cost of cutting up your shocks and welding etc.....

I advise against it. Sleeve over kits dont give you proper control over height adjustment without also affecting spring preload etc.

Esp if your thinking of letting it go in a yr, get bc or even try ceika.

Hmm you make a good point lol. I think I'll be happy with the RSRs :)

Hey Tree, what caster do you run?
I assume you have the early adjustable caster rods, so if you can add a bit more caster, it may help with understeer. (maybe a nice cheap mod for ya)
 
Re springs:
Some minor details I found with Eibach Prokits.
Although similar, there appears to be slight differences in the ride heights between them and later ('92+) OEM springs.
Compared to stock '95 Bathurst springs, I found with Eibach Pro-Kits my car was higher (10mm) at the front and lower (8MM) at the rear. The result was I didn't think the heights matched F/R
The pro-Kits also rode harder. The comparison was made with Koni inserts on the softest setting.
The Prokits are also about 2kg per spring heavier than the stock springs.