Well I continued to play with the setup and found the biggest problem with it--the jounce bumpers. I removed them and the difference was utterly amazing. I have had to start all over on finding the sweet spot of the shocks.
To put things into perspective at the incredible potential of this system, let me give you some numbers. The advertised spring rates for the VBP system are 390, 450, and 530. While I was under the car I realized that the linkage ratios for the leaf were drastically different than the coil springs. To compare apples to apples, the VBP rates (if running a comparable coil) would be in the ballpark of 625, 750, and 850.
Since removing the jounce bumpers, I have been able to back way down on the shock valving, even though I stepped back up to the middle spring setting. I am currently at 5 C and 8 R. The car rides amazingly soft, so much so that it is really unbelieveable. I never thought a 2nd gen could ride this smooth, especially with 17 inch wheels and tires, big sway bars, and very high spring rates.
The system doesn't give up handling for the good ride. When I throw it into a corner, it turns in quickly and flat sticks. It does understeer a bit, but a little throttle balances it out nicely. You can feel the transverse spring do its thing in the corners. The other thing that I have found with the lower shock settings is that the weight transfers quicker and more evenly from tire to tire on the front. Bumps mid corner don't phase it. The ride is so soft that any rattles I had are now all but gone, even over the roughest roads.
I figured I could get the good ride with the lighter weight components on the front but it is now exceeding my wildest expectations. I know this sounds like a big claim, but if you are in the Rolla area I would back it up by taking you for a ride so you can see for yourself. Better yet, bring your 2nd gen and we will drive the same roads back to back so you can see how much of difference there is.
My best theory on why the jounce bumpers make such a difference. First, I have cut a lot of weight on the front suspension components both with this swap and other things. There is a lot less weight now. The fiberglass leaf spring reacts so much faster than a coil spring. From all my reading, it is generally accepted that jounce bumpers don't add rebound rate to coil spring setups and act like a variable rate spring at the far ends of compression. Given the lighter weight and the quicker reaction of the composite, they apparently do add a lot of rebound rate. Every other review I have read on this setup reported the need for a lot of rebound control. I think this explains why.
For those looking for something very tuneable and adjustable with great ride and handling potential, give it a look.
I wish I still had my Edelbrock and Bilstein shocks as it would be interesting to see how they do now that I have discovered this. I really believe an off the shelf shock may be able to effectively control this setup without the jounce bumpers.
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