[Vreimann]

With all the coilover options, I think in each one the spring is not significantly pre-loaded and so the spring rates are higher.

The factory springs are preloaded to control droop as they tend to be a lower spring rate.

Are there any benefits in preloading the spring?

The reason I ask, is that the force on a tire into a pothole will have a greater average spring force over the stroke compared to that of a non pre-loaded spring.

On the compression side with our cars having such a small amount of compression room in the damper, we more than likely are in the bump stop more than we would like to think and an increased spring rate would help to mitigate the use of the bump stop.

With winter just settling in and the lack of proper road clearing, this is something I've been thinking about since bump stops, being made of some rubber gets to be very stiff. This creates a harsh ride when driving over an already crappy road now covered in snow and ice.

[CALWATERBOY]

Originally Posted by Vreimann

Are there any benefits in preloading the spring?

Some springs are short enough not to need preload but all should load to proper ride height after install.