Upgrading Coil Springs for More Power: Spring Into Action with H&R

While it’s a simple fact that your car will go faster if you increase horsepower, many tend to forget that serious gains can also be made by dialing in the suspension of the car. One area in particular to take aim at—the vehicle’s springs. Upgrading springs is a great way to adjust ride height and stiffen up that suspension. These two factors alone will help plant more power to the ground and keep the car as straight as an arrow.

Today, we’re limiting our discussion to upgrading coil springs, as they are more common than leaf springs in performance applications on the roadways—largely because they offer more flex in the suspension system.

What Are Coil Springs?

Coil springs, like the name implies, are strong, flexible coils placed on top of the axle. They absorb blows and terrain changes as the vehicle moves down the road. The springs’ height and tension will contribute to the vehicle’s ride height, while its combination with struts or shock absorbers will give the vehicle it’s ride quality—as well as handling and performance characteristics.

A coil spring works to support the sprung weight of the vehicle and absorb the blows we mentioned earlier. A strut or shock absorber works to dampen the spring harmonics after the blows are taken. For the best ride quality and performance enhancements, both will need to be upgraded. (Click here for some helpful information on selecting shock absorbers.)

So, how does upgrading coil springs enhance performance?

Well, upgrading to stiffer coil springs will inherently work to keep the tires in contact with the ground as the body rolls or terrain changes. It’s also very common for ride height to be lowered with the use of shorter or cut springs. By bringing the center of mass closer to the ground, the suspension will have a much better opportunity to transfer the power to the ground during launches, turns, or bumps. Though, keep in mind, that with these adjustments made, comfort will often be reduced in the name of performance.

There are a ton of great names out there when it comes to aftermarket coil springs for late model and classic applications. Hotchkis and Eibach are by far the most recognizable brands to the domestic market. And while they do an excellent job providing safety and stability—as well as some aftermarket performance gains—they’re facing a little foreign competition these days.

Meet H&R Special Springs

H&R Special Springs, best known for its success among the Euro sport market, is starting to make a name for itself among American performance icons. This company remains a very popular option for Porsche, Audi, and BMW applications. So, if you’re anything like me, you might be thinking: “Why should I care? My taste in cars is as American as the 4th of July and wooden teeth.” Well, the answer to this can be pretty extensive, but I’ll keep it to the point…

The first thing to note is that H&R is very well known for its ability to deliver performance without sacrificing ride comfort. And yes, you will ultimately feel more comfort with any high-quality, performance coil springs, but these guys have done their homework and offer what will likely be the most comparable to stock ride quality with aftermarket coils. And when you want to turn up the heat, expect H&R to deliver excellent results in high-performance driving.

H&R isn’t just some one-off brand jumping on the bandwagon, either.

The company was founded in the 1970s by Werner Heine and Heinz Remmen, who make up the “H” and “R” in H&R. Building upon years of combined automotive knowledge and suspension expertise, and tossing in a dedication to top-notch materials and manufacturing processes, the two men became the first to get a lowering spring past the high standards of the strict German regulating body, the Technischer Uberwachungs Verein (TUV). This in turn allowed them to essentially launch the aftermarket spring market in Germany, paving the way for other suspension innovators.

“H&R has an established heritage of industry respect and customer confidence due to the quality of our products, the definitive edge we give our customers’ vehicles, and the additional benefit of knowing H&R works right out of the box,” says the company. “Every suspension application is designed to be vehicle specific and all of our products are manufactured and produced to enhance handling potential, personal style, and retain vehicle ride comfort.”

The H&R manufacturing process of coil springs is, by nature, intense and extensive. The process starts with high tensile steel wire, which allows the company to use less material without compromising strength. This wire is sent through a CNC machine to ensure a perfect fit for each application. Then, each spring is sent through rigorous conditioning and testing. (This is where that reputation for German engineering comes in. Rest assured, each coil spring is going to be the best possible performance spring you can buy for your application.)

Why haven’t I heard of H&R?!

While the brand may have cut its teeth on European-badged vehicles, don’t be so quick to dismiss. As we said, H&R Springs is no new player to the game—and that includes its influence on traditional American muscle. Head over to the company’s list of project builds, and you may be surprised to find some stellar SEMA Mustangs dating back to the early 2000s.

In fact, plenty of happy Mustang owners have been taking advantage of H&R’s enhanced performance and quality ride characteristics for a while now. (And the same is true of Camaros and Challengers.) Though, over the past few months, the brand has really been taking this market by storm. It makes sense, as many modern Muscle owners are coming back from the quarter-mile-craze (thanks to a recent reboot of the horsepower wars) and are, once again, exploiting the capabilities of these cars that reach beyond a straight line.

This does leave the question of why go to a German company to make the springs for your Muscle car, instead of an American brand? While the brands we are more familiar with offer excellent product for track-oriented vehicles, there is an advantage when selecting H&R.

The company truly spends the time to find the perfect ride height and spring rate for each and every vehicle. This means, that when you choose from their selection, you won’t be getting a generic ride height adjustment. Rather, you receive what is perfect for each vehicle, in order to hone the suspension in for the best possible performance for that specific application. It’s also worth mentioning that they offer coilover kits for those looking to make the adjustments they feel necessary.

Ultimately, you have to pick the springs that are the right fit for what YOU want to get out of your suspension. But trust us when we say H&R is worth taking a look at—American Muscle or not.