There are three basic principles in spring design:
- The heavier the wire, the stronger the spring
- The smaller the coil, the stronger the spring
- The more active coils, the less load you will have to apply in order to get it to move a certain distance
Based on these general principles, you now know what to do to change the properties of a spring you already have. For instance, if you want to make automotive valve springs a little stronger than stock, you can a) go to a slightly heavier wire and keep the dimensions and coil count the same, b) decrease the diameter of the spring, keeping the wire size and coil count the same, or c) decrease the number of active coils, keeping the wire size and spring diameter the same. Naturally, you can also go to a stronger material to achieve the same result. Click here for more details >
