So... we're trying to sort out the suspension on the "new" ITC rabbit. I've been doing a bit of reading here in the archives and talking to some folks about spring rates / bars. There seems to be quite a variety of opinions...

The car was originally an ITC car but became a track day car for a while, so the setup as it came to us wasn't exactly "full-on". I know that a lot of suspension tuning has to do with a number of factors (tires, weight, driving style, track, etc), but I'll try to detail what we've got below...

Current setup on the car:
Shocks: Carrera coilovers, custom-valved fronts with mid-range rebound and more compression. Rear shocks are standard valved Carrera race units.
Bars: None in front, stock rear bar along with what appears to be a H&H straight bar on the beam
Springs: 350 front, 275 rear
Tires: Kumho 215/50-13 on 13 x 6 rims (most likely)
Diff: Open for now, possibly welded in the future
Weight of the car: Hopefully under 2075lbs with me in it.

Common wisdom from this forum: (gleaned from archives)
Front springs: #600-650
Rear: #350-400 rear
Bars: no front bar, most advocate some sort of rear bar configuration

Advice from well-known respected champion IT VW racer #1:
-Don't go above 450 -500# on either end. Anything more and the spring won't compress...the chassis will flex instead.
-The FRONT should be softer than the rear and having them be within about 50 or 100# of each other (rate). Something like #450 in the front, #500 in the rear with swaybars in the back only.

ITC rabbit guy #2
-He runs 650 front and 600 rear with a rear swaybar (solid Neuspeed). He says that the car was quite a bit faster like this over the other setup he had (600 / 400?).
-He says that the stiffness in the rear really helps the car rotate and push less. He was running same tires as I plan to use and an open diff. He also said he thought that 600 front and 650 rear would have worked a bit better as well.
-His car is noticeably lower in the rear than in the front...definite rake towards the back.

Shine Racing (SRS)
-They say to go for 500-550# fronts and around 400 rear with big rear bars. No front bars.
-Their recommendations focused more on replacing the bushings in the control arms and rear beam pivot point so that there's ZERO deflection in the suspension...keeping the shocks at the right angle and the tires on the road.
-They recommended sticking to close to stock tire sizes and keeping an eye on the rear beam in case it becomes too flexible / worn out due to age.

Does anyone have any thoughts on these? The rates are within the same general ballpark, but the philosophies seem to differ a bit. Mid-Ohio is my "home" track although I'll run at ORP, Nelson's (if it remains open), Putnam, etc...

I've got a bit of experience with rabbits...autocrossed one for 4 seasons and don't mind a bit of rotation...then again, I don't necessarily need to be fighting a tail-happy car in loose grip situations all the time either...

Can anyone make any suggestions? I know I'm in for some changes, I just want to buy smart and start from some sound experience.

Thanks!