I need to change my recoil springs in my Wilson CQB and Baer TRS soon.  They both have 18.5# conventional recoil springs as far as I know.  Is there any reason to change to a lighter spring weight such as a 16# or should I stay with the 18.5#?  I only shoot 230grain ammo.

The recoil spring use of 18.5lbs from those two manufacturer are because the weight of spring needed is a fuction of how tight the components are fitted.  So with the 18.5lb springs the pistols will digest almost anything reliably.

Generally the Wilson 1911's are not as tight as the Baer 1911's.
They both come from the factory with the 18.5 lb recoil springs.  You could just order a lower force rated spring to try and see if the pistols still remain reliable.  I order wolff springs for replacements.  Wolff has 17.5 lb which is between the standard 16lb and extra power 18.5 lb.

If you use these pistols for competition with reduced loads have at the lower spring rates.  But since you only shoot the 230 grain, there is no reason to go lighter than what they use; other than to lighten the hit from the barrel locking up. Caution as you my have feeding problems if the Baer is still tight and you use a lower spring weight.

Oh yah and I forgot to add they use the 18.5lb recoil springs because they can not predict the kind of ammo people will use with their pistols.

Like +P.

buy a couple different weight recoil springs.  Go do a few bill drills  with each different spring. The one that groups the best for you while doing the bill drill is the one you want to use.

what # mainsprings do you all use for standard 230grain ammo?