ripsweetness Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 I know there are thousands of posts on coilovers but its mostly above my comprehension level:lol: I want to build a "ultimate" driver's car. 1st upgrade is going to be rims and suspension while I break in the engine for fututre mods.but reliability is important. I want the car to handle better than stock with a lower stance but I dont want to have to replace the suspension every 25k. I wont be bringing it the track or anything. Maybe just some spirited driving here and there:lol:. I am willing to spend around $1500 on coilovers but if its not reliable I would rather save my money and just buy springs? Anybody with 1st hand experience, there opinion would be greatly appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azca Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 buy pinks and ohlins shocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super.duper.BL6 Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 With all aftermarket suspension, you are going to have to deal with the fact that the struts/shocks are wear and tear items. I have blown stock struts/shocks, koni shocks, tein shocks, and had a defective megan strut. In a previous car, I have logged ~60k on Tein HA coilovers without servicing. Currently in the LGT, I have logged 15k on Megan racing coilovers. Even with just getting springs and retaining the stock struts/shocks, they will eventually fail as well. My opinion for a low maintenance setup is to stay as OEM as possible (ie. Bilsteins/pinks), or live with the fact that a coilover setup will have to be maintained periodically (core replacement, strut servicing/rebuilding, pillowball cleaning/lubing....etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripsweetness Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share Posted June 7, 2007 With all aftermarket suspension, you are going to have to deal with the fact that the struts/shocks are wear and tear items. I have blown stock struts/shocks, koni shocks, tein shocks, and had a defective megan strut. In a previous car, I have logged ~60k on Tein HA coil-overs without servicing. Currently in the LGT, I have logged 15k on Megan racing coil-overs. Even with just getting springs and retaining the stock struts/shocks, they will eventually fail as well. My opinion for a low maintenance setup is to stay as OEM as possible (ie. Bilsteins/pinks), or live with the fact that a coilover setup will have to be maintained periodically (core replacement, strut servicing/rebuilding, pillowball cleaning/lubing....etc.). I agree with everything you said and realize that it is a wear item either way. But stock suspensions go ten years without service. If coilovers routinely went 50k without any problems I would consider that an excellent value for $1500. Now if coilovers ride terrible and are best suited for the track and need repair every 15k then that wouldnt be practical for what I will be using them for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super.duper.BL6 Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Personally, I wouldn't service my coilovers unless I could directly feel an impact in the function of them (you can definitely feel if the coilover struts/shocks, or any brand struts/shocks, are blown). Recommended service intervals by the manufacturer are not definite, and are only estimations. Life of the actual product varies user to user, since all road conditions and driving styles are extremely variable. I have gone 60k on a set of coilovers without needing service, and I wouldn't be surprised if these Megan Racing ones last just as long (thank goodness for beefy bumpstops). My recommendation to you would be to skip on the spring/struts upgrade for the moment, and invest in sway bars, endlinks, LCA bushings, and replace the RE92's with some quality rubber. See how you like those upgrades first before determining if you feel the need to upgrade the rest of the suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 ^^^ Exactly. Properly installed coilovers do not require any periodic maintenance, certainly not every 15K miles. As I've said before on a number of occasions, coilovers are simply shocks with threaded bodies. Nothing more, nothing less. The dampers in a good set of coilovers last the same amount of time as those in a fixed perch strut. The only part of some coilovers that can wear are the spherical bearings in pillowball top hats. Those will still outlast the duration that most people own their cars. If extreme longevity is required then just pick coilovers that reuse the OEM top hats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolbluelb Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 My KW's from Boost are very comfortable for daily driving. I can not imagine anyone saying they were only worthy of track use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleBlueGT Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 My KW's from Boost are very comfortable for daily driving. I can not imagine anyone saying they were only worthy of track use. Yep! Full tune of 68HTA, KSTech 73 MAF, Racer X FMIC and ID1000s................by the DataLog Mafia!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawl Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 My KW's from Boost are very comfortable for daily driving. I can not imagine anyone saying they were only worthy of track use. how good are they for track use? car for sale. PM me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolbluelb Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 how good are they for track use? I will tell you after the Subaru Challenge in August... Honestly though, I believe you will hear from others that the KW's are a good choice for daily drivers. They are certainly a dramatic improvement over the stock setup as far as handling goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDII Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 <---- TEIN flex's with 20k on them. Still holding strong! Need forum help? Private Message legGTLT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Im on Endless Zeals with over 50,000 miles on mine. I finally decided to take them into service to get the valves rebuilt to a new set of specs along with changing to a new set of springs with higher rates. I noticed the performance in them finally tapered off and they just dont feel the same as they were when they were brand new out on the track [and daily driving for that matter]. I have probably logged in well over 5,000 miles on them on track driving (and when i drive track, it's not your typical grandma kind of driving either since I do drop wheels into the dirt and cutting through apexes). I also autocross them with well over 100 events in that car with multiple drivers as well. Many coilovers need rebuilds either every 2 years or every 20,000 to 30,000 miles. Anyone that drives beyond is really beating up the valves (unless they buy coilovers that are the maintenance free that may last longer). Stock shocks and springs don't last forever either (as they start to give out at 80,000 to 100,000 miles). Many drivers out there that drive that many miles are so use to the car that they can't tell the difference if there is something wrong about the valving and really cant tell the difference if they have a blown shock or not. There is a huge misconception that coilovers are superior to a shocks and springs combination. Eventhough a coilover may have a threaded body for the 2-way adjustment of spring preload and possibly ride height adjustment, many people forget to read the instruction manuals and just dial in all the lengths and heights out of the shock's stroke range or worse, get binding from springs. I'll revise what some of you may have said: Coilovers that are properly maintained and properly installed within the manufacturer's specs should give you a better compliant ride over stock. Some coilover manufacturers may spend more time in the R&D will and does have a better compliant ride than other manufacturers. I've seen some coilovers out there that no matter how many adjustments you do (and Im just talking about the dampening adjustment), the ride doesnt comply to the owner's needs. A good example of that I have seen, worked on, and dealt with in the past are JIC Magic FLT-A2s for many cars and all of them aren't really designed for street use as they are designed more for track use. Of course check the model of the coilover that you are buying. Some companies may offer more than one model for the car (such as Zeal for example) that have more than just one coilover for the GT. Others out there may have something more for the street use (normally softer and has more suspension travel in mind for the design) while the track types are harder (for shorter stroke and higher spring rates to also match the valving for the higher bound and rebound rates). Start off by figuring out what you want the car to do. There are enough coilovers out there that will match your needs. For some, even a set of shocks with fixed perches and springs to match it is more than enough for you daily drivers out there. If you want more, a coilover sounds like the better deal if you are looking for a lower ride height and a shorter suspension travel to take on thicker sway bars and needing to run a more aggressive alignment for track use. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sumfoo1 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 i've read some are loud. is this an installation problem or a coilover problem and what needs to be done to avoid this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDII Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I have NOOOO complaints with the TEIN flex. Best Coilovers I have ever owned. Need forum help? Private Message legGTLT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochNY91TSI Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I have NOOOO complaints with the TEIN flex. Best Coilovers I have ever owned. Ditto for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I hated the Tein Flex's I had. Creaked, groaned and popped after about 15K miles. Beat me senseless on rough-ish roads regardless of damping or preload settings. Having said that, the guy I sold them to loves them. Maybe I'm a wuss or just have a lower tolerance for NVH than some other guys. I've had no issues with the MR or KW coilovers I've owned since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochNY91TSI Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 ^^That's interesting. I've heard really mixed reviews on Tein from other car owners. Seems like people either really love them or have had bad experiences with them. I personally love them for all of daily driving, auto-x'ing and tracking, whereas I've seen other complaints like you've had. I wonder if their quality control maybe isn't up to par? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 The quality control thing could be it, but since I had the first set of Flex's in the US and they were installed and supposedly revalved by Tein USA, you'd think mine would have been exactly as they wanted them. The handling on them was fantastic, but the ride was far too jarring for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoDork Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I've had Cusco Zero2 since March 2005. Some +50K miles later...still holding strong. Majority is daily driven, with a few track days mixed in & SEVERAL Trips to Northern California and Mammoth Mountain.... ~Sucka-Duck~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanboy Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 There's another factor... road surface. I probably see a couple of dozen cars every spring on the side of the road with blown tires and bent wheels from potholes. If I commuted to work by car, 20% of the time I'd be on roads that have frost heaves/broken pavement on the edges/potholes. On said commute there's probably three places that you could lose a wheel. -B http://www.standardshift.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoDork Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 We're pretty lucky in SoCaL to have decent roads and freeways. I've driven in NH during the winter and spring...some of those country roads & frost heaves $UCK @ss!!.... When i first saw a "Frost Heave" sign, i thought they were Posts set up by kids to fire off snowballs!?! haha....My Wifey Laughed at me (she's the NH'r) ~Sucka-Duck~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 My GF Laughed at me (she's the NH'r) Excuse me sir... that lady is now your WIFE! Show your baby's mama a little respect!:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoDork Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Fixed! ^^ Paul is a retard! ~Sucka-Duck~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanboy Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Back on topic with OP, I to am interested in a long-term set-and-forget kinda suspension that keeps the squat at bay: http://www.stinkyteapot.com/squat.jpg Is a little silly looking and more importantly, feeling. Hell, just accelerating normally I can feel the front aim for the sky. Thinking Bilsteins+pinks or the MeganXTOutback32adjustmentskeepOEMtophat coilovers (or whatever they are called) will get me as close as I can hope. Time will tell... -B http://www.standardshift.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Back on topic with OP, I to am interested in a long-term set-and-forget kinda suspension that keeps the squat at bay: http://www.stinkyteapot.com/squat.jpg Is a little silly looking and more importantly, feeling. Hell, just accelerating normally I can feel the front aim for the sky. Thinking Bilsteins+pinks or the MeganXTOutback32adjustmentskeepOEMtophat coilovers (or whatever they are called) will get me as close as I can hope. Time will tell... That is an awesome pic! I'm pretty sure the 2 passenger in the back seat didn't help with the squat though . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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