wsmith30132 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 So my only current suspension mods are swift springs. I'm on a budget of around $650. Those of you that have done alot of suspension mods; Am I better off going with Koni inserts or a bunch of other stuff like sways, endlinks, RSB reinforcment bracket, and LCA bushings? It will probally be a year or so before I can come back to finish the rest of the suspension mods. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal05LGT Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I have swifts on koni''s and love the setup, you'll def wanna swap out the struts soon as the stock ones prob won't hold up too long on such an aggressive drop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsmith30132 Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 Thanks, is everything else stock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal05LGT Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 As far as suspension?? For now yea, gonna do LCA bushings soon tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteyjr Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 My stock stuts lasted about a year on my swifts . Now they seem to bottom out with any medium bump. I'm going the Koni route as well. As much as I love the swifts (autocrossed them all last year) I am changing out to Ions for slightly higher ride height and wifey comfort. Get a rear sway , Some may argue but I think it made a huge difference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad023 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 agreed i have perrin front and rear 22mm bars and stock springs and love just that huge difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsmith30132 Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 Thanks guys, ill probally pull the trigger on the konis then. Maybe ill try to save for jdm rear sway too tide me over for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal05LGT Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Sounds good about the konis, don't worry about cuttin your struts either....it's a cake job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonwacker Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I've heard good things about the JDM rear sway bar, but if you really want to tighten it up I'd suggest a match front/rear set - I love my Cobbs. But I did the sways before I switched to Swifts/Bilstein HDs, so I don't really know what the Swifts are like without sways... sorry...this forum practically blows goat nuts so im not always on here.Team Pony Express POSTED FROM MY COMPUTER USING A WEB BROWSER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 BUY STRUTS...KONI or BILSTEIN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I've had Swifts/Konis along with a bunch of other suspension mods since last Spring. If you have any sort of potholes or road imperfections, I would consider a spring with a taller ride height, cutting the front bump stops, or getting Bilsteins (supposedly have more suspension travel). As it is now, I am almost always on my bump stops. Rough pavement that I don't even notice in my wifes Yaris is very harsh in the Legacy. By rough pavement I mean anytime there is a hard edge. When the road is flat or only slightly wavy, it rides on rails, but the slightest edge/bump and you feel it. I am switching out to RaceComp Engineering Tarmac 1's in a few weeks. My estimate is that I should gain a little over 2" of travel before hitting the bumpstops, as opposed to the ~0.090" that I'm estimating I have now. The coilover springs are stiffer but I anticipate a vastly improved ride. People who have followed my reviews of the Koni/Swift setup will notice that I was very satisfied in the beginning. Let me tell you, after a few months of 60mi commutes on New England roads... the flat cornering is barely worth it compared to the kidney-pounding ride. I love the dropped stance (-2.13"F/-1.5"R) but I will gladly sacrifice some of the drop for better comfort. Also, the car will still corner flat(ter) due to the stiffer springs, and I should be able to fit some 245/40-18's in there! The Crimson Dynamo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifbiker Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Ideally on a budget I would run stock springs on Konis with the JDM rear sway bar with reiforcements and use poly bushings on the front sway bar. If you must have stiffer shocks either wait for Race Comp to come out with the regular guy spring, run the coil overs from them or use the Rallitek Springs. I just replaced my stock struts with Konis on my 05 LGT wagon. My car has 68,000 miles on it and for the most part the struts were pretty well on their way to being done, meaning there wasn't much gas pressure in either front strut. I purchased a donor set from PSUCAPTIANKICKASS. If memory serves the donors had a stiffer spring on the struts, anyways those struts had very little gas pressure and one side had lost a fair amount of oil and what oil was left showed evidence of contaimination. OK so what's the point, if your car has about the same amount of miles as mine did the stuts can't handle the new springs and I imagine the wheels are doing more bouncing over bumps than tracking over then. Even when the stuts were new its my opinion the Swift spring is not a match to the strut. I took some measurements to see how much bump travel was needed before the strut hits the bump stop. Keep in mind the bump stops are very progressive so there are designed such that you don't know when they are engaged. There is about .50 inches of bump travel before the stop is engaged. I estimate there is about 2.75 inches of total bump travel in the front strut. Its clear there isn't alot of bump travel designed into the suspension and lowering it only reduces it. Also lowering the car induces bump steer, throws off the suspension roll center and may require new roll bar links to keep the roll bar parallel to the ground. Surely other can comment on the end linksAnyways..lowering the car and adding stiffer springs reduces bump travel and requires something like the Whiteline roll center correction kit to be installed and a new set of struts. The reasons above is why I kept the stock springs. The car does need a roll bar to minimze roll, but it rides much better over harsh roads and railroad tracks and seems to settle more quickly into steady state when going into a corner. I'd like a slightly stiffer spring but I'll wait until Race Comp comes out with the regular guy spring or try the RalliteKs which have minimal drop and hope to not have to correct the roll center. From the many reviews on the board many people are really happy with Cobb sway bars and it seems to be the most popular set up. The reason why I'm going to try the JDM rear bar first is my calculations show the car should still have some understeer characteristics which is what I'm used to driving plus the raods in Michigan are so bad that I'm concerned that "tieing" the suspension together with larger bars will cause a more harsh ride. There is some evidence on the board to support this as well. If its not enough then I will sell it and go to the Cobb sways. My advice would be sell the Swifts, buy some Konis and install them with stock springs and then pick up a sway bar. If this isn't enough then do the springs with minimal drop or sell your Koni set up and go with the Race Comp coil overs. I think it's the best set up for the money while maintaining bump travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsmith30132 Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hey thanks for the advice, i appreciate it. I havnt bought anything yet but the tax check is on its way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsmith30132 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 I can live with the stock struts on swifts, its just a little bouncy. I was hoping the konis would smooth that out alot. The tarmac 1's look awsome, but a little steep for me. Man I was all set on the konis but you guys ruined that one, hahaha. No, I appreciate the advice though. Maybe ill save for the tarmacs? Ok couple more questions. Would the konis smooth out the swifts? Would konis keep the same drop as I have now? has anybdy had any experience about the bc br series coilovers(iirc)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal05LGT Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Koni's will keep the same ride height, but they are very stiff with swifts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsmith30132 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Sorry new to this suspension thing. So they will be stiffer than with stock struts on swifts but does that mean it will feel more harsh and less bouncy? feel smoother but less bouncy? or just be hard and harsh as hell? Like i said i dont mind the harshness of swifts on stock struts just trying to smooth it out. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal05LGT Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Everything you hit you will feel, very stiff, lots and lots of road feel, you can set the koni's to full soft, but they are still pretty harsh IMHO, I love the setup tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsmith30132 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 hahahah, thats how i feel about the swifts on stock struts. what would say is the biggest difference's the konis added over the stock struts on swifts? Thanks again for all the input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal05LGT Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Gets rid of the bounce, gives great road feel (if you can deal with the harshness), they won't blow like the stockers, and they are adjustable (soft to firm) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsmith30132 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Thank you sir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal05LGT Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 No prob, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifbiker Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Try checking out www.iwsti.com and search for roll center calculator and also search for posts by a guy named stretch. The site is pretty good and there is alot that can be learned about suspensions. Spend some time doing research before dropping some more cash, I think you will a combination that will work for your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsmith30132 Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 Thanks, stetch has some great articles. I never knew how important the roll center is. this was a good read, http://www.buildafastercar.com/tech/Roll-Centers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal05LGT Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 ^^ Really good read, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blklgt05 Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 So my only current suspension mods are swift springs. I'm on a budget of around $650. Those of you that have done alot of suspension mods; Am I better off going with Koni inserts or a bunch of other stuff like sways, endlinks, RSB reinforcment bracket, and LCA bushings? It will probally be a year or so before I can come back to finish the rest of the suspension mods. Thanks. I've tried couple of setups and different parts, heres a simple list and my experience with them. Bilstein HD - Pretty cheap for the brand(550ish), feels great, takes bumps really nicely.[Need SpecB front hats] LCA Positive Bushing - I have AVO, they recently made an upgrade so that it wont move out of the control arm, I don't think the other brand have addressed this problem. If your car is about a year old and you drive it moderately aggressive, your stock LCA bushing is probably already torn(like mine). By not replacing this piece, you will never achieve an accurate wheel alignment. This mod also help with understeer and allows you to corner later with the increased positive castor. Another way to slightly increase your castor angle is to swap your top hats.[no NVH] Whiteline roll center bushing - If you've lowered your car, this fixes your control arm & tie rod back to its natural angle. Help you control the car better when you hit a bump during corners. [no NVH] AVO steering rack bushing (improves steering feel). I have Whiteline's steering rack bushing, but it requires mod because its for STI, so I would suggest getting AVO's version of it. [no NVH] Tranny Mount (GroupN or Cusco) - One of my first mod, great bang for the buck. No more struggling into the gears anymore. Highly recommend it.(also gets rid of the shifter shakes) [no NVH] Kartboy short shifter + bushings + shift knob. Get that whole package, save you money and it is worth it. I have that shift knob and its a prefect size. The shifter is prefect. Makes the entire car feel more solid. [no NVH] JDM 20mm RSB or Suspension Technique F/R sways. - They are one of the best sway bars around, really good R&D. I presonally have Cusco RSB only, but I'm thinking of swapping to that, but if you want a more comfortable ride with a balanced feel, go for the JDM 20mm RSB. Either way, make sure you use a pair of clamp on the inside or outside of the F/R swaybar mounts to stop lateral movements. I learned this from another guy who learned it from a jeep forum. Right now, you can see all the sway bar companies add the clamps to their sb sets. But if the sway bar you want to get doesn't have it, try home depot. [no NVH with either setup][ive drove LGT with 20mm JDM RSB, cusco RSB, and honda prelude + integra type R with suspension technique.] mod journal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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