I would really appreciate any advice on which rout i should go with my suspension setup.

Ive read may different articles which have answered many of my questions but there is still too many different factors in suspension set ups for me personally to be able to make an educated decision. Im mainly just slowly piecing together a fun drivable car that i can do some mild armature scca or road course type events in. Im asking for advice as im fairly new to all of it but i think its an absolute blast.

Currently my suspension is 17 years old and in need of some improvement. My car is a mild LSX/6spd swapped car which is fairly stock other then the GM drive line.
Im tore between just keeping it simple and going with springs and dampeners or getting a coil over set such as Apexi, tein, HKS, or greddy. I am leaning more toward coil overs mainly because of ride height adjustably but i doubt i will have my car on corner weight scales to fine tune the coil overs anytime soon if ever.

If any one has any recommendations i would love to hear them!
Thanks in advance!

 

i vote koni yellows + ground control kit

koni's are about the smoothest shocks you can buy, and they work really well performance wise. FD yellows can handle some decently high spring rates, so you can change your setup around a bit without having to revalve or anything.

Jared (jkstill) runs GC+yellows on his FD, and its fast as fawk in autox. I also run konis, but i have an FC

 

Tein Flex + EDFC

 

I was looking at the tein flex kit because it fits my budget (~1500) and you can add the EDFC but im not sure that i need on the fly adjustable dampers. Although way cool.
I have also been looking at the APEXi N1 EXV set up as well as the HIPERMAX III SPORT.

Out of the three which would give me the best road performance with the ability to do a track day event on occasion?

 

I had a set of ground control coil overs on an old civic of mine. It handled well for a civic but how does ground control stack up to the above options?

 

Tein Flex

 

the ground control kit is just springs+sleeves. you can use any coilover kit really, but the GC stuff is much higher quality than any of the ebay crap. the sleeves have square threads (self locking, never jam), and they use eibach springs. you can also choose any rate you want when ordering, you're not stuck with the default rates.
cheap springs are pretty unreliable - the rates ramp up as the spring is compressed. there are only a few spring companies that actually put the effort into manufacturing to make them truly linear- eibach, hyperco, and swift are the most trusted.

the performance is really in the spring+shock combination. anywone you see saying "GC sucks" most likely just stuck them over stock or some crap shocks, dropped them way too low, and rode the bumpstops. you want to choose an appropriate rate for your apprilcation, and use shocks that are valved accordingly. thats why i suggested yellows. they are adjustable, and are valved for use from stock rates up to somewhere decently stiff. Jared runs somewhere around 10k/8k i think, i cant rememeber (its posted somewhere), and his setup is amazing.
koni's valving is far superior to any affordable coilovers, and they ride smoother (low transmissibility = less harshness). i run 9/7 on my fc, and freeway expansion joints and train tracks are nothing.

i switched from tein flex's to konis on my FC, and the difference is phenomenal. the only downside is you cant dump the car. if you're setting it up to handle well you shouldnt be doing that anyway.

 

I also run Koni shocks with Ground Control coil over spring setup. I like it. The Konis provide a great street ride compared the Tein products I have tried and yet can still handle a good range of spring rates that work on a multi purpose street and autox and track car. I run 450# front and 350# rear rates on my FD.

The coilover setup from Pettit also sounds like a good budget friendly option. Check out the multi-page thread on the topic in this forum.

 

I loved my Koni/H&R spring combo, nice ride. My FEED coilovers are surprising bearable on the street. Have yet to track them though.

 

Which koni shocks are you using with your ground control coil overs?
Also how should i go about choosing a spring rate since my engine adds some front end weight?

 

Off the shelf Koni Sport Adjustables.

What are your corner weights?
How much HP and TQ are you making?
Strictly street driving or...?

 

I wish i knew my corner weights...
From what ive read the swap adds ~80lbs to the front end but ive moved the battery to the bin behind the passenger seat to help offset the front end weight gain.
Im currently around ~440hp & ~415tq
Mainly spirited street driving (at least for now) and an occasional scca event or an even rarer occasional track day on a circuit track.

 

Yeah, the LS conversion doesn't change weight too much from what I've seen on other cars.

I think you'll be OK with 450/350 combo which is also what howard coleman generally recommends for the FD. Read his thread on FD suspension to learn more about this topic. No point in going overboard on spring rates for what is mostly a street car. Especially if you drive in the rain.

What I like about the Ground Control setup is that it uses off the shelf, generic, 2.5" diameter race springs. These are easy and cheap ($59 each) to swap out if your needs change. You can also find them used for about $80 a pair. Some of the Tein setups require that you use their springs.

 

So far i am leaning toward the ground control and koni setup but for comparison does anyone know what the spring rates on Tein's coil overs?

After rereading his article i noticed something...
"For the other 95% including me I will be very happy with my modestly priced Tein Has" -HC

What is he refering to by tein Has?

Also he mentioned not to use a system with pillowballs but ive noticed most of the higher end coilover setups use them. Why is this? Isnt the purpose of the pillowball to offset the camber changes under a load(which doesnt affect FDs)? Did this play a role in you choice of ground control + koni setup?

 

it's the tein ha's. a specific series made by tein

 

I don't know that the HA's are available any longer from Tein. Their site doesn't list them any longer so you might have to get them used or find them sitting in someone's warehouse. Again, I'd suggest going with the Tein Flex and adding the EDFC. That will suit your purpose extremely well.

 

they suggest not using pillowballs over rubber because
a) they have more NVH
2) they wear out much faster

 

im in the same boat...

but i dont have the money for a coilover system.

should i get the Tokiko blues or KYG struts??
i just want to have a nice smooth ride if possible.
also i have tanabe lowered springs.

thanks

 

I'm running 700/550 with Koni Yellows, which is about 12.3/10.3 kg IIRC.

That and the GC setup work really well.

Avoid the temptation to lower your car too much.
Mine was at 25" measured at the fender lips, and that is too low IMO.
It is now about 25.75".

BTW, my FD no longer has the Eibach springs, I went to a higher spring rate and used Hyperco springs. I am contemplating bumping each end up by 100 lbs, as the car is still has a little more motion under braking and hard cornering than I would like.

And yes, it is now really fast in autox.

 

+1 (or 77?) on the Konis.

If you aren't serious about competetion, ie you won't likely spend a LOT of time with corner weighting and tuning, keep is simple, and don't do coilovers. (remembler KISS) Spend the money on good shocks and sport springs. I have the Koni Yellow with H&R sports, and am happy with the setup. My use is as a local autocrosser and fair weather occasional/weekly driver.