Hey everyone. From a performance aspect would there be any real differences between using custom springs and GC coilovers (if I was using tokico hp's and the same spring rates)? The only real differnce would be in that the GC would be adjustable and custom spring wouldn't be right?

 

Pretty much yes, but I challenge you to get custom springs for less than a ground control setup. With the GC's you run Eibach springs which are available in a number of rates, so there's plenty of choice without having to get something custom every time you change your mind.

One advantage to coilovers though is that you can corner weight the car for better handling, and you can fine tune the height based on what's "ideal" for you, and you don't just have to guess when ordering springs.

 

Typically out of the box aftermarket OEM damper replacements aren't valved to handle the rates you would commonly find in an integrated coilover. For this reason you would also probably end up investing in custom valved Konis to mate with your custom OEM style springs you are referring to.

 

I wasn't thinking of going to hard on the spring rates, probably 350lbs front and like 175lbs in the rear, at the tokico hp's not have the valving to support that much spring rate.

 

RS-R race springs are a nice intermediate step between available springs and coilovers (in general). They are 6kg/mm front and 4kg/mm rear (345f and 235r). I like them- I think they are probably close to ideal for Grip setups- i think if you paired them with AGX or Koni Yellows you'd have a good bang for the buck set-up...minus ride height adjustablilty.