Ishibubu

So i'm looking at getting new shocks and springs for the 7'. I was thinking about going with KYB AGXs with Eibach GC springs. Any other ideas?

Black91n/a

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What mods have you done so far, what wheels and tires, what will the car be used for, any track events, autocross, do you have any experiance at either, how stiff of a ride are you willing to put up with, what's your budget.

These are all important things to consider, as they affect what's best for the given situation, as there is no one best suspension. Besides, you probably can't afford the best for any given situation if you're thinking about AGX's and GC's, since the best will be about 10x as expensive.

YaNi

iTrader: (2)

FWIW, the AGX's can't handle much more then 350lbs springs.

Ishibubu

No mods, looking to mod... Got a set of 17x8 mustang wheels that I will most likely be running on 235's

Black91n/a

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Answer ALL the questions or no one will be able to properly answer yours.

What are you wanting to get out of it, what's your budget, what compromises are you willing to put up with?

Ishibubu

Car is a project I will be running it on 17x8 mustang wheels that will most likely be on 235's like I said earlier. I will be using this as my DD so I want the ride to be smooth, however I would like to take it to the occasional autox and maybe some aggressive driving. Budget isn't too large just shoot out suggestions.

Black91n/a

Ok, well I'll give some suggestions, but realize that the more information you give and the more detailed the question is the better the answer will be.

AGX's and GC's is a decent starter setup, but when you factor in the cost of camber plates and pillow ball mounts for the rear then you're in the price range of intergrated coilovers like the Tein Flex and Stance coilovers. I think that it's worth going that route as it gives you some features that you don't get with something like AGX's and they're designed to work with those spring rates, where the AGX are near their limit on the soft end of coilover rates (wouldn't reccomend going over about 400lb/in front and 275lb/in rear).

I'm running Tein Flex with 7kg/mm front and 5kg/mm rear (stock for the Flex is 6/5) and an RB front bar and a stock rear. I also use 17x8 Mustang wheels and with my 225/45/17's it's biased just slightly towards understeer, but a different alignment would easily change that to oversteer. It rides aceptably, it's not jarring, but you can certainly feel the bumps more than stock and no one will mistake it for a Lexus, but I DD it and I find it perfectly acceptable. Overall I'm very happy.

Some things to consider when shopping (no particular order):
1) Service. Suspensions wear out and having them be rebuildable and re-valvable in North America is an important consideration. Re-valving is important if you want to get serious and experiment with different spring rates and want to get the most from your setup. If they're in Japan or something it'll cost a lot more, take a lot more time and be a lot more difficult to deal with (language) getting them serviced.
2) Shock dynos. Seeing shock dynos can tell a person a lot about a shock. You need to know how to read them though. Seek knowledgable people to give you advice on this.
3) Durability. This relates to #1, some products are known to wear out frequently, others are known to last tens of thousands of miles with no issues. Long term reviews are the only way to know for sure.
4) Reviews from EXPERIENCED, KNOWLEDGABLE people. This can't be stressed enough, if you have no experience with anything other than worn out stock crap or cheap crappy crap then just about anything will feel great. Look for reviews from racers, they seek out the absolute best and will be more likely to do testing to determine if it's really better than what they had before, or if it's better than what the competition has.
5) Stiffness. Many, many coilovers for the FC are stiffer than is really needed. My 7/5 spring rates are more than enough for me on track with race tires. Going stiffer, especially on the street with potholes and so on and with street tires, then you'll be loosing grip from the tires skipping over the bumps, loosing contact with the road, and you can't grip the road if you can't touch it. I'd reccomend 7/5 (in kg/mm) or 400/275 (it's equivalent in lb/in) to start with.

My Tein Flex hit on every one of these qualifications and is a very good deal for what you get. Highly reccomended.

Ishibubu

Why would I need camber plates? How low can you drop the car without messing with the alignment? What would be better than AGX's and GC's? I am pretty much DD'ing it with some aggressive driving and some auto-x driving (occasionally). Not trying to spend tons of money.

Black91n/a

You need camber plates if you want to adjust camber. I suppose it's not really needed, as the front doesn't gain much, but they're good to have. In the rear if you drop it more than about 1" you need to buy some bits to allow you to adjust the camber, as it gains a lot of negative camber in the rear as it's dropped and you'll have to adjust it out or else you'll wear out your tires really quickly.

If you keep the drop to about 1" or less you should be fine without any additional alignment pieces.

Koni Yellows are a better shock than KYB AGX's, but more expensive and you have to install them into the stock front strut housings, but if it's just for street driving and a little bit of casual autocross then AGX's should be fine.

Ishibubu

Would it be a better idea to get say tanabes if it will only be an inch drop? And how are Tokico Illuminas compared to KYBs

Black91n/a

Tanabe and Tein lowering springs give less room than stock up front, so a wheel and tire set that fits now might not fit after.

I'd buy AGX's on a budget or Yellows if I wanted to go more upmarket, not that the Tokicos are bad, they're just not worth the extra over the AGX's and aren't cheap enough compared to the Konis to merit buing them.

Ishibubu

So Eibach GC springs are the way to go? How about RB springs etc?

Black91n/a

Depends, if you want to do track days and are willing to put up with a harsher ride and so on, then yes on the GC's. If it's just for street and you want some comfort then stick with stock type springs.

Ishibubu

Well the springs I have now are shot. Are the stock springs good enough to handle aggressive driving and the occasional track day? I want something that will really help me grip to the road during sharp turns and canyon driving.

OC_

Make sure you cost everything out before you buy. You might find that your really close to the price of cheaper coilover system.

Ishibubu

~700 for shocks and springs + shipping maybe ~760? I'd prefer a cheaper set up if there is one as aggressive for a little less.

Black91n/a

A good set of shocks will do tha car a world of good, no matter what springs. I tracked my car on a 100% stock suspension, then on the same suspension with RB sways and it was just fine. Even with reasonably sticky 225/45/17's it was fine.

Don't think that you "need" a better suspension for autocross, road racing, or just to have fun.

connor@tirerack

In short... before you start buying parts and racking up very large bills you need to know what you want the final outcome to be and what you are willing to put into the car to get it there. you can go very simple with performance shocks and lowering springs. Or, you can do a complete suspension upgrade with adjustable coil over kits, adjustable sway bars, adjustable camber plates and/or adjustable lower ball joints and control arms. You also may want to consider strut tower braces to limit body flex to control weight shifts in the car. The list can go on and on.

Black91n/a

I guess I haven't touched on it yet, but putting in all new suspension bushings will also do the car a world of good, as they're old and rotten.

Ishibubu

I still can't seem to decide

Ok basically here is what I want: I LOVE turning, I love the g-forces of turns, I love taking mountain curves. I need a setup that will allow me to have a comfortable DD but also allow me to tear it up in the twisties and autocross, maybe something that would allow me to compete with a MS3? I don't see why so many springs drop the car over an inch if it messes up your alignment and your camber. I have no preferences with any company I just want to get the best for the money. I wouldn't really like to spend over $600. Also what would be the best tire in the $120-$140 ea. range?

I would be running this setup on a set of 17x8 Mustang wheels w/ 225/40/17 tires on a TII (my current springs are shot so I decided to upgrade).

Black91n/a

What makes you say that your springs are shot?

Basically the biggest difference to the handling in terms of overall grip and feel will be tires, followed by shocks. If you do these right then you won't notice the stock springs as much. Some upgraded sways will help the car corner flatter and not make it uncomfortable. Bushings will help eliminate sloppy feelings.

For tires, Tire Rack is good, they do comparison tests and you can look up customer reviews. It's a great place to do some research, but they don't carry everything, like Falken Azenis and Hankook RS-2's aren't sold there and they're great tires.

Basically for your suspension budget, get some Konis and some sways. Then upgrade your bushings, then later on you can get some springs or GC coilovers.

Ishibubu

Because the previous owner cut the fronts and the rears are so low I have negative camber out the ***. The majority of my tire is completely bald. I figured I'd upgrade it all. How much for a set of Koni's?

Black91n/a

They'll be somewhere in the $450 range IIRC.

90FC

About $600...

Ishibubu

450 is do-able 600 not so much.

So still... KYBs + What springs? I understand why GC's are good but are the worth the money? Why do people make springs that drop the car ~1.5 inches if it requires a camber adjustment?