Hellspawn

I have stock '93 touring suspension with 99k miles on it right now, and I was thinking of just picking up some tein s-tech springs or eibachs per Howard Coleman's recomendation since my stock shocks still ride fine.

But, today, right before I was going to order some s-tech springs, I noticed a tiny bit of fluid had trickled down my front left shock and that side is sitting a little lower than my right front.

So, now I know that I need to replace at least 1 shock, so I figure I might as well just replace all of them then. So now I am debating about going with either eibach springs or tein s-tech springs and koni shocks, or going with ground control coilovers (I really don't want to spend money on a "true" coilover kit or have to deal with the shock valving and corner weighting).

My car is used on the street with occasional auto-x and track useage and I am a little concerned about losing suspension travel with the ground control coilovers. should I be? would a spring/shock combo be better in this regard? regardless of the price difference, should I go with a spring shock combo (eibachs or s-techs and konis) or Ground Control "coilovers"? I will be upgrading to 18in wheels pretty soon as well, if that affects anything.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

I don't think GC has a full kit. The kit's I've seen for the FD use your own shocks with the GC kit (which is why it's $600 verse $1000). So, you'll still need to replace any bad/damaged shocks whether you go with GC or lowering springs.

If you aren't tracking the car, the only reason to go with coilovers is to give you the ability to adjust the height of the car. If you need/want that ability, then coilovers is what you are after. If you don't care about the height adjusting, the RSR Race Springs are a good spring to upgrade to.

rynberg

You make this thread but you're selling a set of Koni/Ground Control coilovers in the classifieds section right now?

Hellspawn

Yeah I was planning on going with konis with either the GC's or the eibachs or s-techs.

I plan on tracking the car occasionally, but I'm not sure what's more important, full suspension stroke with a shock/spring combo or being able to raise/lower the car with the GC's at the cost of some suspension stroke. I really don't have a preference either way, just whicheve would be better for occasional track/auto-x useage and daily driving.

So you like the RSR's better than the eibachs and S-techs? I will look into those, I was just looking at the afore-mentioned springs because Howard Coleman reccomended them in multiple threads.


Definitely not the same person as me, however I might consider buying them lol.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

I don't know your tracking background; however until you become a VERY good driver, you won't be bothered with the coil binding that can happen with the GC kit. I know several people with the GC/Tokico combination and they are very happy with it. However, one person I know just switched to the Tein Flex coilovers from that setup as he's been tracking on them for 4+ years. He was out-driving his setup so it was time to move up.

IMO, you should mod the car for track slowly, first tightening the nut behind the wheel.

The S-Tech are very low. Here is a picture of my car with the S-Tech springs paired with Tokico shocks:



The wheels are 17x9 +43 with a 255 size tire all around. I rubbed like you wouldn't believe up front. I was forced to roll the fenders. However, the combo felt VERY good on the track:

http://mahjik.homestead.com/files/FD...0040911_04.jpg

I recommend the RSR Race Springs as the spring rates are fairly similar, but the RSR drop is not as severe.

rynberg

Oops, sorry!

Back on topic, you lose suspension stroke with any of the lowering springs out there, same as you would with the GC kit!

Listen to Mahjik. You can track the car perfectly well on the stock suspension. It will take many track events for you to become good enough to really take advantage of a stiffer suspension. People always think that if they put aftermarket parts on their car, they will be faster on the track. You could spend thousands on your FD, go to the track the first twenty times, and get absolutely schooled by a better driver driving a stock FD. I understand that you want to get springs now because of the shock replacement. Again, listen to Mahjik there or search around.

I see that you only recently bought the car and that it has a modified LS-1 in it. Trust me, I think you'll appreciate staying with a softer suspension on the track until you get used to reining that beast in....

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Also, to add to rynberg's comments:

The problem with modifying the suspension too fast for tracking (without increasing experience in between) is that:

While you do increase the car's handling capabilities, you decrease the amount of feedback you receive from the car. So, you are extending that barrier of how far you can push the car, but you are decreasing the barrier that let's you know when the car is nearing it's limit.

I recommend letting your skills dictate when to upgrade the car for the track. For now, I would recommend fixing the damage shock and then do a few track events.

Hellspawn

Totally agree with tightening the nut behind the wheel, give the same advice to others

Main reason I want to do suspension now instead of after I get my beast on the track a few times first, is aesthetics. I personally don't like the looks of FD's (or most cars) with aftermarket wheels and stock suspension, and I'm picking up wheels pretty soon. But, I want what I do to be helpful on the track as I get faster.

I actually PM'd RTS3GEN asking for advice on the subject, I told him I didn't think I was ready to deal with all the settings and corner-weighting required to get the true coilovers set up properly, but he advised me to get Tein flexes anyways instead of buying suspension twice like he did, GC's first, then the tein's when he out-drove them. It is sound advice to be sure though... Decisions, decisions...