Recent Ground Control Reviews
01-14-13, 05:21 PM
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Recent Ground Control Reviews
Hi All,
I know this has probably been done to death, but as I *finally* have a little spare cash I am looking into playing with my suspension. I've got an FD and I've recently replaced the pillow ***** with ones purchased via Atomic Rex, and now I'm looking at shocks and springs or cheap coilovers. I have searched quite a bit, and considering my budget of around $1000 I am heavily leaning towards a Ground Control kit with some Koni Yellows.
That being said the car is daily driven, so ride comfort is fairly important here in "dueling banjos" oregon. During my searching around I've heard many good things about the GC+Koni setup but recently there have been a lot of comments of "why bother with the yellows when there are so many better dampeners out there and good springs will work with them just fine". So I am curious for some clarification on that.
Also I read through HowardColeman's post on how to setup an FD suspension and remember he talked about using the factory upper spring mounts in lieu of a pillow ball or similar and I have been wondering if in that should be carried over to something like the GCs and lose the top mounting plate, in which case wouldn't it just be better to snag a threaded sleeve and do a "build my own" GC kit?
And of course in the face of all of this, would a coilover just be better overall? something like Tein SS or the offering from Pettit? I'm open to different ideas, and nothing is set in stone yet, but I would love to hear anything someone with more experience has to say on the matter.
Thanks ahead of time,
Andrew
tldr: is GC still good considering the new shocks/springs available, and how should they be setup for best effect, would a coilover be better since the car is my DD
I know this has probably been done to death, but as I *finally* have a little spare cash I am looking into playing with my suspension. I've got an FD and I've recently replaced the pillow ***** with ones purchased via Atomic Rex, and now I'm looking at shocks and springs or cheap coilovers. I have searched quite a bit, and considering my budget of around $1000 I am heavily leaning towards a Ground Control kit with some Koni Yellows.
That being said the car is daily driven, so ride comfort is fairly important here in "dueling banjos" oregon. During my searching around I've heard many good things about the GC+Koni setup but recently there have been a lot of comments of "why bother with the yellows when there are so many better dampeners out there and good springs will work with them just fine". So I am curious for some clarification on that.
Also I read through HowardColeman's post on how to setup an FD suspension and remember he talked about using the factory upper spring mounts in lieu of a pillow ball or similar and I have been wondering if in that should be carried over to something like the GCs and lose the top mounting plate, in which case wouldn't it just be better to snag a threaded sleeve and do a "build my own" GC kit?
And of course in the face of all of this, would a coilover just be better overall? something like Tein SS or the offering from Pettit? I'm open to different ideas, and nothing is set in stone yet, but I would love to hear anything someone with more experience has to say on the matter.
Thanks ahead of time,
Andrew
tldr: is GC still good considering the new shocks/springs available, and how should they be setup for best effect, would a coilover be better since the car is my DD
01-16-13, 11:40 AM
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tein might be the simplest option.
the koni's are a good shock, and with "normal" spring rates, they can deliver a really nice handling car that also rides well and can handle bumps. i normal would be the old 550/450 M2 setup* or even 500/400, which rides like stock.
i don't see why you couldn't just use the stock upper shock mount/boost assemblies with the GC springs. in fact the only real problem with the GC kit IS the upper mount.
*back in the day M2 used ground control because they were local, so the 550/450 spring rate is right from the grand am car. they later collaborated on the Advance design shocks.
the koni's are a good shock, and with "normal" spring rates, they can deliver a really nice handling car that also rides well and can handle bumps. i normal would be the old 550/450 M2 setup* or even 500/400, which rides like stock.
i don't see why you couldn't just use the stock upper shock mount/boost assemblies with the GC springs. in fact the only real problem with the GC kit IS the upper mount.
*back in the day M2 used ground control because they were local, so the 550/450 spring rate is right from the grand am car. they later collaborated on the Advance design shocks.
01-18-13, 12:09 AM
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Yes GC is still a great option. I personally like 450f/350r rates for a dual purpose car. Rides better than the 500/400 setup which doesn't quite ride like stock IME. 
The GC upper mounts are a great option as they do have a polyurethane bushing between the spring and the steel upper mount so that it helps absorb road irregularities. The stock upper mounts are even cushier which I like as I've gotten older...
The GC upper mounts are a great option as they do have a polyurethane bushing between the spring and the steel upper mount so that it helps absorb road irregularities. The stock upper mounts are even cushier which I like as I've gotten older...
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