so many coilover choices...
#1
multipersonality disorder
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: so. cal
Posts: 5,656
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
so many coilover choices...
i've been reading as many posts as i can find about fd suspension setups, but i'm still unsure of what to use.
one "knowledgable" person tells me to go with brand x, the other guy with brand y...
so from what i gather, spring rates should be ok at around 450-500 lb front, and 350-400ish rear. this is gonna be a streetcar, but i'm not really bitchy about ride comfort, my old fc was stiff as a board and i commuted with that.i like going fast in the twisties.
so other than spring rate, can anyone give me some pointers on what brands are actually good for street/hard driving... i may get it on a track once or twice a year if i'm lucky, but it's gonna get driven every day.
also, tires... rims and tires... dropping the aspect ratio of the tires makes the steering responce a little quicker, but at what point (if any) does it begin to degrade the traction? i'm debating on whether or not to get rims...
anyway, i know this has all been covered before, but not by me. thanks for any input.
one "knowledgable" person tells me to go with brand x, the other guy with brand y...
so from what i gather, spring rates should be ok at around 450-500 lb front, and 350-400ish rear. this is gonna be a streetcar, but i'm not really bitchy about ride comfort, my old fc was stiff as a board and i commuted with that.i like going fast in the twisties.
so other than spring rate, can anyone give me some pointers on what brands are actually good for street/hard driving... i may get it on a track once or twice a year if i'm lucky, but it's gonna get driven every day.
also, tires... rims and tires... dropping the aspect ratio of the tires makes the steering responce a little quicker, but at what point (if any) does it begin to degrade the traction? i'm debating on whether or not to get rims...
anyway, i know this has all been covered before, but not by me. thanks for any input.
#2
Lives on the Forum
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: San Lorenzo, California
Posts: 14,716
Likes: 0
Received 8 Likes
on
8 Posts
Why do you want coilovers? Just get some RS-R race springs and some Konis and be done with it. I don't know why anyone would put up with the poor durability of coilovers for essentially pure street driving. IMO, the stock wheels become the limitation in grip and response after even a simple suspension "upgrade".
All that said, the Tein Flex are probably your best option for reasonably priced, more streetable coilovers.
All that said, the Tein Flex are probably your best option for reasonably priced, more streetable coilovers.
#3
multipersonality disorder
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: so. cal
Posts: 5,656
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
because i don't want to lower the car... except for a few days out of the year. my driveway is a little steep and i want the car about stock height, but i want the ability to lower it if i want to.
#5
3rd gen junkie
Join Date: May 2002
Location: san diego
Posts: 604
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by GUITARJUNKIE28
i've been reading as many posts as i can find about fd suspension setups, but i'm still unsure of what to use.
one "knowledgable" person tells me to go with brand x, the other guy with brand y...
so from what i gather, spring rates should be ok at around 450-500 lb front, and 350-400ish rear. this is gonna be a streetcar, but i'm not really bitchy about ride comfort, my old fc was stiff as a board and i commuted with that.i like going fast in the twisties.
so other than spring rate, can anyone give me some pointers on what brands are actually good for street/hard driving... i may get it on a track once or twice a year if i'm lucky, but it's gonna get driven every day.
also, tires... rims and tires... dropping the aspect ratio of the tires makes the steering responce a little quicker, but at what point (if any) does it begin to degrade the traction? i'm debating on whether or not to get rims...
anyway, i know this has all been covered before, but not by me. thanks for any input.
one "knowledgable" person tells me to go with brand x, the other guy with brand y...
so from what i gather, spring rates should be ok at around 450-500 lb front, and 350-400ish rear. this is gonna be a streetcar, but i'm not really bitchy about ride comfort, my old fc was stiff as a board and i commuted with that.i like going fast in the twisties.
so other than spring rate, can anyone give me some pointers on what brands are actually good for street/hard driving... i may get it on a track once or twice a year if i'm lucky, but it's gonna get driven every day.
also, tires... rims and tires... dropping the aspect ratio of the tires makes the steering responce a little quicker, but at what point (if any) does it begin to degrade the traction? i'm debating on whether or not to get rims...
anyway, i know this has all been covered before, but not by me. thanks for any input.
any JDM bling coilover will probably be way too stiff for you. (eg. 800-1500lb springs, and terribly crazy damping)
I've been poking around looking at what's what for a street/track setup, which is similar to what you want. I will probably get RS*R race or H&R sport springs, matched with koni adjustable shocks. I think you would do well with the H&Rs and Bilstein shocks.
I've seen shock dynographs and the JDM stuff is basically no good-- in other words way too stiff for the street and many tracks. There is a point where the damping is so stiff, you lose grip because the tires don't retain their best contact with the road while going over bumps. The coilovers are also very expensive. Konis and Bilsteins are excellent for street applications, and as far as height adjustability goes, the springs will take the car where I want it anyway. Also, with coilovers, for best performance the car needs to be corner weighted and stuff, and I have no desire to do that.
Last edited by FCdemon; 03-13-05 at 11:51 PM.
#6
www.silverbulletrx7.com
Originally Posted by GUITARJUNKIE28
i've been reading as many posts as i can find about fd suspension setups, but i'm still unsure of what to use.
one "knowledgable" person tells me to go with brand x, the other guy with brand y...
one "knowledgable" person tells me to go with brand x, the other guy with brand y...
Best of luck
#7
multipersonality disorder
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: so. cal
Posts: 5,656
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
my problem is i haven't been into fd's long enough to know what they like.
fcdemon... nothing is too stiff for me, but stiff doesn't = traction.
ne "real" budget in mind...maybe $2k.
maybe i'll grab some rsr springs for now and do more homework over the next few months so i can find out what i'll really like.
thanks for the input guys.
fcdemon... nothing is too stiff for me, but stiff doesn't = traction.
ne "real" budget in mind...maybe $2k.
maybe i'll grab some rsr springs for now and do more homework over the next few months so i can find out what i'll really like.
thanks for the input guys.
Trending Topics
#8
stop stealing my avatar
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Canton MI
Posts: 825
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
^your going FD?
search for posts by "howard coleman" he has prolly forgoten more about susenpion design than most will ever know. I belive he runs the tein HA's, but im not positive.
search for posts by "howard coleman" he has prolly forgoten more about susenpion design than most will ever know. I belive he runs the tein HA's, but im not positive.
#9
Super Snuggles
Originally Posted by rynberg
I don't know why anyone would put up with the poor durability of coilovers for essentially pure street driving.
Regardless, for people with excessively lightened cars or wider wheel combinations, coilovers may be a necessity for ride height adjustability or wheel clearance.
#10
Lives on the Forum
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: San Lorenzo, California
Posts: 14,716
Likes: 0
Received 8 Likes
on
8 Posts
Originally Posted by jimlab
Poor durability?? Which models and where did you hear this?
Regardless, for people with excessively lightened cars or wider wheel combinations, coilovers may be a necessity for ride height adjustability or wheel clearance.
Regardless, for people with excessively lightened cars or wider wheel combinations, coilovers may be a necessity for ride height adjustability or wheel clearance.
I agree with the statement about ride height adjustability -- I wish I had it as my car is lower than I would like with the HKS springs. Coilovers are typically not necessary for wheel clearance except when running 10" wide wheels up front -- which is totally unnecessary for street use, in spite of how cool it looks..
#11
Shark Stalker
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: BC Canada
Posts: 374
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
if i were u and had an fd, i'd get silkroad coilovers...they are reletivly inexpensive and the spring weight isn't too wack. go to their website to find out more http://www.silkroad-usa.com/
#13
Originally Posted by FCdemon
Also, with coilovers, for best performance the car needs to be corner weighted and stuff, and I have no desire to do that.
I'm certain that a good spring/shock combo would be adequate for now, but I'm thinking since I am doing suspension as well I might as well just get coilovers so I don't regret it later if I want to do some adjustments for the track.
#15
Rotary Freak
Originally Posted by GUITARJUNKIE28
so other than spring rate, can anyone give me some pointers on what brands are actually good for street/hard driving... i may get it on a track once or twice a year if i'm lucky, but it's gonna get driven every day.
I've never really heard anything bad about Zeal, other than the fact that they cost a fuckton. Silkroad is beefy as hell by reputation, as well, so either of those two brands could probably stand being put in a daily driver. The big question to ask yourself is, are you really going to play around with the settings that much? Are you going to go to an autocross to try to get your dampening adjustments dialed in? Will you know where you should set your ride height and dampening for different tracks and conditions? I think that if you're not going to be really using coilovers to their full extent, you're just wasting some money. If you're just going to have a daily driver that you track every now and then for ***** and giggles, I'd say go with something like a GC/Koni setup. That way you can have ride height adjustability with some control over ride quality.
Originally Posted by GUITARJUNKIE28
also, tires... rims and tires... dropping the aspect ratio of the tires makes the steering responce a little quicker, but at what point (if any) does it begin to degrade the traction? i'm debating on whether or not to get rims...
#16
www.silverbulletrx7.com
Originally Posted by Hellspawn
How necessary is corner-weighting for a street/occasional track & auto-x car?
I'm certain that a good spring/shock combo would be adequate for now, but I'm thinking since I am doing suspension as well I might as well just get coilovers so I don't regret it later if I want to do some adjustments for the track.
I'm certain that a good spring/shock combo would be adequate for now, but I'm thinking since I am doing suspension as well I might as well just get coilovers so I don't regret it later if I want to do some adjustments for the track.
dis1
#17
Super Snuggles
Originally Posted by snub disphenoid
Besides, who wants to look like 50 cent, "ridin' on blades"?
You're right, that looks terrible...
#18
Lives on the Forum
iTrader: (9)
Yup... 18 is pretty much the performance car minimum anymore... I had about the nicest set of 17" wheels available (Fikse FM10), and it just stopped looking good to me.
I don't think you're compromising too much, if you avoid the ultra-low sidewalls. 35-series are very livable when they are based on 255-and up widths.
Now that i've got dedicated 17" track wheels, I almost wish I went w/ 19" for my street wheels.
I don't think you're compromising too much, if you avoid the ultra-low sidewalls. 35-series are very livable when they are based on 255-and up widths.
Now that i've got dedicated 17" track wheels, I almost wish I went w/ 19" for my street wheels.
Originally Posted by jimlab
I do. 17s look tiny and 40-series tires look fat these days when standard rolling stock on cars like the Corvette is 18-19" with 30-35-series tires.
You're right, that looks terrible...
You're right, that looks terrible...
#19
Super Snuggles
Originally Posted by ptrhahn
Yup... 18 is pretty much the performance car minimum anymore... I had about the nicest set of 17" wheels available (Fikse FM10), and it just stopped looking good to me.
P245/40-17s on 17x8s and P275/40-17s on 17x9s...
P245/35-19s on 19x8.5s and P285/30-19s on 19x9.5s...
Much better.
Now that i've got dedicated 17" track wheels, I almost wish I went w/ 19" for my street wheels.
#20
Out of order
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: somewhere
Posts: 7,040
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Jim, do you by chance have a full pic of the car yet? Or a side shot showing the chassis and wheels? Dunno how far along the car is, or how old that pic is (I quit reading your v8 monstrocity after page 2193872894792374920 ). I wanna see what it looks like as a whole if you can. The Volks look hot from that pic alone!
#22
Super Snuggles
Originally Posted by RedR1
Jim, do you by chance have a full pic of the car yet? Or a side shot showing the chassis and wheels?
Dunno how far along the car is, or how old that pic is
I wanna see what it looks like as a whole if you can. The Volks look hot from that pic alone!
#23
multipersonality disorder
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: so. cal
Posts: 5,656
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i haven't jumped on the super tall rim craze yet... probably slap some mickey thompson's on the back of the stock rims, then get a decent set of 17's for all-purpose driving.
i've spent so much time doing motors and turbos, and crap like that, but i'm more or less a suspension noob.
i've spent so much time doing motors and turbos, and crap like that, but i'm more or less a suspension noob.
#24
Rotary Freak
Originally Posted by jimlab
I do. 17s look tiny and 40-series tires look fat these days when standard rolling stock on cars like the Corvette is 18-19" with 30-35-series tires.
You're right, that looks terrible...
You're right, that looks terrible...
#25
Super Snuggles
Originally Posted by snub disphenoid
I still believe that from a straight-line performance standpoint, ultra low-profile tires are still not going to be quite as good as higher sidewall tires.
Saleen S7 - 275/35-19 front, 335/30-20 rear
Lamborghini Murcielago - 245/35-18 front, 335/30-18 rear
Ferrari Enzo - 245/35-19 front, 345/35-19 rear
Koneigsegg CCR - 255/35-19 front, 335/30-20 rear
Chevrolet C6 Z06 - 275/35-18 front, 325/30-19 rear