One of my shocks is leaking,, ive priced up standard replacements and they are quite expensive.
I dont want to make my car firmer in standard form its about right,, i need to know what direction to go,,

Tokico shocks,, with my standard springs (will this make the car harder)
Koni yellow shocks with my standard springs ( will this make the car harder)
I would like to go all out and i have the money to buy a good coilover kit,, but the coil over kit has to be very comfortable,, not harsh, i want the control to set it very soft, and maybe still lower the car a little,,
Some one tell me options,,, what coilvers can ride as soft as standard car,, maybe even softer?

 

I have some ground control coilovers in conbination with adjustable Koni yellows and I absolutely love them. The Konis can be adjusted to be very stiif or very soft, depending on what you like or what you need. I have a street car so I set them set right a midpoint. As I found the stiff setting too annoying and the soft setting, well.. too soft.

 

so the konis only have 3 settings but the soft setting is very soft,, which is a good point.

 

No it is not 3 settings as it is a progressive setting. The more the **** is turned, the stiffer the ride or the softer the ride becomes (all depending on which way the **** is being turned).

from Koni's website:

 

..But there ARE 3 ride heights with the yellows.

Another guy who bought a set of coilovers (Zeal B6) and never looked back. Have you priced out the OEM top hats that you'll need if you go with the Konis? That might be a deal breaker.
The Zeals are 10k 10k and feel a lot like stock R1 suspension. maybe a bit more stiff, but not bouncy or harsh at all.

 

Ride heights? What?

 

Tokicos are garbage in my opition. They are a cheap shock. I have tested a brand new set on a shock dyno and all 4 were quite far apart. Stock springs are also quite soft. With the age of these cars, the stock rubber upper and lower mounts are most likely quite deteriorated. Konis are excellent, but again the stock springs are soft. I did this combo for an older gentleman that wanted a cushy ride. It was too soft for performance driving in my opinion. The problem is by the time you buy a good set of shocks, performance springs, and new Mazda upper and lower mounts you are well within the price range of a decent entry level coilover. The best deal in my opinion is the Apexi EXV coilover. This will completely replace your stock shocks, springs, and mounts. You get a quality pillow ball upper mount as well. These can be adjusted to nearly as soft as stock to much firmer and will handle everything from street use to moderate track duty. You can also adjust the ride height to whatever you like and not be limited to just what the spring perches allow. We stock a full rage of suspension products and will be more than happy to help you.

 

3 spots to perch the springs, giving the car 3 different ride heights. Definitely not adjustable on the fly, but the height can be changed. Lowest with a set of RS*R downsprings was too low for me. I'd rub when the suspension was loaded on downhill sweepers.

Here's an old (WAY to technical) thread.
https://www.rx7club.com/suspension-w...shocks-410314/

 

Not really sure what that pertains to given that we were talking about stiffness. But in any case, I never paid much attention because as I said I have ground control coilovers. So ride height was never an issue and easily adjustable.

 

Which ones did you test? The older Illuminas or the newer HTS? I agree the older Illuminas are old and dated technology. However, I've read good things about the HTS's. Granted, they will never compare to something like Ohlins, but the difference between them an other dampers is much closer with their newer product line.

 

Illuminas. I would never run them after seeing the results. I haven't used the HTS's. If I were to stick with shocks I would go with Konis.

 

You were talking about stiffness.
He mentioned 3 settings. The yellows do in fact have an adjustability which features 3 settings. The ride height.
So I mentioned it.

 

Ah got it but given the thread was about ride stiffness, you could see the confusion

 

My FD had Illuminas when I bought it. This fall, my local rotary specialist said the front ones were completely dead and he also recommended against the Tokicos, so I ended up getting new Koni Sports (yellows) on all four corners.

I also considered coilovers (e.g. Koni coilovers, Bilstein B16 and Clubsport), but they were too far out of my price range.

 

I'm sure you are much happier with the Konis too.

 

+1 for konis

or bilsteins.


don't get any coilovers.

 

Bilsteins are a great shock, but I don't like the valving the offer for the FD. I run a custom valved set on my Evo X. I don't understand why you would advise against coilovers? A proper coilover setup will outperform any shock/spring combo with the soft oem rubber upper and lower mounts. FYI, we have tried out most of the suspension parts that are available for these cars.

 

Yes, and I'm looking forward to trying them on the track.

The Koni FSD looks interesting – from the few reviews online, I think they would work nicely for a street performance car.

 

Just because most coilovers are valved horribly and have relatively stiff springs.

99% of offerings aren't meant to be comfortable, or even give it a thought.

for the original commenter I'd actually recommend talking to shaikh at fat cat motorsports, he's one of the only people I know that has experience with valving dampers for comfort.

 

I agree a pood quality coilover will ride like crap. I wouldn't recommend anything that I didn't think performed. Like I said we have used a lot of different setups.