OutlawsX

Anyone else considering what type of suspension they would want for their car? Keep it at stock? Sports suspension? HKS Coilovers, Tein Coilovers, Springs from various companies? Just wondering what people thought about them... and also does Coilovers make THAT much of a difference?

brravvo

iTrader: (1)

i was thinking Tein Coilovers..
and i am now proceeding in selling everything i own on ebay to get my coilovers.
If anyone can post some info on any of the brands mentioned above it would be greatly appreciated!!

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

coilovers are better than basic springs/struts because of its large range of adjustability, you can fine tune the ride and height much better than spring/struts (in this case you can only adjust strut stiffness from maybe 4 settings, coilovers sometimes have up to 16 settings of stiffness)

Alex350

I've pretty much tried it all in the past, and let me tell you, the best option is to get coilovers Springs sometimes will give you an uneven drop or start settling... and settling..... and settling.... like the Eibachs, and next thing you know they're obsolete .

On the other hand, the coilovers allow you to change the ride height and in some cases dampening level, to suit your taste. The only problem with coilovers is that you have to get the shocks rebuilt every 3-5 years, but it doesn't cost a fortune and they're well worth the investment.

Although I've never bought Tein coilovers, I recently acquired a set of Japan-Spec Comfort Sport coilovers for my IS with an EDFC controller. Because of unforseen problems I've had finding a decent place to have them installed I haven't done it, but hopefully next week I will finally get them installed So keep your fingers crossed. Once I do I will let you know how they perform, but overall, everybody who has the Teins here in CL seems to like them.

CeoStatus0

I didn't know you had to get them rebuilt... i've had some cheap *** coil overs and with some KYB AGX adjustable struts on my 98 civic.. and its been at least 4 years with the struts and the still ride pretty damn good

so i take its a whole new different thing when its the FULL coil over system? I'm looking for something where i can just put a decent drop to get rid of the wheel gap plus have a smooth ride and at the same time have something that i don't have to worry about...... the whole thing of having the shocks rebuilt is now something that i have to put into consideration

Alex350

Hey Ceo,

Don't be concerned about the rebuilding shocks issue, it used to be more frequent with the cheaper/older versions of coilovers out there. Now, most of the high quality coilovers are "spring-preloaded" which means that the spring rate is not affected by the ride height and therefore, the shocks don't take as much beating and last longer. Your driving habits also determine how often you have to rebuild the shocks... so don't worry about that at all .

OutlawsX

So far the Coilover I got rides pretty smoothly... and I had the Sports suspension. Biggest difference, no more bounce. Much more linear drive.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Full on replacements:

1. Designed for the springs they come with.

2. Rebuildable

3. Fully adjustable for ride height and usually at least one damping adjustment (good shocks will have at least two adjustments without going internal, if you don't mind opening the shock, they'll have at least 4 damping adjustments.)

4. Cost is relatively high.

Lowering springs:

1. Low cost.

2. Not specifically designed to work with the OEM damping - may accelerate wear on the OEM shock if the spring rate is sufficiently different from stock.

3. Known to have issues with sag, depending on brand, and also known to not meet published specification (again depending on brand - a few are excellent in this respect.)

4. Not adjustable or rebuildable in any way without completely replacing major units.

Both of these options need to be approached with a clear understanding that lowering the car has pluses and minuses. Lowering the car too much is detrimental to handling for a bunch of reasons too complex to address in a short post. Typically more than about 40mm is too much, and will require ultra-stiff springs to counteract the suspension geometry changes. Also, there will be alignment changes associated with lowering the car that you may or may not like.

I expect I'll be contacting either Penske or Moton about shocks when I am ready to make a change. It won't be too long. I'm really disappointed with the damping choices Lexus made for the OEM shocks.

CeoStatus0

I expected the IS to have a smoother ride right off the bat... I test drove a Camry SE V6 and the ride was much smoother than my 250...my 250 is a bit more bouncy compared to the Camry...But i like feeling the bumps in the road....But thankfully the Camry color line up didn't have anything that i had to have...Because I was looking at Camrys before i Considerd an IS ... but i do think the Camry V6 SE is a sweet looking car....

But i'm sure after i do drop some coilovers that i'll have it riding just the way i want... which is similar to stock but a tad stiffer

Hip_hop77

You get What you paid for...
JIC is costly for a reason..
Tein is coming with anti rust spray cans..(wtf??) they gonna rust??
springs... will get bouncy afterawhile..

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

Agreed. I want one so bad!

Anyway, back on topic... I'm happy with my Eibachs - the give the perfect amount of drop (for me) and have not altered my ride quality at all. Ideally, I would have preferred coilovers, but I just don't need that much adjustability, especially when I consider the added cost.

Javier

ULTiMaX99

iTrader: (5)

someone posted that the antirust stuff was for japanese units only because they are on an island and are prone to rusting from the salt water.