bLingIn3o0

Just wondering how come no one seems to like the Bilstien Coilovers ? Is there somethig I've missed ? I rode in a car with them and they seem perfectly fine and the dont cost very much.. UNDER 1K !!!! So can someone please give me some input on this? I want to pick up some Coilovers and for 800.. Bilstein seems to be the best choice...

Manaray

The problem is, is that most people seem to be stuck of having "dampening adjustment" like it's the ONLY feature worth having. If the PSS's came with Dampening adjustment, I'm sure more people here would buy them....for now, Tein HA"s are the choice because they're cheap and they have dampening adjustment...little do most people realize that the ride isn't as good as other coilovers even with the HA's softest setting...

The PSS are good coilovers (especially for the price)...I would pay a little more to get the PSS over the Ltuned setup because height adjustment IS a worthy feature...and the Ltuned is a bit too soft IMO...

Shinchan

When I decide to go with coilover, I had given up on the soft floating ride. Pure sports feeling is what I am looking for.. and thats why I got Tein HA.

Plus my father in law drove my Bilstein/Eibach setup, he still complain the car float under high speed.. not as smooth as his E430 under same speed.... that Pissed me off...

Sold Bilstein and bought Tein.

problem solved...

bLingIn3o0

Got a question for You MANARAY since you seem to know your STUFF... Someone told me if the shock is made right then it should NOT need "dampening adjsutment." The shock should compensate for how the driving condition is ? or something like that, it sounded better when I heard it from a Car Store.. I dont find anything wrong with TEIN, but for 300 less.. Bilstien seems to be more appealing. Have you sold your H&R Coilovers yet ? ? Is the dampening that important ? As long as the ride doesn't feel like Im sitting in a freakin honda with blown shocks and the so called floating feeling I dont mind.. Will Bilstein do either ???

RON430

bLingIn3o0 - Don't know what Manaray is going to say but getting the ride right is a personal preference. Adjustability in the shock helps you to make corrections to personal style. In the early days, shocks were called dampeners because what they actually do is to dampen the oscillations that are inherent in any spring that happen as it returns to rest after experiencing an excursion. The shock absorber helps return the spring to rest quickly with little overshoot by dampening the oscillations. The really force to resist movement of the tire is provided by the spring. If you want more force to cause the suspension to move, you increase the spring rate. But now, people do a lot of tuning using the shock. Adjustable shocks are great for racing which is where I am used to them. The shocks I am used to are double adjustable which means you can adjust both jounce and rebound. The vast majority of street adjustable shocks have only a single adjustment and I would check with the individual manufacturer as to how any individual setup works. Having said all that, I am one of those Bilstein believers. They just seem to get it right out of the box. They have adjustable coilovers but not for the GS. Adjustability is great but there are other factors in the operation of a shock that Bilstein really gets right that I would not want to give up just to get adjustability. I have some Tokico adjustables and they are OK but I could not find a setting that works as well as a bilstein without adjustability. This is a hard one, the adjustability is very desirable but I have already decided that if and when I go to coilovers, it will be the bilsteins - not for price but for the engineering. Not trying to push bilstein too much, I don't work for them, but I have been very happy with them over the years. It is amazing to have a bimmer and have the handling and ride improved with bilsteins - been there, done that.

Manaray

bLing- A well designed and engineered coilover system will NOT feel like a slammed Honda...short of welding your spring's coils together, I don't think there is a coilover setup that will ride THAT crappy...

I still have my H&R's cuz I just haven't been in a hurry to sell them...got quite a few offers with one solid one but I haven't bothered changing over my system yet.... They just work great. H&R is know to put out only quality stuff and I can attest to that as their coilovers are great (but their customer service sucks donkey *****s though....) Ride quality is excellent as is the performance. Granted I'm on 20's so I that in itself is the most detrimental factor in regards to ride quality and outright performance....but I think my setup works pretty damn well...

Dampening adjustment can be handy for SOME people in CERTAIN situations, but for most people, it's more of a gimmick (and just one more thing to go wrong... ). I'm not saying NOT to buy coilovers with dampening adjustment, I'm just saying it's not as big of a deal as people make it out to be. Think about it, if the Tein HA's were all that and a bag of chips, don't you think I'd be more than able to plunk down a grand on a set?

My next set of coilovers is either going to be the TOM'S Advox or the HKS HiperMax II's. And trust me, if I get the HKS setup, you think I'm going to stop at every canyon entrance and exit just to change the settings? Hell no. I'm going to set it in the middle and just go. I'll probably never adjust them...I've never felt the need to adjust my H&R's...even if I had the Tein EDFC system, I'm sure after a week of playing around with it, it would be set on one setting and I'd never play with it...

As you may know, the only reason why I'm switching out is because of the lack of customer care I get with H&R. They're German...we have Japanese cars...need I say more?

davezaristo

I think I am probably one of the few that has the bilstein PSS. Anyhow, I am perfectly comfortable with the way it is. It has a good balance of both comfort and performance. I've decide to go with the PSS over the tein because I just don't think that I will ever adjust the stiffness since I probably will never take my car to the track. In addition, I've sat in cars with teins and I think they are just too stiff for daily use (especially with all those uneven roads and potholes in downtown SF). Well, I know people will say that that's why you should get the adjustable. But then again, I just don't think that spending the extra money without really using the features will justify it...In conclusion, i think it just comes down to taste and preference..but then, the reason most people have the teins is that they came out a long time ago while PSS was only introduced recently...just my 2cents...

fasthuh

iTrader: (1)

Can anyone tell me about their experience with Apex World Sport C/O? Ride, quality, and all that good stuff... I know these set don't have dampening adjustablility.

Manaray

Fasthuh - I don't have tons of hours logged on a set of APEX WS Coilovers but I have been in a couple of GS's with them. The ride was nice....but then again, it's subjective. Also, both GS's were set up a little differently and they weren't back to back rides so I can't give you a 100% "correct" answer.

They are softer than the Tein HA's though...they ride smoother.

I would like to hear from some adjustable suspension owners out there...their observation are particularly important here...how often have you adjusted your dampening? Do you REALLY notice a difference (have someone else adjust them and then take a ride in your car and see if you can tell which way they went).

I may have a set of HKS HiperMax II's soon so I will give a full review after a month of testing if anyone is interested (same if I get the TOM'S Advox). Then I can compare it to my H&R's. Two other members have driven my car with the H&R's (and maybe more this weekend) so hopefully they will give their input. This will at least give some "substance" to whole coilover comfort level (at least with these coilovers...)

Also, you can judge a coilovers ride quality based on their spring rates. The higher the rate, the harder they are. This isn't a 100% definitive way to tell (like I said, there are other factors to ride harshness including wheels, tires, other suspension mods, etc.) but you can factor out the really harsh coilover systems...

Here's some quick numbers that I found (I will search for more including ones for the H&R's, APEX WS, and HKS HiperMax II's)...the higher the numbers, the stiffer the spring. The first number is for the front and the second number is for the rear...unit of measurement is kg/mm....

Tein HA = 14/10
Tein CS = 9/8
Tein RA = 18/12 (can you say LOOSE FILLINGS?)
Tein Flex = 10/9
JIC SF-1 = 12/8
JIC FLT2 = 12/8
JIC FLT-A2 = 14/8

So in these examples, the Tein CS's have the softest front...for the rear, there is a four way tie (CS, SF-1, FLT2, FLT-A2)...for the stiffest, the Tein RA's for both front and rear...this kind of setup is good for Drifting (but learn how to drift a cheaper car before you wrap your GS around a pole... )

Now remember, these are for JZS-16x GS's....the lighter the car, the lower numbers will be to get the same ride (for example, on the Tein HA's on a ES300 would be more equivalent to the Tein RA's on the GS since the ES300 a lighter car)

I'll see if I can compile a complete list of popular coilover systems...if anyone has numbers, please post them...

I'm going to be busy this whole weekend doing the meet so I don't know if I'll be around to respond to any posts until Monday...just FYI...

bLingIn3o0

Thanks Manaray and davezaristo.

I guess it is just a matter of preference then.. And since I also live in San Francisco, and I know what you're talking about davezaristo.. I have seen the enormous potholes and its not really fun driving over them with 19's with STOCK suspension and it can only get worse with coilovers so adjusting that dampening feature wouldn't be something I would do anyways.. need I say LAZiNESS and I'd rather do something else than that with my time...

And davezaristo
Where did you pick up your Bilstien Coilovers? And for how much?
I've been quoted 800 add tax.....

One more thing manaray... where can i get some info about the JIC coilovers, never seen anything about them here before. Like prices and specs?

fasthuh

iTrader: (1)

manaray,

Thanks for that excellent class, I needed that . This will really help me make my decision.

jpmotdyn

Apex specs are ft = 8.5k and rear 6k. looks like they have the softest springs.

RON430

manarray - I was under the impression that most all of the coilovers have progressive rate springs. That makes A-B comparison very difficult. From what I remember when I checked them out, the Bilstein coil overs are progressive and that makes comparison difficult. Are the numbers for the coil overs you quoted all for linear springs? If they are progressive, what does the number you posted mean?

davezaristo

bling: that's how much i paid.....if you like, you are welcome to come by and check it out and see for yourself how it rides..I am in daly city btw...

whitels

PSS users:

I have stock suspension now and wondering how the PSS compares with the stock in the following cases. I have been a fan of Bilsteins but want to make sure that the PSS is what I want.

1. You're driving at 70mph on a freeway with lots of expansion joints and unevenness on the surface level. With a stock suspension, my car tends to blob up and down, up and down, and in more severe instance, will shake the cabin like there's an earthquake. How would it feel on a PSS-equipped GS.

2. You're driving 30 mph on a bad asphalt street with lots of pot holes or unevenly repaired portions. How will it feel on a PSS.

I have the 17-inch wheel. Appreciate any feedback.