Objective Choice Of Coilovers Impossible - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

Captain Snooze · 05-13-2013, 08:21 AM

[rant]
So I've had my struts and coilovers fitted. The brand is immaterial but it wasn't even on the list when I started looking for suspension. My point is after a budget is established how is one suppose to decide on which brand/model to get. One can read reviews about $700 Ebay specials that are "wow!! these made my car handle so good plus they have 80 clicks of adjustment and I now take that corner 100mph faster!!" You can also read that Mr Racer has Uncle Toby's fitted but I am suggesting that Mr Racer would do equally as well on a similar quality shock. I would suggest that 99.999999999% of people don't buy more than one set of coilovers/struts at a time to do back to back comparisons. This is just not feasible. Maybe it just comes down to price. That is, at a similar price point all struts/coilovers are similar in performance/quality.
I am guessing that that there will be a honeymoon period with my units. Wow!! These are soooo good!! then it will become normal and I will just get on with driving.
[/rant]

armythug · 05-13-2013, 10:47 AM

It can be very difficult to decide yes. It's not like we can test drive a lot of different setups. Some people will just have to go with a company they trust or believe in I guess. I'm keen on the AST 4150s because of what I have read. I looked into the company and I reckon I'll be happy with them. I'll probably go with swift springs and vorshlag camber plates as well. Should be good.

CSG Mike · 05-13-2013, 11:07 AM

The only person who can decide if they're happy with what they purchased, is you

g0lden · 05-13-2013, 04:49 PM

I believe the Megan coilovers will be just fine, and I also think that a lot of people like to talk them down since they are the cheapest out there. But not everyone wants a race car. Many people just want to ride low and look stylish. $4000 suspension will get you there, but it will also break the bank at the same time.
Whatever makes you happy is what you should do. I'm personally going with the BC extreme low cause it is slightly more than the Megans, but has much more reviews.

RYU · 05-13-2013, 05:12 PM

Unless you've tried a bunch of different kinds of dampers in various conditions it's human nature to think the one you just bought is the best one out there. Why not, right? You've spent all this time researching, you've read all the reviews, even PM'ed some people. You think you've bought the best damper for your dollar. You write about it on some forum and other saps believe it because they simply don't know any better. The cycle continues.

A lot of people on here think <insert coilover brand> is awesome either because of forum group think, or some shmuck put a detailed review together, or thru sheer volume of "positive" reviews they think they're actually good.

I've fallen victim more than once in my tuner car ownership years. I feel your pain! Guys like me now look to people's opinions we trust or end up being so brand loyal that we close ourselves off to newer/better brands - though even sometimes it's still not a for sure method. It's sad that most people I trust are sick of forums and don't even post anymore. I see them on the track or local gatherings with old friends.

You need folks like CSG and/or RCE to be able to understand your goals properly and help you understand the pros/cons and compromises of any given damper. It's always a compromise between features, quality, costs.

It's like the old saying...

OrbitalEllipses · 05-13-2013, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by g0lden

I believe the Megan coilovers will be just fine, and I also think that a lot of people like to talk them down since they are the cheapest out there. But not everyone wants a race car. Many people just want to ride low and look stylish. $4000 suspension will get you there, but it will also break the bank at the same time.

A properly valved (read: expensive) suspension will ride OEM smooth or better while cheap coilovers will ride like rocks.

RYU · 05-13-2013, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

A properly valved (read: expensive) suspension will ride OEM smooth or better while cheap coilovers will ride like rocks.

I should add... expensive coilovers can also ride like rocks as well

Ask me how I know... It's not like the old days where quality typically translates into high cost. There are expensive coilovers out there I frankly think are sh*t. But hey.. that's just my $0.02

CSG Mike · 05-13-2013, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RYU

I should add... expensive coilovers can also ride like rocks as well

Ask me how I know... It's not like the old days where quality typically translates into high cost. There are expensive coilovers out there I frankly think are sh*t. But hey.. that's just my $0.02

I couldn't agree more... a lot of names from the past are now just that... names...

Racecomp Engineering · 05-13-2013, 05:51 PM

This has been an ongoing thing with forums since the beginning of time. Lots of strong opinions, lots of "flavors-of-the-month," lots of reviews written the day of install without any follow up, and reviews from people that don't have enough experience to compare to other options.

My advice is to talk to a lot of different sources AND do your own research. Don't assume that anyone is right 100% of the time. Get rides from people. We had a meet a few years back where we encouraged people to try each others suspensions to get a feel for what's out there. We had something like 30 different possible set-ups (some of which we didn't sell) plus plenty of people from the industry to talk to for ideas and advice. We should do that again.

Myself, Dan, and especially Myles have experience with most of brands out there for this car and others. We like to try before we sell...that's something we really believe in. We do sell a variety of brands (including our own) and know there isn't one OMGTHISCOILOVERISAWESOME set-up for everyone at every price point. We do our best to match people with things that work for them and to do so we like to get as much of our own experience as we can on the platform.

We've been quiet on the forums lately...not only finishing development of our coilovers but getting time with some other options either out already or coming soon for this car. It'll be a really good summer.

- Andy

Racecomp Engineering · 05-13-2013, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RYU

I should add... expensive coilovers can also ride like rocks as well

Ask me how I know... It's not like the old days where quality typically translates into high cost. There are expensive coilovers out there I frankly think are sh*t. But hey.. that's just my $0.02

Agreed. People loved ___ coilovers and looked at me funny when I said they were junk. Then they started breaking and people switched to other options and never looked back.

- Andy

RYU · 05-13-2013, 06:27 PM

One more thing too... I think most will agree...

One damper might be better for you but worse for someone else. As Andrew said, it's important to try different setups. Drive them and be objective. It takes a while to figure out the nuances but you will get better at it as you fine tune your butt dyno.

Seriously though... Having good suspension is like having a fine glass of wine. You really don't know what you're missing until you've tried really great stuff. The trick is to find the best product for your needs at a price you can afford. ---------It's possible. I've hit the jackpot a couple of times but it wasn't w/o much effort.

Take advantage of services from CSG and RCE. Give them the business and don't haggle too much on the pricing. If you're really on a quest for the best your buck can afford it will have been money well spent.

Captain Snooze · 05-13-2013, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RYU

Take advantage of services from CSG and RCE.

With due respect not everyone lives in your part of the world.

jamal · 05-13-2013, 06:43 PM

You might think you have a ton of choices, but really you don't, especially below about $2k. Just lots of options as far as color and stickers.

To me it's a no-brainer: RCE tarmac 2s. I'd have a set if I drove more than like 10 miles a week.

Since you're in Australia, check out MCA. I hear good things and would expect them to have something out for these cars.

RYU · 05-13-2013, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

With due respect not everyone lives in your part of the world.

Agree.. Typical American shortsightedness! darn.. I fell into it again.

05-13-2013, 08:21 AM	#1
Captain Snooze Because compromise ® Join Date: Jan 2012 Drives: Red Herring Location: australia Posts: 7,726 Thanks: 3,994 Thanked 9,351 Times in 4,130 Posts Mentioned: 60 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Objective Choice Of Coilovers Impossible [rant] So I've had my struts and coilovers fitted. The brand is immaterial but it wasn't even on the list when I started looking for suspension. My point is after a budget is established how is one suppose to decide on which brand/model to get. One can read reviews about $700 Ebay specials that are "wow!! these made my car handle so good plus they have 80 clicks of adjustment and I now take that corner 100mph faster!!" You can also read that Mr Racer has Uncle Toby's fitted but I am suggesting that Mr Racer would do equally as well on a similar quality shock. I would suggest that 99.999999999% of people don't buy more than one set of coilovers/struts at a time to do back to back comparisons. This is just not feasible. Maybe it just comes down to price. That is, at a similar price point all struts/coilovers are similar in performance/quality. I am guessing that that there will be a honeymoon period with my units. Wow!! These are soooo good!! then it will become normal and I will just get on with driving. [/rant]

05-13-2013, 10:47 AM	#2
armythug Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Drives: Pegasus White 86GTS Location: Perth WA Posts: 608 Thanks: 371 Thanked 108 Times in 84 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	It can be very difficult to decide yes. It's not like we can test drive a lot of different setups. Some people will just have to go with a company they trust or believe in I guess. I'm keen on the AST 4150s because of what I have read. I looked into the company and I reckon I'll be happy with them. I'll probably go with swift springs and vorshlag camber plates as well. Should be good. __________________ Pegasus White 6MT got it. :happy0180:

05-13-2013, 05:12 PM	#5
RYU Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Drives: really slow... Location: Los Angeles (SGV) Posts: 737 Thanks: 340 Thanked 253 Times in 145 Posts Mentioned: 10 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Unless you've tried a bunch of different kinds of dampers in various conditions it's human nature to think the one you just bought is the best one out there. Why not, right? You've spent all this time researching, you've read all the reviews, even PM'ed some people. You think you've bought the best damper for your dollar. You write about it on some forum and other saps believe it because they simply don't know any better. The cycle continues. A lot of people on here think <insert coilover brand> is awesome either because of forum group think, or some shmuck put a detailed review together, or thru sheer volume of "positive" reviews they think they're actually good. I've fallen victim more than once in my tuner car ownership years. I feel your pain! Guys like me now look to people's opinions we trust or end up being so brand loyal that we close ourselves off to newer/better brands - though even sometimes it's still not a for sure method. It's sad that most people I trust are sick of forums and don't even post anymore. I see them on the track or local gatherings with old friends. You need folks like CSG and/or RCE to be able to understand your goals properly and help you understand the pros/cons and compromises of any given damper. It's always a compromise between features, quality, costs. It's like the old saying... Last edited by RYU; 05-13-2013 at 06:09 PM.

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05-13-2013, 11:07 AM	#3
CSG Mike Join Date: Jul 2012 Drives: S2000 CR Location: Orange County Posts: 14,533 Thanks: 8,920 Thanked 14,178 Times in 6,835 Posts Mentioned: 966 Post(s) Tagged: 14 Thread(s)	The only person who can decide if they're happy with what they purchased, is you

05-13-2013, 04:49 PM	#4
g0lden Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Drives: 2013 Scion FR-S Argento Location: Houston, TX Posts: 190 Thanks: 71 Thanked 29 Times in 23 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I believe the Megan coilovers will be just fine, and I also think that a lot of people like to talk them down since they are the cheapest out there. But not everyone wants a race car. Many people just want to ride low and look stylish. $4000 suspension will get you there, but it will also break the bank at the same time. Whatever makes you happy is what you should do. I'm personally going with the BC extreme low cause it is slightly more than the Megans, but has much more reviews.

05-13-2013, 05:51 PM	#9
Racecomp Engineering Join Date: Nov 2011 Drives: 2016 BRZ, 2012 Paris Di2 & 2018 STI Location: Severn, MD Posts: 5,409 Thanks: 3,426 Thanked 7,243 Times in 2,964 Posts Mentioned: 303 Post(s) Tagged: 9 Thread(s)	This has been an ongoing thing with forums since the beginning of time. Lots of strong opinions, lots of "flavors-of-the-month," lots of reviews written the day of install without any follow up, and reviews from people that don't have enough experience to compare to other options. My advice is to talk to a lot of different sources AND do your own research. Don't assume that anyone is right 100% of the time. Get rides from people. We had a meet a few years back where we encouraged people to try each others suspensions to get a feel for what's out there. We had something like 30 different possible set-ups (some of which we didn't sell) plus plenty of people from the industry to talk to for ideas and advice. We should do that again. Myself, Dan, and especially Myles have experience with most of brands out there for this car and others. We like to try before we sell...that's something we really believe in. We do sell a variety of brands (including our own) and know there isn't one OMGTHISCOILOVERISAWESOME set-up for everyone at every price point. We do our best to match people with things that work for them and to do so we like to get as much of our own experience as we can on the platform. We've been quiet on the forums lately...not only finishing development of our coilovers but getting time with some other options either out already or coming soon for this car. It'll be a really good summer. - Andy

05-13-2013, 06:27 PM	#11
RYU Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Drives: really slow... Location: Los Angeles (SGV) Posts: 737 Thanks: 340 Thanked 253 Times in 145 Posts Mentioned: 10 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	One more thing too... I think most will agree... One damper might be better for you but worse for someone else. As Andrew said, it's important to try different setups. Drive them and be objective. It takes a while to figure out the nuances but you will get better at it as you fine tune your butt dyno. Seriously though... Having good suspension is like having a fine glass of wine. You really don't know what you're missing until you've tried really great stuff. The trick is to find the best product for your needs at a price you can afford. ---------It's possible. I've hit the jackpot a couple of times but it wasn't w/o much effort. Take advantage of services from CSG and RCE. Give them the business and don't haggle too much on the pricing. If you're really on a quest for the best your buck can afford it will have been money well spent.

05-13-2013, 06:43 PM	#13
jamal Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Drives: Legacy GT Location: compton Posts: 534 Thanks: 9 Thanked 365 Times in 204 Posts Mentioned: 11 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	You might think you have a ton of choices, but really you don't, especially below about $2k. Just lots of options as far as color and stickers. To me it's a no-brainer: RCE tarmac 2s. I'd have a set if I drove more than like 10 miles a week. Since you're in Australia, check out MCA. I hear good things and would expect them to have something out for these cars.

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