What shocks to get with Eibach Pro Springs?

[Daedex]

Hey guys,

So I have a very specific question, and after searching the forums a bit I have not gotten a definitive answer. So to try to keep it as simple as possible,

My ultimate goal:

• To lower the car 1" around

Side goals (in order):

• performance gains from said springs and shocks
• keep ride quality around "spirited driver" and not "super-race car"
• durability and longevity of said items
• ... I have nothing else, but feel like there should be a fourth bullet

Initially, I was just getting the eibach pro springs and calling it a day. However, my older brother (who's advice on cars I respect greatly) mentioned that I might want to get shocks with new springs as the new lowered springs would wear out the shocks much quicker. <-- I may have butchered what he truly meant and said, but I think you get my point. Anyways, I looked at Eibachs website and couldn't find any shocks to accommodate the new springs, let alone for the BRZ itself. Maybe I was completely noob in what I searched? And as you may notice from this statement all-together, I am not familiar with a suspension system of a car. Like, what is the difference between shocks and struts?? But I digress since I can find the answer on my own time.

So! what shocks would you recommend? Or better yet, what shock/spring package would you recommend that gives you a 1" drop?

Assume money budget is <2,200, and I am not interested in coil-overs.

[themajesticone]

You basically have 3 choices: Bilstein B8, Bilstein B6, or Koni's. I think the B6 or Koni will be perfect, however, your stock shocks will be perfectly capable with a proper alignment on the Pro springs.

Here are some threads for reference:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71386

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72836

[Daedex]

Originally Posted by themajesticone

You basically have 3 choices: Bilstein B8, Bilstein B6, or Koni's. I think the B6 or Koni will be perfect, however, your stock shocks will be perfectly capable with a proper alignment on the Pro springs.

Here are some threads for reference:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71386

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72836

Wow, thank you for the quick response. I will definitely read those too.

[Firestorm_86]

Originally Posted by Daedex

Wow, thank you for the quick response. I will definitely read those too.

The B8 is supposedly for lowered setups but I would think you only get those when youre dropping 1.5 inches or more. I'm one to say go B6 and the ride is just about stock. Sightly more firm, but not enough to make you cringe, in fact not even noticeable if you don't ride in it all the time. My friend who sat in it said the bodyroll in turns was noticeably more controlled but the ride still felt as compliant as stock.
My views are pretty much the same. I want to say potholes are less violent but that could just be my mind trying to justify my lighter wallet. On the bright side, the fiancé didn't think it was any worse, so that's a plus!

In terms of performance, the Swift Sport FRS I got are awesome. I highly recommend them paired with the B6's. Like you, I didn't want to go lower than one inch; roads here suck. But you mentioned BRZ, so you may want the Swift Sport BRZ for more BRZ like dynamics.
@CounterSpace Garage should be putting together a kit just like mine for people who want a quality setup from reputable companies without going for the lesser known brands.

You may want to do some research on how spring rates affect your cars dynamics. I'd personally go Swift (Sport FRS or BRZ) or @Racecomp Engineering's Yellows. Those three are probably the best rates you'll find depending on what your after. Both companies make more aggressive springs but I wouldn't recommend those for DD.


I just noticed the budget. That setup is well within your budget and leaves leftover cash for Raceseng camber plates and possibly some LCA's for the rear. Everything you need to dial in the perfect alignment setup.

[Fizz]

Just a small correction to the post above this. The B6 is intended for stock springs, and the B8 for lowered springs (due to the latter having a slightly shorter body). Having said that, they both appear to share identical bump travel as well as compression and rebound specifications. The difference in practice would be that the B8 will give you slightly less droop or the amount of downward travel the suspension has from its resting point. But this would only be an issue if you're constantly unloading the suspension during spirited driving (i.e. large dips on the road, or hard cornering, or over jumps).

Both will work just fine with your eibach pro-kit springs, so comes down to personal preference really. Also, the B6 is cheaper than B8 if that matters to you.

Either B6/8 + eibach pro-kits would still come in well within your budget. You should have more than enough spare change for some nice LCA's (although not really necessary), but definitely get the SPC or Whiteline front camber bolts to dial in some negative camber up front.

[troek]

over here we have kyb, showa, trd, bilstein, koni and a couple others. the amount of coil overs is mind boggling. you can also get a quality set of coil overs for just about any car on the road. they sure love their suspension mods over here.

[Fizz]

Yup....never seen so many coilovers in a single store prior to stepping into super autobacs in Tokyo bay.

[gabeg86]

I'm also in the market for upgraded struts. There is a pretty big difference in price between the Bilstein B8 and Koni Yellows. Koni Yellows were always raved about in the RSX world where I'm from, but what is different between the two? Do the Bilstein's justify their added price?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Different car...but...I'm swapping my Koni Yellows for custom revalved Bilsteins on my Mini Cooper S.

I do like the Konis and the adjustment is nice to have. But I haven't touched the adjuster in ages.

Both are good quality shocks. In general, Konis ride smoother over small bumps while Bilsteins are sometimes a little jiggly. However, Bilsteins tend to ride really well over larger bumps when Konis can be a little harsher or crashy. This is at the extremes...most of the time both will ride really well.

I'm switching because the Mini is very short on bump travel, even more so than the BRZ/FRS. The gas pressure of the Bilsteins and a custom revalve with a little more low speed compression damping should help ride and performance. Also, they were used Bilsteins that were cheap because they needed to be rebuilt.

- Andy

[gabeg86]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Different car...but...I'm swapping my Koni Yellows for custom revalved Bilsteins on my Mini Cooper S.

I do like the Konis and the adjustment is nice to have. But I haven't touched the adjuster in ages.

Both are good quality shocks. In general, Konis ride smoother over small bumps while Bilsteins are sometimes a little jiggly. However, Bilsteins tend to ride really well over larger bumps when Konis can be a little harsher or crashy. This is at the extremes...most of the time both will ride really well.

I'm switching because the Mini is very short on bump travel, even more so than the BRZ/FRS. The gas pressure of the Bilsteins and a custom revalve with a little more low speed compression damping should help ride and performance. Also, they were used Bilsteins that were cheap because they needed to be rebuilt.

- Andy

So in your opinion, which one is better for DD with a few track days? Or are they similar? If that's the case, I'll be going with the Koni yellows since they're much cheaper. I don't mind a little harshness of stiffness either way

[Ubersuber]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Different car...but...I'm swapping my Koni Yellows for custom revalved Bilsteins on my Mini Cooper S.

I do like the Konis and the adjustment is nice to have. But I haven't touched the adjuster in ages.

Both are good quality shocks. In general, Konis ride smoother over small bumps while Bilsteins are sometimes a little jiggly. However, Bilsteins tend to ride really well over larger bumps when Konis can be a little harsher or crashy. This is at the extremes...most of the time both will ride really well.

I'm switching because the Mini is very short on bump travel, even more so than the BRZ/FRS. The gas pressure of the Bilsteins and a custom revalve with a little more low speed compression damping should help ride and performance. Also, they were used Bilsteins that were cheap because they needed to be rebuilt.

- Andy

I concur.

Adjustable shocks are pretty much adjust and forget. In theory you change the settings to "fine tune" the handling but in practice you tend to set them at the preferred setting and leave them there.

I have always found Bilsteins give a better ride for a given shock control. I think this is where monotube shocks really shine, that high gas pressure compartment really helps when the shock valving is tuned by Bilstein.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by gabeg86

So in your opinion, which one is better for DD with a few track days? Or are they similar? If that's the case, I'll be going with the Koni yellows since they're much cheaper. I don't mind a little harshness of stiffness either way

I'd go with Bilsteins but it's a close call, made even closer by the price difference.

- Andy

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

I have B8s with RCE Yellows, it works well for street/auto x/track as a compromise for everything. My biggest complaint is whatever Bilstein makes the top of their shocks out of is way too soft and I constantly have to keep impacting my top nuts because the shock tops stripped...