koni inserts vs budget coil overs
 

Anyone with experience chime in.

Koni's with springs end up being more money than say kw1 or the st's.


Application: DD with autoX duty.

You could look at Ground Control coilovers, they have options that range from basic koni shocks & springs on oem mounts and all the way to camber plates and Al mounts.

Lets say I don't want a coil over, aside from the GC most basic setup, is there anything else to consider if I don't want to cut to install the Koni? Thanks to who ever can add options. The GC is nice for sure just looking at all, if any, other options.

You could do RCE Yellows (maybe sways later on if you need to tweak it a bit more) and call it a day. They are set so that they match the stock shocks (really, the dudes there dyno'd the stock shocks and set the rates based on that, not guessing).

It seems that good springs and dampers is better than cheap coilovers.

You could consider Fortune Auto Coils, they do dyno them before sending it out (they should come with dyno sheets, and they should have a record of it as well).

You do get what you pay for, Koni having to cut unless you get Ground Control to build it for you and cheap coilovers being mismatched. The damper's performance aside, having them match is pretty important.

All depends on if you want to be able to adjust the height. If you can find springs that lower you exactly where you want, get them. If not, buy a entry set of coilovers.

What do you want out of it. If you are budget minded and want good performance I would say shocks and springs. If you are gonna buy some coilovers don't go cheapo. Invest in a good set. It is an FRS/BRZ...

Oh right, there's the RCE Tarmac springs and you can match them with the fixed perch Bilsteins that are gonna be released in 6 months-ish. "Emphasis on the ISH" <<< qoute from RCE.

You get what you pay for. Cheap coilovers are made to a price point. Good dampers are made right, then priced.

Konis and springs are going to be more comfortable and probably faster on an autocross course than cheap coilovers.

Can you confirm this? :popcorn:

Even lower cost coilovers can be good IF they're properly valved and matched to the springs and the car.

KW is a known quality brand, and their V1 coilovers I think are accepted as good quality, and the ST coilovers are made by KW and are the same as the KW V1's and are VERY affordable.

Just think, how can a low cost unit compare to a good higher priced one unless they stole the R and D? The difference in price is because of the time spent developing not the material costs. Look at OEM accessories, price gouging aside, they have to pay their employees to develop these parts and even thought they might be outperformed by cheaper aftermarket alternatives, they have to price it appropriate to the money they spent on development.

Case in point, our cars. Beat around tracks by many other same price or cheaper cars but you bought it didn't you?

That makes no sense at all. The majority of the cost of different pieces has to do with 5 things:

1.) Brand - some brands cost more
2.) Process - The way an item is made can increase costs
3.) Materials - The better the material, usually the higher the cost
4.) Scale - How many people are going to be buying the product
5.) Supply/demand - always cause changes in price

One case in point, if you were to buy a set of wheels such as BBS wheels that are forged or varrosteins (not sure if that's how you spell it), the BBS wheels are much more expensive, but essentially for all the reasons above.

Another lower priced coilover option is the one from Feal Suspension. Based in the US, can revalve to suit.
http://rallyracingsuspension.com/page26.html

Lance Keeley who won STX at the Blytheville Tour over some very good competition and came in 2nd at the Pro is using those with 7K F/R springs.

Fortune Auto is a good option since they are based in the US, dyno the shocks, and provide good support.

I would take the GC setup, Feal, or FA over the KW V1s/STs, etc. since they have better support in the US.

I had Tein Flex on my WRX for a while. Harsh ride and underdamped. Replaced with Konis and coilover sleeves and was much happier.

ST coils and call it a day. $850 or less shipped.

I ride on RCE Yellows and Konis and typically I'm the only one on STX running that setup. Most others are running BCs, K-Sports, Stance, and other inexpensive coils. I typically outrun them all (running stock tires on STX too). Folks that are faster than me typically have KWs or some other $2k+ coil setup.

With that said, driver has a huge effect, tire pressures, rebound adjustments, etc. There are simply too many variables to back up a statement like that. I find my car extremely easy to drive and I never feel like it's the car's fault, only my need of improvement. Some of the cars I've gotten to drive with coilovers are not as easy to drive. You have to fight with them a little.

I'm not looking for track, just faster better highway car. Smooth ride much like stock car feel but Low by a little. Its too high for adding more power.

Six months? IS that a Real timeframe? Preorder possible? Don't want to wait so long!

Right now koni are best option but I want easy install. Budget coil over not option for my taste.

Install of my Koni yellows weren't too bad, but you definitely need another set of front OEM struts to work on to minimize any risks. I like my Koni's but unsure I have really have them "dialed in" with my Eibach ProKits since I have them very close to the softest setting for DD duties.

Koni's + Swift + HVT
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/c...ps3d692299.jpg

I want the car to handle better I don't care about ride height at least as far as lowering.

In fact I live in Idaho and it's a low mile daily with autoX ....was simply surprised by how much the koni inserts were considering you have to hack up stock parts and then buy springs.



I feel the car is stiff enough but it bounces and bobs too much and could be more "planted"


Sounds like I should save for the koni's and pair with yellows or tarmacs add crash bolts and be done.

Konis are as good as regular OE replacements so you really aren't losing anything. You just don't end up with anything you can sell (except the rears). If you haven't done anything else to your car, why not throw in some Konis, keep the stock springs and run in stock class?

If this was my car and not my daughters I'd be buying this from Vorshlag
http://www.vorshlag.com/blog/?p=670

I'm sure your daughter wouldn't mind.

- Andy

Well I have wheels, inlet tube, and light flywheel.

AutoX is just for fun...I mean I like to win but eventually I'm getting a aluminium drive shaft and that'll put me in some crazy class

These are what alot of the VW crowd uses. Great reviews

Ah.. well, the struts are a lot more important for autox than spring rates. Unless you want to lower your car I wouldn't necessarily compare the cost of coilovers to Konis+springs. Konis alone will give you a good bump.

I'm assuming you're running RTR CS class right now since you said you can only replace the shocks. You're technically not legal with the inlet tube and the aftermarket flywheel. Not sure what size your wheels are but you're basically limited to 17x7 +/- 6mm in offset. I'm sure at the local level, it won't really matter unless you start WINNING.

I havent done anything with suspension yet.....

I ran cs but should have been in stx or really n stx since ive only ran twice.

Since it's a DD stx seemed the best direction since most are common easily done mods.

I want headers since I really dislike the dip and it needs more punch especially at a mile high.

Also the courses here are small compared to other places....AS coverettes are down in the low 30 sec range.