Coilover Choice for Calgary All Year Around
 

Hey guys, I am looking at coilovers for my 2014 BRZ, to lower it a bit and stiffen it up and get the stance right for my new wheels. I live in Calgary and currently the car has never seen snow or rain but that may change in the future depending on whether I buy another winter beater or not when mine craps out.

Looking for some advice and reviews on various coil overs in the $1000-1500 range. Are sleeves a good idea no matter what? Whats a good durable brand? The car will see a few lapping days and auto x events per year as well.

Thanks

If you're going to keep them on for the winter months, get something with a stainless / corrosion proof coating.

Poke around the suspension section, there's a few good options in your price range. I'd look at the ST coilovers, KW V1 and RCE Tarmac 0. I'm not sure how good the ST's will be in winter though, but the other two should hold up great.

Stay away from sleeves, you're far better off with a quality set that has the dampening rate matched to the spring rate.

When I say sleeves I mean the fabric protectors that go around the spring/shock body, maybe I am using the wrong term.

Ohhhhhhhh, I thought you meant the add on sleeve coilovers that slip onto any strut.

I don't see how the fabric sleeves can hurt, but I wouldn't buy those in place of a rust proof set of coilovers. For extra protection, sure.

The suspension thread is a good place to look:

For example.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55813

Not too much is missing from this thread:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45554

Related to winter:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55219

If you intend to drive your car in winter be very careful how much you lower it, the factory ride height is good. Also, you want to be very careful about how stiff you make the suspension, stiff springs, roll bars or damper settings all create problems in winter or in the wet.

Finally, somewhere in that topic there's good advice about the bump stops fitted to the factory coilovers (they are technically factory coilovers, just with no spring perch adjustment.). Some aftermarket coilovers come with comparable bump stops and dome do not. Changing out the factory bump stops will make a significant difference to how these cars handle. Be careful what you think you want. Suspension design isn't for amateurs. Even the best aftermarket suppliers cannot best the factory boys. Buy only from a reputable aftermarket supplier like KW, or Bilstein. The factory is supplied by Showa, I believe and KYB are an excellent manufacture from Japan. I don't know if any Japanese major supplier is making aftermarket shocks or coilovers for these cars.

Stainless coating? If the shock body is aluminum it will be anodized. If it is steel it will be painted.

If it is made from stainless steel (unlikely) it won't need a coating.

^^ Will you please just shut up about things you don't know about?

http://www.racecompengineering.com/i...-and-fr-s.html

http://www.racecompengineering.com/i...-brz-fr-s.html

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2513846

That's ridiculous. It stainless steel doesn't need INOX coating for an automotive application. Complete waste of money and pure marketing. Naked stainless steel is used routinely in ocean going applications. anyone who actually pays for INOX coating on land based stainless is an idiot. I actually said it wouldn't need it not that nobody is stupid enough to make it, let alone buy it.

It is purely cosmetic eye candy appealing to the ignorant. Wonder how much extra they charge for it.

INOX is also actually just an industry word meaning stainless steel whether "coated" or not.

Do you know what the benefit of "INOX coating" could possibly be in an automotive environment?

You need to at least google this stuff before you post uselessly inaccurate information:

http://www.euro-inox.org/pdf/map/Col...ssSteel_EN.pdf

http://www.pferd.com/images/Praxis_INOX_72dpi_en.pdf

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel"]Stainless steel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]



I'm beginning to worry about you being in charge of anything in or around a nuclear power plant, or are you just the janitor there?

Just because Inox has one meaning doesn't mean KW isn't using the word for something different. Kind of exactly like how your link for "Euro Inox" is for a company that specializes in giving stainless a colour coating.

Do you enjoy crapping on every thread with bad information? In one post today you recommend KW coilovers, now you say anyone paying for them is an idiot.

http://www.kw-suspension.com/us/kw_inox_line.php

Note that KW claims their INOX line has superior corrosion protection to zinc plated steel. Well, duh. What they don't compare is the supposed INOX superiority to "ordinary stainless steel" which they also spear to make, although it appears KW is careful bit to be too clear about what their "INOX line" actually is other than not zinc plated steel.

How come KW claims they INOX coat some of their product but not other stainless steel product? Why don't they test those two products!

Cosmetic eye dandy designed to attract extra dollars from the ignorant.

And actually, if you read the product information KW doesn't actually claim their INOX line is coated at all. And furthermore, coating stainless steel would increase its susceptibility to corrosion so I think racecompengineering just assumes it is some sort of coating. Stainless steel must be exposed to air to retain its chromium surface to remain corrosion free. So I call bullshit on the claim that anybody " coats" stainless steel to protect it from corrosion. See for example the paint experts at:

http://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=119

You haven't answered my question about INOX coating on stainless steel. What's it supposed to achieve? According you that Euro INOX link corrosion protection has nothing to do with INOX coating, it's just a way of colouring stainless steel, which is quite difficult BTW.

When are you going to give up with your ill informed, and frankly stupid personal attacks? You give every appearance of being one of the idiots you're signature refers to.

So INOX is a coating, but it'd be a waste of money to put it on any stainless that is used in a automotive application... Is that correct?

For your reference, there are many types of stainless http://www.estainlesssteel.com/corrosion.shtml

In my line of work, we've had situations were 304 stainless wasn't good enough because of attack from H2S. I'm not saying that H2S is going to decay your stainless coils... nothing of the sort. Just pointing out that stainless isn't invincible to attack.

Change your tune much? Now INOX coating is just a colouring thing. It's doesn't actually perform a task.

With that said, I agree, and I think when they said INOX coating, they mis-spoke. Unless the item truly is only plated in stainless...

YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE MAKING PERSONAL ATTACKS :thumbdown:

Hi I got the Hsd coilovers they are great not harsh have been great so far and not overly over priced :)

http://savey.smugmug.com/GT-86

No one cares that you think you can use google to sound smart.

Does any of your blabbering change the fact that the OP should buy corrosion proof coilovers for where he lives? No? Then shut up and stop ruining this thread.

All suspension worth buying will be "corrosion proof". My SAABs and my Alfa Romeo have ordinary steel shocks and last well over 200,000 km and, so far 22 years and 17 years without corrosion damage and driven year round.

Stainless steel has many disadvantages, the primary one being cost.

Ordinary painted steel shocks last a long time even in severe winter conditions. I have never had to replace a shock which failed because it was rusty.

Springs cannot be made from corrosion proof metal and usually fail long before corrosion can damage any shock fitted to the same wheel.

Shocks wear out long before corrosion can become relevant.

So, no, I disagree. I say that paying for stainless steel shocks is a complete waste of money practically speaking. KW is indulging in pure marketing bling and no doubt charging for the "bling" that remains unseen behind the tires. No question KW makes a good product.

PMPB is right because it's "stainLESS" not "stainPROOF". INOX is just french for stainless steel. (own any Swiss watches?)

Not sure what the KW offerings are for this car but usually V1 and V2 have Koni rear shocks, only V3 and Clubsport are made by KW both front and back. I thought they use stainless steel so that the perches won't get seized as easily? It's German steel I wouldn't worry about it.

Stock ride height is usually done to comply with 5 star side impact crash ratings. It's probably not the optimal ride height for handling.

Those have threaded spring seats stock that can corrode and seize? Let me know how well painted threads work.

That's a very well made point. These coilovers are made to be easily adjustable. If they were painted steel, the paint would bind up the spring seat, and crack+corrode and finally seize everything in place.

Simple solution to all this INOX debate: just wash your car everyday in the winter like I do :bonk:

Except that 99% of people who buy these coilovers actually just set 'em and forget 'em.

Cleaning up shock tube threads sufficiently to move spring perches isn't an issue if you do it often. If you don't do it often you don't need them to be clean.

Coilovers don't have painted threads. Zinc plating is enough. The piston rids are chrome plated steel, not stainless.

It should be remembered that stainless steel doesn't conduct heat very well and is not as strong as mild steel in some respects. Heat transfer rates are a very important feature of high performance dampers (well, any damper really).

Stainless steel is serious overkill for these components if corrosion is the concern.

I'll take overkill over a zinc plated set for a car that sees winter every time.

Zinc plated, after ~230 hours of salt spray testing.
http://www.kw-suspension.com/images/...ine_bsp_03.jpg

http://www.kw-suspension.com/us/kw_inox_line.php

Is this real life?

99% of "statistics" in forums are made up. I can't believe someone who purports to be a lawyer would really type that out.

Also, what kind of logic is: Nobody who buys coilovers ever adjusts them... Cleaning the spring perches regularly will maintain their adjustability...

Person A who never adjust their coils probably doesn't need to clean them regularly because they aren't adjusting them anyways.

Person B who does adjust them regularly, would probably just pay the extra to have stainless and not have to clean them every f***ing time. I wouldn't want to go at my coils with a wire brush every time I adjust them to remove the corrosion, and the 'zinc' coating. Lol.

Anyways, pretty poor reasoning demonstrated here.

I'm the only person who drives my car, and I rarely have passengers. Maybe I should bolt my seat directly to the floor, and remove the passenger seat... Right? In fact 99% of the population is the same as me. We should all save money because there is never a chance that once I buy my car I'll want to adjust the seat, or carry a passenger. Suberman, you're a genius,; of course, you already knew that....

If you think you will be part of the 1% who constantly changes the ride height if your car either your alignment shop or your tire shop is going to love you for it.

And just btw, I would be happy for you to find the exact figure for how many people who buy coilovers actually adjust their ride height after they find their favourite height.

I should've thought any reasonable person would have read 99% as "almost everybody".

Actually, nobody really adjusts their adjustable shocks either, despite some manufacturers making it easy to do. There's a reason for this. Most people don't know what settings to use and of those most end up with the wrong settings.

The actual range of suitable ride heights and shock settings is quite small.

Changing ride height, spring pre-load and shock settings is an elaborate and time consuming process, but only if you do it right.

One of the best things you could do for yourself, given your posts, is just buy a set of fixed spring perch shocks, say from Bilstein, and forget about changing the ride height altogether.

Oh and corrosion is the least likely mung you'll have to clean out of those threads, just btw.

OP, in the 1000-1500 range I'd consider the Bilstein B14, stainless steel housings with aluminum plates. As for the sleeve, you must be referring to the coilover condoms :D

http://www.fiestaturbo.com/forums/ga...ub100_1867.jpg

They'll help a bit I suppose. Don't know if they affect road/suspension noise or not. Personally I have never used them, because even if you do, you have to take them off occasionally to spray off any moisture or salt that happens to sneak in there anyway. I think as long as you clean your coilovers regularly you will be fine.

Cheers!

To the OP of this thread. Seeing how you live in Calgary call Ryan @VexPerformance he can help you out with your suspension. :)