Help Coilover selection
 

I am considering a set of Ohlins and I don't really care about price too much. What else is out there that is better than Ohlins? Anything cheaper to Ohlins but comparable or better?

My requirements are:

1. Street, I want it to be comfortable
2. Track (only 5-6 track days a year, not that much time)

KWs seem to be quite good from what everyone on this forum is saying. Search it out and you will find plenty of threads.

Ohlins are pretty damn good. If you don't want to spend quite so much, KW v3 or Racecomp Engineering Tarmac IIs would be a great choice.

As long as those street ride quality is good, I ain't 19 anymore, my back just can't take it if it is stiff as hell and bouncing all over the place. Money isn't so important to me, if Ohlins are only 5% better than KWs, I'd still take Ohlins even if its 800 dollars more or so.

I dont see how anyone can mention Öhlins and KW in the same sentance

If price was no option penske but they are around $10k. Koni with springs is a good choice that is less expensive then most high quality coil overs. If you really want coil overs and you don't want to pay for ohlins just get the kw and have a suspension guy corner balance the car and you will be just fine on the track.

Sent from my Q10

JRZ RS series?
http://www.jrzsuspension.com/products/rs-line/rs1.html Single adjustable monotube
http://www.jrzsuspension.com/products/rs-line/rs.html Double adjustable twin tube
http://www.jrzsuspension.com/product...ne/rs-pro.html Double adjustable monotube with remote canisters

Is there a reason you want coils over springs and struts? They almost always have stiffer spring rates, RCE Tarmac Zeros being one exception that I know of. Granted, they're damped properly to match the spring rates, but it'll still be pretty firm.

Super top quality will be Penskes, then JRZ. Then Ohlins, then RCE and KW. It depends on what your goals for the car are. If it's mostly street, maybe start with RCE yellow springs and OEM struts, or RCE Tarmac springs on Bilstein struts.

Maybe @Racecomp Engineering or @CSG Mike could chime in and give you better answers.

Ohhh boy.

JRZ is niiiiice.
Moton/AST are good as well, very well built.
MCS is also super purdy.
Ya got yer classic Öhlins
Then ya got yer top of the line fully customizable Penske's.

Get ready to pay an arm and a leg for any of them.

That's still considerably more track time than most cars will ever see.

Yes, there are absolutely better options than Ohlins R&T. What are you realistically willing to spend? Anything up to around ~6k has good gains per dollar, with returns starting to diminish after that.

JRZ RS Pro gets my vote. (Ha! I bet you didn't even realise there was a poll going!)
http://counterspacegarage.com/produc...o-brz-frs.html

I don't think you're going to beat the Ohlins for your usage. I got a set for the FD because the Tein SS that were on it were intolerable on the street even with "street" 9k/7k spring rates. The Ohlins at 11k/11k are like riding on a cloud over bumps, even when set to give much firmer lowspeed damping. You should consider getting stiffer rear springs with them. Their stock setup with even spring rates has the front wheel rate 60% higher than rear rate. Some have reported understeer as a result. I'd go 2k stiffer rears than fronts.

addendum: Depending on how stiff overall you want to be, you could either go 6k/8k (stiffer rears), or 4k/6k (softer fronts), or 5k/7k (softer fronts with stiffer rears), or hedge a bit on changing from their standard rates and go 6k/7k or 5k/6k.

Price no object, I'd still lean towards Ohlins for your uses. Maybe JRZ RS1. Ohlins are the "easy button" and they do everything pretty darn well.

We've daily driven and tracked KW, our own RCE coilovers, Ohlins, Bilstein, and JRZ on our BRZ. Give us a call if you'd like to talk.

- Andy

i see your biggest priority is how it is on the street. i had KW v3's and they were really nice on the street. the progressive rates make for a rather comfortable ride. on track they were also great and i had no complaints.

i have since switched to AST and while the suspension is far better and the car handles better, the street comfort has significantly diminished. its not jarring, but its not soft and plush like how the KW's were. i have the dampening turned to the softer side and it is still pretty solid. on hard bumps it doesn't hurt, but its obvious you're on AST's or w/e harsh suspension you have.

ohlins and etc are all GREAT coilover systems, but i think on the street they will not be as comfortable as the Kw's. they will hold up great on track days, and unless you're a pro, i dont think you really need much more to truly enjoy the car...sure there is better suspensions out there, but how much do you REALLY need.

-ivan

Some more details, I haven't had time go to track once this year and it doesn't look like that's changing. The roads where I live are complete garbage, pot holes everywhere. I am willing to sacrifice track performance for street comfort, I go to track for fun so I really don't care if this coilover will save 2 seconds off my lap. I have no interest in those things.

My maximum is 4000 dollars.

Keep in mind, coilovers must be an upgrade from stock suspension, if is stiff and rides uncomfortably, I don't consider that to be an upgrade from stock suspension, even if it is better at the track.

Basically just looking for the optimal balance but with balanced skewed towards street vs track.

Back ground information on car:
Vortech Supercharger Kit
Perrin Oil Cooler
Volk Racing TE37SL 18x9
Titanium Exhaust
AP Racing Sprint Front BBK
Cheap shit Chinese coilovers LOL
Lower control arms (rear)
Rear Diff Brace
Lithium Battery

I already spent a lot of money on the and I made the mistake of cheapening out and getting some cheap Chinese coilovers which I don't like very much.
-8kg/mm springs front and rear and monotube dampers. Basically I have them on the softest setting and I don't really like that ride all that much. Jumps over large bumps and the springs are already starting to grind.

So my conclusion is I need something good but there are so many options. The key thing is I need something that will tie all these performance enhancements together and make it a complete "car". Like I said I don't mind spending money but if it just makes the ride harsh and unpleasant then I am just throwing money down the toilet.

No reviews on the HKS hypermax IV SP coilovers?

How much lower than stock do you want the car? 1 inch? 1.5 inches? more?

- Andy

1 Inch is about all I need, I still daily drive this LOL.

I still vote RCE Tarmac II or KW V3, as a more street-friendly suspension that is still very capable on the track.

Gotcha, reason I ask is that the Ohlins don't go very low but 1 inch is good. If it were me in your position that would be my top choice. One of the best all around coilovers IMO...."road and track" as their name says. Yes there are faster set-ups out there but they have other compromises.

- Andy

Sent you a PM, want to ask you some more details.

For sub 4k, AST 4150's like @Jive Turkey said, or MCS 2 ways.

Do you have camber plates that can be re-used?

If you mean the OEM ones? I have those on my oem struts and I have camber plates that came with my Chinese suspension.

honestly from what you say you need KW seems to fit the bill really well or the RCE setup (which is more car specific)

i LOVE my AST's but sometimes they get annoying. the Kw's were more plush, but obviously not as good when you push the car.

i don't know how the ohlin's ride, but if they are like the AST i would say ON THE STREET the v3's would be better. in every other category i would say get ohlins or ASt's or etc for sure. but since street comfort is what you're really looking for i think RCE/v3 is what you should be looking at and spend the rest of the budget on top hats and a proper corner balance...people forget that good alignments/work isn't cheap.

as for top hats, doesn't sound like you need them and can reuse your OEM stuff. KW's are slotted so you can gain camber in the front that way. depending how low you go with your LCA you might need toe arms.

you could always go vorshlag, raceceng, hvt etc. but you don't NEED them is what i'm saying.

why not? i feel the way you spelled sentence is a little discrediting right off the bat but i want to hear you out.

But he got the umlaut right in Ohlins though, so that's something.

this exact thought honestly crossed my mind. its hard to criticize since i bant be bothered to use capitals when i type.

I had a nice talk with Myles at RCE and seems like the RCE Tarmac 2 would be a good choice for me. Myles seems like he really knows his stuff.

Ohlins >>> KW

i would agree. you don't NEED what the öhlins will offer, if it was a more tracked car it would make sense but for the street paired with RCE customer service you really can't go wrong for the money spent.

i think you'll be really happy. anything is a step up from fucking bc/stance/isc/fortune/whatever other taiwanese dampeners.


yes obviously ohlins are better, but that isn't the question here. the question is what will suit this car best, not what is the best coil over.

I don't know where you're getting the idea that the Ohlins are less street oriented, they are AMAZING on the street. Smoother and less harsh on my FD than the much softer-sprung and very good stock suspension on my S2k. Trackable, yes, but fantastic and comfortable on even bad roads.

How do the spring rates of your ASTs compare to the KWs?

I'm almost in the exactly same situation (bad roads and rare track visits) and currently choosing between Ohlins R&T and JDM TRD set which is roughly the same price:

http://www.trdparts.jp/english/86_pe...uspension.html

Does anyone have any idea how good the TRD ones compared to Ohlins? My thinking was that TRD Japan is always good stuff made by best manufacurers and if you are not sure which part is better - choose TRD if can live with its price.

TRD dampers are made by Bilstein,KYB or Tokico depending on model and year. I have no idea how you could judge their pedigree. The only reason I can think of to go with TRD is if warranty is applicable.

i would stay away from JDM stuff unless you know you can service it state side. once you need to rebuild a coilover you dont want to be waiting months or weeks and have to ship over seas...ohlins would be much easier on the customer service end you would think.

He's in Moscow, but I don't know if that would make servicing coilovers easier or harder.

Pretty much decided to go with JRZ RS1 Pro. Just not 100% sure on spring rates. It exceeds my original budget but that's happened every time anyways LOL.

:thumbsup:

Would you please give us a review when you have driven with them. Some damper pics would be appreciated too.