Best coils for around 1K
 

Hey guys,

So I have about $1000 (wife approved) to get some coils for my FR-S. I use it as a daily drive and never go to the track. I want something for looks and comfort is my number 1. I still will be hitting corners here and there, but I'm mostly concerned with comfort. Should I even go with coils or save some money and just get springs?

Only reason to buy coilovers in your case is for height adjustment. Do you want to be able to change the ride height? No? Then you'll be fine with springs.

Springs

Maybe Bilstein B14? Progressive spring rates make it comfortable. Only features height adjustment so you can set it and forget it.

Are springs more comfortable than coils? I don't know much about how the spring rates work. If I do go with springs, what am I looking at with camber issues?

Just because you are putting something aftermarket on, doesn't mean you are making something better. I don't think you want 1k coilovers if you are concerned with comfort as a DD. You will get peoples opinions that some in this price range are "great," but this is subjective, and people will of course try justify their purchase.

You will gain camber lowering. Less than an inch drop and getting LCA's to fix the rear camber isn't necessary, but will help your tires if you do. You probably still want an alignment to make sure toe is in check. If you drop more than an inch, you will need more than just coilovers to get the job done. If you are looking just for a drop about 1" or less, springs seems to be the way to go. Then, you can still get LCA's and camber bolts, get all of your alignment back in spec, and have a good chunk of that 1k left over.

I'm on 25mm lowering springs from Mann Engineering. For camber, the front isn't affected but the rear will see a change from 0 to -1.5 degrees. That's not too bad if you toss your car into the occasional corner but you may see some tire wear if all you're doing is going straight. Toe also changes when lowering so get a proper alignment after you change your suspension.

In terms of ride, it's definitely firmer and not as comfortable as stock. The spring rates for the Mann Engineering springs are pretty soft compared to the competition so I can only imagine stiffer springs on stock struts would be even more uncomfortable.

The rear shocks on our cars is ridiculously short so lowering your car will get rid of a lot of stroke. I find myself riding the rear bumpstops quite often, which makes for a lot of harshness.

Honestly, the stock suspension is excellent. It's a good compromise of ride and sportiness. But if you like the lowered look, you're going to compromise ride a bit.

It's not too bad on my springs bit it's not my ideal set up.

Did those springs come with replacement bumpstops?

They did not but Mann Engineering said it wasn't necessary to cut the bumpstops. I'm thinking I should have haha.

Dont forget, if you're thinking about springs and worrying about dampers theres a few that may meet your needs as well. Coilovers arent for everyone, except for those who want height adjustment privilages.

How are the Tein street basics? Seems like they are pretty good, but I've had bad experiences using OEM pieces with aftermarket suspension. Anyone have these? Pros and Cons?

ST coilovers! Under a grand, adjustable ride height, spring rates are reasonable, I Love mine!

Solid too, no clunks or noises, ride is similar to stock but much better handling.

ST coilovers are made by, and exactly the same as KW V1 coilovers. The only difference is the shock body material is steel, not stainless, and only a worry if you live and drive where they salt the roads in winter time.

Lowered 1.5''-2''

Unless you plan to raise and lower the car a bunch just get springs. RCE and Swift make good matches to the stock dampers. You can always upgrade to Koni or Bilstein struts later on.

If you are dead set on coilovers the STs are a decent option. Also the Tein Street Flex are clearancing at a few places as they are being discontinued.

Coilovers are great, but caveat emptor:

1) the spring perch does come loose as you use it, so unless you have access to a shop that can tighten your suspension from time to time, or your own space, be aware of this.
2) like most other shocks, they need to be rebuilt or replaced from time to time.
3) if you want comfort, shocks is going to be your #1 goal. Increased spring rates will be less comfortable no matter which way you go... and coilvoer spring rates will be higher than lowering springs, all else being equal.
4) $1k? get shocks and don't change springs!

-alex

Anyone hear or know someone who has skunk2 coilovers? If so are they worth the money?

Keeping my eye on this thread, in the market as well to change suspension and can't decide coils or springs. I love the stock ride and feel but I do not want to buy something that will hurt my handling. That's one of the strong points of our cars. The wheels I want to run are 18x9.5 +35 but have been told without coilovers they will rub. So that's another reason why I'm looking into coils instead of springs. If they won't rub the suspension then hell I might go that route. I just want to eliminate some of that wheel gap, but not planning on slamming my car.

18x9.5 will rub the inside front springs and perches. You'll need coilovers.

The ST coilovers use the stock upper perches, so no tightening necessary, and no rebuilding, well, no more often than stock. If you use aftermarket camber plates, those DO often make noise and need servicing periodically.

High end coilovers, yes, maybe need rebuilding to maintain optimum performance.

The ST spring rates are also the closest you'll find to stock out of any offering from any other brand. 4k-5k or 5k-6k I think. Ride is like stock.

Most other coilover kits are 7-8 or 8-9k, much stiffer.

I've been running mine for 4000 miles now, no clunks, no noises, super solid, great ride, improved handling, and I was able to set the ride height. Couldn't be happier.

IMO the best coils for $1,000 are the ones you don't buy and allow you to spend the money on something else.

cheap coilovers are not worth the time or effort if you ever actually drive the car and care about safety, ride quality, etc. Spend that 1k on springs and the required components to allow for a proper alignment after the spring install. If you can cheat a bit on the price then add a set of koni adjustables at the same time.

Those are some big ass wheels. They will hurt handling.

- Andy

If I could make 100000 fake accounts and like this forever, I would!

-alex

How about ISC coils? Anyone have them? Pros, Cons???

Noted. Well then I'll do a search to find out what will complement this car in terms of wheel size. It just seems what we have is too small for the car.

As far as those ISC coilovers I personally have never heard of them. Do some research bud. I'm going to do the same since I'm curious as well.

Before you jump in the deep end, you should try some BRZ coils on the back of your FR-S. I've tried 4 different sets of coil-overs, 1 of them Airlift, and didn't find the comfort I was looking for. If you want comfort, look up a BRZ owner in your area who has upgraded their ride to coil-overs and offer them $20 apiece for their old ones. I'm driving a BRZ with FR-S springs in front, and BRZ springs in back. I've never had a better ride from my car. The struts are all the same, BRZ or FR-S, so you don't need to change those if you don't have to.
Save your money for intake/header/OFT instead.

:burnrubber:

18's can be fine, but 9.5 is wiiiiiide. No functional need for that in most cases and it will make the car less fun.

We ran a BBS CH wheels in 18x8 + 38 offset. It was really nice on springs and coilovers. Track and street. Just one option....I recommend keeping it under 9 inches at least.

- Andy

Swift/RCE springs and B8's would be the way to go for small budget setup :)

But bro, what about my stance!?!?!

(I say that knowing I want 18x9.5s knowing I'll only track it a few times a year vs my previous cars.) These cars just look so awesome on 18s.

Ok so now I really leaning towards the tein street flex. Comments with pros/cons??? I noticed that they use a twin tube vs a mono. Pro and cons on that???

Im hopefully going to get skunk2 this week the price/quality is perfect

What made you go with that set-up?

Well first off they have a high reputation and quality products. I purchased their header last month and was very impressed. Plus customer service is great. After reading about it seemed pretty well thought out and designed.

Is there front camber adjustment?

@msugi07 here is the thing to keep in mind. Spring rates don't really determine how nice a set-up rides, its the dampening. Good dampners are expensive which is why suspension is one of those areas where you get what you pay for. You could spend $4K on JRZ or Tein SRC with 10k/12k setups and probably ride smoother than a set of $1K BCs with 7k/8k springs.

Ask around Friday at the Dublin meet as there will be plenty of different suspension pieces, and many wil be willing to give you a ride to see for yourself. The stock dampners are very good, which is why a proper spring setup in this car is fantastic and really all thats needed if you just want a drop for the street and get a little performance increase.

Short list for your budget:

Springs:
Swift sport springs
RCE Yellows
Mann Engineering springs

Coilovers:
Tein Street Flex
ST
Bilstein PSS 14
Used RCE zero

This is actually not true, I am running 18 X 9.5 +38 with the stock shocks and H&R springs and they fit fine with 245/35 tires.

Look above.

have been through a number of 'coilover'/spring/sleeve setups on my old cars and i realized that i never adjusted the height at all after i set it to where i wanted it... granted, i have never tracked my cars and thus never felt compelled to get them corner balanced (that would be where i could see coilovers being more beneficial). also always had to check the collars to make sure they were tight from time to time/had odd noises and whatnot...

for my own personal uses and in my own personal experiences, a set up with quality springs and quality dampers worked the best. comfortable street set up and never had to worry about checking for loose collars, didn't have to mess with damper settings...

that's probably what i will end up going with when i modify the set up on my frs... for now, stock feels great and is plenty fun

You going to the meet Friday?

Im not 100% sure but the pics look like it does. The spring rates are 6k which I believe is very close to stock.

That's like twice as much as stock.


In the $1k range....

If you really must have a bigger drop (more than around an inch), I'd recommend coilovers. You should get a set with quality valving...that's the biggest priority and unfortunately the hardest part to get good information about. Nothing around $1k is going to have great valving. ST and Bilstein PSS will be pretty good but won't work well for drops over 1.5 inches. For big drops, you should consider BC or whatever else...that's not my thing.

For a primarily street driven car with a drop of 1 inch or less, springs are good. For $1k you can build a good handling set-up that still rides well and is functional. I would prefer this route over cheap coilovers but I don't need/want a big drop.

If you do track days or auto-x, you should consider increasing your suspension budget. You can still have fun stock or with good springs, but coilovers or springs with at least a few toppings will go a long way.

- Andy

Have you heard of Google?

http://www.tein.co.jp/e/special/ni_toryu/index.html
"It is not a matter of which design is better than the other, but providing the most suitable design for the purpose is."

Don't get caught up in This is better than That. Shades of gray.There are twin tube dampers that are better than cheap mono-tubes. Also don't get caught up in brand names. Tein's $700 dampers are not the same as their $14,000 dampers.
Everything's a compromise. <- Remember that.

I usually do, but the GF is sick so hopefully she gets over it in time. If I do go I'm on RCE yellows with stock sturta and can give you a ride along.