Suspension upgrade
 

I'm looking for good suspension options. Budget is around 1200-1500. I know i don't want some junk coilovers. Unless anyone can recommend a coilovers that's better than koni yellows at this price I'd gladly go that way. If not I'd rather stick go koni yellows. I'm looking for a good set of Springs so I am coming for advice. I do not track my car it's a street car. I live in southern ohio and we have twisty turns for days so that's where it's spending most of its time. I'll be running 17×8 +45 (can do 35 if nessary) power goals are around the 300 bench mark at the wheels. Currently it's stock. I don't want a super rough ride as well. I want to get the suspension right the first time. I've redone the suspension in my 6th gen celica twice and I'll tell you it wasn't cheap either time. I'm also a 90s guy at heart so I don't know a lot of the spring companies for today's Cars. On my Hondas and celicas it was either ground control/koni or skunk2 Springs or ebiach and h&r on my mr2. So any help would be appreciated. I'm starting with the ground up the car was built from the factory for handling so I wish to improve handling and everything else before adding more power.

I'd recommend ST suspensions. They're KW's budget line. Same springs and valve hardware as the KW products, but the shock bodies are galvanized steel instead of stainless. I've had them on 2 cars now, they are fantastic, and when I get coils for the scooby I will get a set of ST XTA (those are the height and rebound adjustables with front camber/caster plates).

-Josh

A lot of people will say to look at Tein but I highly recommend taking a look at the ST XTA's. My car road much smoother with these and was much more comfortable over the stock setup.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100030

This video gives gives a breakdown of some of the good features of the ST's towards the end:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6rrCagn5gI"]ST XTA coilovers for the GT86/FR-S/BRZ - unboxing - YouTube[/ame]

TRD, TRD, TRD. They have the Springs and Swaybars set that is matched for each other; and this is also matched to the stock struts. Covered under warranty, moderate lowering and not a mismatched set. You could probably purchase all of this with install for your budget, with install. This is a pretty safe, quality upgrade for street minded people. I have it, and I recommend it for street, my location is socal though. The ride was also more comfortable with this setup than the stock springs.

I went TRD Springs before I upgraded to the ST's. No comparison. The TRD Springs on the stock struts were extremely harsh compared to my ST's.

I was thinking about the trd springs but I checked st warranty and it's a solid 5 years. That's not to bad for coilovers. One of the main reasons I was going with koni yellows is the lifetime warranty and well they've been around for ever. Proven time and time again. The st seem like a good solid option. I've read a few reviews on them and everyone seems to love them. I've never heard of them previously. Most coilovers sub 1500 range are normally trash like bc and Meagan. Not meaning to name drop but we all know they are horrible lol.

Wow, thanks for the advice. I should consider these coil overs. My springs were around 250.00. I would like to consider coil overs someday. Just afraid of the unknown. How much were these coil overs? How much do we estimate these to cost with with installation? I would like to have them. Would the stock swaybars be ideal for these or do they reccomend others for daily drivers. I might be willing to swap these someday if I can get the fund's.

You can get them here for $1,200 shipped:

http://www.modbargains.com/st-xta-co...z-18258804.htm

I run stock sway bars and don't have any intention of changing that as I find the car to be very neutral and compliant.

@Tor can probably give more input on these coilovers with aftermarket sways.

Something else to note is that at 15k miles my front stock struts/dampers were leaking when I removed them to replace with the coilovers. I firmly believe that lowering the stock struts any amount greatly reduces their life span.

Hmm while on this "SUSPENSION UPGRADE" subject I also am running 19in Rohan rc 10, love em, don't feel much difference in performance, I also have tein street flex on, the coilovers are great a bit more stiff than stock but didn't otice much difference. I'm trying to close gap of tire and fender so I had them max low however only the front fender meets tire, the back is about an inch from it. Now I'm wondering if st xta be as or more comfortable but still go lower than teins? Lemme know.. considering bc extreme low with swift springs.. but I don't want the uncomfortable ride..

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Base on this requirement, I would say the MeisterR ZetaCRD+ Coilovers will fit your bill, and be on the low end too as we have an offer on at the moment.

Springs rate is a very sensible 5kg/mm front, 4kg/mm rear.
Front spherical bearing top mount with camber adjustments.
Rear press steel top mount with rubber bush and insulation.
Adjustable mono-tube dampers.
Independent spring pre-load and ride height adjustments.

The ZetaCRD+ will allow you to dial in the suspension to your preference.
While it is capable of track day use, they will do best for the twisty uneven road surfaces that you will face all the time.

More details can be found here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104205

http://www.meisterr.co.uk/Pics/Post/FRS/FRS1.jpg

Any questions, please feel free to let us know. :)

Jerrick

What don't you like about the suspension as it is? What tires are you running presently? What tires do you plan to run?

Current suspension (stock) okay it's nothing amazing or anything but again I'm also running stock tires that are horrible. The car definitely needs lowered so that's why I'm upgrading suspension. The wheel gap isn't the prettiest and it's been documented that lowering the car slightly does improve handling. Not looking to slam the car by any means that defeats the purpose of upgrading the suspension for performance reasons. The stock struts are stock so why just upgrade one without doing it all in one go. Rims I'll be running are advanti s1 storm 17x8 the miata guys love them and if they can hold up on the miata than they can surely hold up on the frs. Plus they look damn good in my opinion and priced right. Not looking to spend 400 per rim for me to get one curbed or bent on accident. I'm a good driver but life happens at times. I'm not 100% sure on what tire to run. I was going to figure out the suspension than choose the right tire. I was originally thinking springs and koni but after seeing a few of the coilovers in same price range (that are not China junk) I might go that route vs the spring and strut and a bonus would be weight savings as well.

That's great to know. ST's coilovers have been smoother on my BMWs too, I was amazed. They are more firm, but better controlled. My guess is that most performance coilovers are better matched to the springs because of better manufacturing tolerances in the spring and shock. After all the OE parts are build for a much lower price to the manufacturer.