Best Track Coilovers Sub $2000
 

I recently purchased a 2014 FRS :happyanim:
I bought this car for one purpose: to learn. I want to learn how to work on cars/install parts, drive faster and better, and have a good time doing it.
So it's time for my first mod:
The first mod I want to do is coilovers. I want to spend $2000 or less (preferably less) but I completely understand that you get what you pay for, so if necessary, I will save for expensive coils. I only want to do each part once- meaning I don't want to buy cheap coils only to then replace them with nicer ones down the road.
This car is a track car, not my daily. I plan on driving this car in the canyons, to the track, and on the track, so comfort doesn't matter. What coilovers should I get?

P.S. I know nothing about adjusting suspension BUT I want to learn, so adjustable coilovers are not a bad thing despite my lack of knowledge. :thumbsup:

Used KW V3's are the droid you are looking for. Can easily get them with used with camber plates for under $2k.

Used Racecomp Engineering Tarmac 2s are fairly good as well (similar to KW V3s) and are in that price range. New they're just slightly above $2K not by much though. However you might not find them used that easily. The stock suspension is plenty for track and a great way to start off with learning first so you can save your money for consumables and get upgraded suspension later on.

Do you have previous track day experience?

Even if you do, I recommend leaving the car stock for your first several track days to get a better feel for how this platform behaves and how you'd like to change that with whatever coilovers you choose.

What track experience do you have?
What tires do you plan to run?
Honestly you are better off learning on stock parts as the limits are lower and better parts will just mask driver errors.
All you need is a set of brake pads and good brake fluid to go to the track.
And maybe some better tires soon after.

+1 to @Shark_Bait88 & @swarb seat time is better than mods, coilovers won't help you go faster if you can't drive fast to begin with.

Brakes will be the first thing that you'll need to upgrade, not the suspension. If you've never been to the track before, go stock, go with Hooked on Driving if you can afford it, probably the best first timer track experience on the West Coast. And then budget for a brake upgrade, plenty to read about and delve into. Just pads and fluids, no need for a flashy big brake kit unless you're hitting the track once a month or more.

When you do get to suspension:

imo on this car alignment adjustment > all other suspension mods.

With a $2k budget I'd get camber bolts+plates and rear LCA's, lowering springs, Koni Yellow or Bilstein B6. And even then the springs and dampers aren't terribly necessary, you'll get a lot of grip out of good alignment and tires.

As mentioned above, keep the vehicle stock and just drive it. If you're going to upgrade anything: Brake fluid, and possibly pads.

You mentioned using this car as a learning experience. Learning to drive the car as is and how each part you add will have an impact on the car will be great lessons to learn.

Anybody can just bolt on random parts to a car from a catalog. But know what they ACTUALLY do at an individual level can really play to your advantage in the long run.

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to do an autocross day as soon as possible to get a feel for the car stock and start learning how to drive. But another part of this project is to build the car, so after my first autocross/track day, I will install the coilovers.

I have narrowed down my search to the following:
GReddy x KW Coilovers
ST XTA Coilovers

Both developed by KW which is a trustworthy brand, and both having pretty good reviews for the price. Again, my intentions are to build this car for the track, so performance is my priority over comfort. Regarding wheels/tires, my current set up is completely stock, but after suspension will come wheels and tires, probably 17x9, with 245s all around (maybe advan A048s) because I plan on going forced induction. Which set should I go with? Thanks for the help!

Pick whichever, they are identical. Greddy gets blue springs, ST gets yellow ones. The spring rates are 5kg/mm front, 4kg/mm rear, ignore what Greddy says about the spring rates, they got their numbers wrong apparently.

I started out with the Fortune Auto 500's. So ill throw those into the mix. They start at $1325 with added Swift Springs and radial bearings it would be closer to your 2k mark.

Fortune Auto has it setup to where you can upgrade to the next level when you feel you have gotten all you can out of the current. Recently I have upgraded to the 510's when I sent them in to get rebuilt.

"Best", and "coilovers", and "sub-$2000" don't really work together in the same sentence.
Save up another few grand and get something worth buying.

First of all, if you have no previous performance driving or motorsports under your belt, you will not come to grips with the car after a single autocross. It takes most people years to actually come close to the true limits of their hardware.

But even then, your plan after you've "learned" the car is to radically change the suspension? The car is going to be so different that very little of what you've learned about its behavior is going to matter.

Look, if you just want to have fun with cars, great! Go install shit and have fun, and don't listen to people who are telling you that you're doing it wrong. But if you actually want to learn how to drive for real, you need tons of seat time in a car that doesn't change at all for several events. I recommend you reexamine your priorities and decide which is most important to you.

Used RCE T2's if you can find them. Great starting point that you build on.

But like the others have said, it's better to learn to drive at speed on track with a stock setup with better brakes. Get some RS3's while they are on closeout and learn on those until they are worn out then look into coilovers.

Seat time is more important than car parts.

I haven't asked RCE about pricing on their new Bilstein coilovers, but I would guess they are in your price range.

No knobs to play with but a good damper with springs a little stiffer than the ST/Greddy.