Springs over coilovers ?
 

Hey guys, I want to get that stupid wheel space gone and I want it gone soon. I am not looking for flush or stance. So, I was wondering are springs over coilovers a good decision ? Springs are 5 times cheaper, but I was always told you pay for what you get!

The springs I am looking at are:

http://www.redline360.com/eibach-spo...gs-frs-4.10582

So what do you all think about springs and if they are worth the money and effort are these good ?

I'd rather run springs than cheap $1,000 coilovers ;)

Which springs you want come down to what you need. If you live in an area where ground clearance is critical I wouldn't go down past an inch. I ran the Sportlines for thousands of miles, no issues. I took them off because Sebring is too damn bumpy for that much drop with the softer rates and to switch back to OEM before the coilovers arrive.

After running KW V2's on my previous car, and now KW V3's on my newest toy, I'm sure you know where my allegiance lies, but it lies there for a good reason. The comfort I have for the streets, and then turning it up at the track is very easy to do, and I would highly suggest looking into KW for that. Personally for me, springs are a cheap way to lower the car, and it's obviously been noted before, but springs, over time will wear out the stock shocks much quicker than normal, which would then mean you need to buy new ones. A good st of shocks runs you about $600-$700, plus all the labor charges to install the springs, and change the shocks, at this point, you'll be within just a few hundred dollars of getting your KW's to be honest...

That's what I think, that's just my 2 cents, but honestly, after 10 years of modifying cars, I go straight to coilovers, I ignore springs at this point.

Whats your budget? Koni struts/shocks and a good set of springs such as RCE, Eibach Pro-Kit, or Swift "BRZ spec" springs would be a good option and come out a little over $1k in parts.

You can always just do the springs now and do the Koni's or possibly some Bilstein's later.

The only reason I was getting springs was the price. I can wait for coilovers I guess. I live in memphis so there isn't very good roads here

I've read this posting earlier today and so I presented these questions to "an expert."

Thank you for choosing Tire Rack. A product specialist will be with you shortly...
You are now chatting with 'T-rack star'
T-rack star: Hello Fenris! How can I help you?
Fenris: Hello T-rack-star!
Fenris: Good u? I'm looking at different wheels for my car. The recommended tire size per your site, is 40/18. Why 40 vice 45...my preference.
T-rack star: 45 series would be too tall to stock height and may rub or throw off the speedometer/odometer
Fenris: I see! I was under the impression that 45 series tires would provide me a " get out of jail for free" in reference to curb checks!
T-rack star: Unfortunately going to a higher diameter wheel will mean a lower profile tire
Fenris: As a result, the ride quality will become more harsh? I'm 43...
T-rack star: slightly, but hardly noticeable. Better tire quality can take care of that.
Fenris: Really? That's good to know! Are you familiar with the BRZ / FRS?
T-rack star: Yes - we have co-workers that own both. Very nice!
Fenris: Ok, with ths car already so low, will 18's take up some of the wheel gap? I really don't want to lower my car!
T-rack star: The wheel gap will be filled in slightly -about .1"
Fenris: Hmm! Sounds like coilovers are "required" for the desired appeareance, then.
T-rack star: Or an Eibach Prokit spring kit (lowers 1" front and rear) - $219
Fenris: Will the springs not promote premature strut wear?
T-rack star: No - they are progressive springs - the travel distance to the bump stop is not altered by adding the lowering springs so no extra wear on the struts
Fenris: Could I get that claim in writing? "Others" have a different opinion...
T-rack star: It is not a warranty claim - it is advise from someone who has done the same set up on multiple cars.

I hope someone here finds this as helpful as I have. :happy0180:

It all depends on what you are planning to do with the car. Technically, you already have coilovers and they handle as such. At the same time, you don't have the adjustability of the aftermarket ones. The stock front coilovers will be more than enough for most of us that just take our cars out every once in awhile for fun, plus the NVH wont increase a lot and they will with an aftermarket adjustable coilover

I'll tell you this. My good friend HATED just a standard spring swap and has always run KW's on his M3's. He would make his opinion very vocal and he is someone who tracked his E90 a lot....I would venture to say 12+ track days a year. Fast forward a year and he traded his sedan in for his current E92 M3. The car already had lowering springs and he was scheduled for a track the within the following couple weeks after he bought it. Since he didn't have time to get coilovers in, he just ran the suspension as it was. He beat his previous best time by a full second! He was shocked! Needless to say, he's probably not going coilovers on this current car.

All that is to say, figure out what your plans are for the car, decide how much you want to drive it on the street. Coilovers for the track are not going to be super comfortable on the street. I had them on my cobra and I wish I would have stayed with springs as the car was a DD.

Personally, I'm sticking with springs. For the couple track days, I'm going to get more than my share of fun and have a nice stance to go with it.

There are good springs and bad springs, and there are good coilovers and bad coilovers. Like suave said, the stock set-up is technically a "coilover." What is commonly referred to as a "coilover" these days is a shock/strut with an adjustable spring perch to change ride height or corner balance.

The cheap coilovers make sacrifices in the quality of the strut/shock valving (which of course is very important) in order to get all the other features to you at that lower price point. So you get camber plates, adjustable ride height, adjustable damping (which sometimes isn't very good no matter where you set it), but if you just want to lower the car a little bit for the street, you may not need or want those things and a spring that works well with the stock shocks may be a better all around solution for you. The stock shocks are not bad, you just can't lower the car too far. Once you go past an inch, you start giving up ride quality and handling.

A really good coilover can be an awesome upgrade, even if you don't take your car to a road course or auto-x. But you do pay a good chunk of change to get one.

You could also do springs + Koni shocks which is a great package. You get better damping and damping adjustability for about the same price as a cheap coilover.


While I don't think you need to worry about premature strut wear with Eibach Pro-kit, the fact that they are progressive has nothing to do with the travel distance to the bumpstop. If you lower an inch up front, you're an inch closer to the bumpstop (although with Eibach and our own RCE springs you get shortened bumpstops included...no other spring offers that).

- Andrew

This has all been really good information. I think the springs are what I want thank the name brand I am choosing is good.

sorry to jack this thread. i was talking to some guy alot more knowledgeable about cars than i am. hes been tracking and rallying z's for a couple years and i just got into cars a year ago....

anyways we were talking about suspension and i asked him if i should get coilovers. he reccomended me away from them and said to get springs, struts, sway bars, etc.

his reasoning was that coilovers were harder to work on because if you didnt corner balance and have a good balance, you could blow out your coils. apparently he did that back when he was tracking. if i had access to a shop thatd let me corner balance he said go for it but otherwise a coilover would be useless if its not properly tuned.

any thoughts?

I'm getting coilovers because the srpings do not allow me to go 2.5" drop

that last paragraph doesnt really make any sense. how is not corner balancing coilovers any different than not corner balancing shocks and springs? also it wouldnt be the "coils" you blow out. it would be the shock

My opinion:

If all you want to do is lower the car more than 2 inches, and you don't care about ride quality or performance, cheap coil-overs are the way to go. DO NOT buy cheap coil-overs for any other reason.

If you want to lower the car about an inch, and increase handling performance, get some quality springs AND struts. This is the best bang for the buck.

If you plan on tracking your car hard and often, or you want to compete in autoX, expensive coil-overs are the way to go. What I think many people don't consider is that the set-up on these systems is not easy. In my opinion, if you don't know what the adjustments do then you don't need them.

I had springs and shocks in my MR2 Turbo along with wheel/tire upgrade and sways. It was a blast to drive. Took it to the track as often as I could. Its all you need to have a good time IMO.

My advice is to wait and buy suspension ONCE. Many get impatient and buy it twice.