Coilover options, too many!
 

Hello,

I'm planning on getting coilovers for my FR-S, but wanted to get some opinions/advice on which option should I take.

Here is the deal, my FR-S is my DD, I do go drive more spirited some times but mostly DD. It would be nice to go have fun in a track one day, but I'm not looking to break records or beat anyone.

What I want from my suspension is to be able to adjust the height between summer ( between 1 and 2 inches lower than stock) and winter (stock ride height) all without compromising the amazing ride that the car has in stock form.

My budget is around 1000 bucks, i could go up to 1500 with everything installed.

I've been looking to BC (BR), Ksport Kontrol pro, Stance SS, etc, but there's little information on durability/reliability, and ride quality. hence my indesition.. :S

To summarize, I want:
a) Stock ride quality
b) 1 to 2 inches lower than stock during summer
c) stock (or close) height during winter.

HSD rides better than all of the above from experience. If you don't want to buy something solid like RS*R then they are your best bet.

I'd take a look at Feal Suspension, Fortune Auto, or the Ground Control setup before any of those.

At $1k, the ST Coilovers are supposed to be the best thing out there. They're the same thing as KWv1's, just different metal used for the shock body. You can find them for ~$800 brand new.

Tx for the quick answers guys!
I'm reading up on the fortune autos, they seem like a tempting option.

o man, just when I'm reading up on one, i see the other. tx! they seem to have good reviews, this is going to be a tough choice :)

I'm going through the same debate myself. Right now I'm leaning towards the ST's. The cost savings is nice and from what I've read they really ride like an OEM+ system. I had 2 way adjustable, full pillow ball mount, high spring rate coilovers on my s2000 that were great on the track (and I was used to them on the street) but I've really enjoyed the comfort of the OEM system over the last few days. Being that I never really messed with the dampening much on the old car and I'm doing 95% street/back road driving they seem like the perfect system for me.

I'm in the same boat! DD cruiser look for a lil bit of low without too much compromise!

KW V3s are the way to go if you're willing to stretch your budget a bit. I got mine for about $1800 (group buys are the way to go for these sorts of things). To give you an idea of the stiffness of these: if you switched my suspension out without telling me, I probably wouldn't notice a difference, even though the car currently sits about 1.5 inches lower. My rebound and dampening settings are both about half way, so I could go much firmer or much softer if I wanted to.


Take that with a grain of salt though, since the stock FRS suspension is already pretty stiff :lol:

I had BC BR's on my 240 Project last year. For 1k they are the best option from my experience and research, however for a few hundred more I understand the Fortune Auto's are a step up. With a Swift upgrade these are probably tough to beat at 1500+.
My issue with the BC's was pillow block noise and I believe Fortune Auto has a good fix for this.

Understand though that as a daily driver you will be hard pressed to get stock or better ride with anything other than Ohlins at 3600+
Be realistic and understand coilovers are a compromise. That being said my 96 240 handled pretty incredibly.

Hope this helps

I had Ohlins on my old car, and while nicer, they were stiffer and the camber plates made lots of noise, plus, i never used any of the adjustability the Ohlins offered.

I got the ST's for my BRZ and couldn't be happier. Spring rates are close to stock, and softer than most every other kit out there. They installed like stock, and have been perfect, no noises, improved handling, and offer ride height adjustment. I didn't want adjustability, I wanted to adjust my ride height and forget them.

I think the Bilstein pSS b14 is exactly what you are looking for.

I would recommend Bilstein B14 as it fits your requirements perfectly. I have them and can assure you they're great for a DD. But any coilover that utilizes the stock top hats will definitely retain the factory NVH levels (i.e. Bilstein, KW, ST).

The good thing (or bad depending on your point of view) about B14 and ST coilovers are that you wouldn't have to worry about adjusting damping/rebound as it's all fixed....so you can just install and adjust ride height to your liking.

For what you described, I'd opt for the ST's...they fit the bill of everything you want, without breaking the bank-Not to mention they have had great reviews amongst members(myself included)

make sure to support a forum vendor, the prices will be cheaper and if you need any assistance they will help you.

Email Jurrian @ModBargains.com