Need help deciding which path to take for suspension...
 

Hi all. Currently, I have eibachs sportline springs installed. While I enjoy the looks and handling, the ride quality is just horrible.

I never track my car. So I was hoping a few could chime in on wether I should go with a better shock+Spring combo or coils?
I was looking at koni yellows+rce yellows, or teins street basis coils, anyone have experience with those?

Thanks for the help.

I love my RCE Yellows. They feel stock when cruising, but you can tell how they help the car stay flat while cornering. They also come with replacement bumpstops to help preserve the stock struts. If you have the money, I suggest doing Koni struts with the RCE Yellows. Lowered, but not too low, and you don't compromise ride comfort.

I'm on Speed By Design Pro-Street coilovers. I was on Sportlines for 5 months and hated the ride quality. I was about to make the switch to Eibach's Pro-Kit but I won the SPD coilovers for free. I would say this...if you like the drop of Sportlines but want better ride quality then I'd look into SPD's coilovers. If you want a more mild drop similar to Eibach's Pro-Kit then I'd just purchase a Pro-Kit instead of coilovers.

I think any springs with a mild drop will give you decent ride quality. If you want more than a 1" drop...such as the 1.5" drop with the Sportlines, then I think you'll need to go with coilovers in order to have a low drop + good ride quality.

SPD's coilovers are pretty much made for dedicated daily drivers. I don't track my car either. The ride quality is great and my drop is set between a Pro-Kit and Sportlines. (Between 1"-1.5" drop)

Hope that helps you out!

Also, you could go with a spring/strut upgrade but for the money you're going to spend just get coilovers. SPD's coilovers are $1199. Not too bad.

RSR MotoSpec

Sent from my phone. Might have typos. Sorry.

Koni + RCE Yellow is a great combo...great handling and great ride quality. It will be much better than what you have now. The big difference is the amount of travel you would gain since your not lowering the car quite so much.

Bilstein HD and RCE Yellow would be another good combo. Slightly easier to install since the Konis are inserts and the Bilsteins are a full strut, but the Konis have adjustable damping (if that matters to you, I wouldn't worry about it too much in your case).

If you really want a larger drop though then I would recommend a coilover.

- Andy

I would guess the bilsteins would have a durability advantage as well being an inverted monotube.

Agreed, and we've seen fewer issues with Bilstein than Koni on Subaru in general. Not sure why.

I run Koni Yellows on my MINI and they've held up very well, but I did just get some Bilstein Sports to replace them. :)

- Andy

I just installed the Ground Control coilover package -- Koni inserts and Eibach springs. Ride improvement was my first priority, followed by the ability to lower the car, followed by "performance" improvements. I listed performance last because overall, the FRS / BRZ has a solid suspension set-up for handling--I've tracked my BRZ and have no complaints about its stock performance capabilities.

BUT, daily-driving damping leaves a lot to be desired in my book. Whether the stock Showa dampers are poorly valved, a bad shock/spring match, or whatever, the stock BRZ is, well, jouncy.

I'm happy to report that the Koni/Eibach combo is a dramatic improvement over stock. The shock is not perfect and not top of the food-chain, but it is very, very good. Almost a night and day difference over stock really. I also lowered the car about 1 1/4 inches front and 1 1/8 rear. I wasn't interested in going lower for a DD, but the stance is really nice now.

You're going to get lots of valid opinions about different struts being good or better than the Konis. So be it. I've personally installed several kinds of Bilsteins in different cars (2 Porsches and 1 BMW). Other than a set of PSS10s that required a custom spring combination for my needs, I've not enjoyed the Bilsteins on the street. But that's me. So, I was ready to give the Konis a shot, and I'm enjoying them quite a bit. I also run JRZs in a track car, but that's a whole different ball game. I'm including all of this to hopefully explain that I do have some perspective on damping and springs.

The Koni is a solid damper and I'm very satisfied with the quality. Now, GC states that their Konis are specifically valved to their specifications. Whether and how that makes them different/better than other Koni yellows, I really have no idea. But the ones on my car rock. Also, I opted for very moderate spring rates to retain the stock driving dynamics of the car and because I did not want to go with too high rates when I had no experience with the Koni damping qualities. Anyway, its a solid package.

Hope this helps you some.

If you are ever interested in getting set up on coilovers, we would be more than happy to answers questions!

Sorry but how much is the koni + rce yellows?.. I want to lower just a small bit without worrying risking the stock struts.. Just bought new wheels so yeah. Friendd have mentioned springs but I wprry about the stock struts. Others said coilovers, but Im on a budget. If I were to get coilovers I would want them to be great as a daily with ride comfort. HSD or from what I read in this thread SPD? How much are they.. thank you!

FT86Speedfactory has a package deal for Koni + RCE Yellow. I'm not sure the price, but it's worth a PM to them.

- Andy

Do you want to keep your current ride height? If so, you're better off with decent coilovers. Anything on stock (or even Koni/Bilstein) shocks at that lowering level is going to ride harsher.

RCE Yellows will handle much better than the sportlines, but will raise you back up a noticeable amount.

I have RCE Yellows and Bilsteins and find they are way too harsh where I live for regular driving, but then our roads are crap. I ended up buying a $1200 Pathfinder to drive mostly and avoid my BRZ because I just couldn't take it.