Which shock for C Street?
 

Considering dabbling in C Street and looking up various options.

Torn between a budget build of Koni Sport Yellows or more expensive MCS setup but had a few quick questions.

I know for both shocks the fronts are easily adjustable without uninstalling the shocks, but what about the rears? Are they easily adjustable as well?

For the MCS, I know they come in a variety of options. Is the Single Adjustable Non-Remote the only C Street legal version they make? Or are the Double Adjustables C Street legal as well? Not so sure I'd want a double adjustable, but just want to understand my options.

Besides that, if anyone has an opinion or commentary to share on the shocks I'd be open to hearing it.

Thanks.

Of course I find a few answers after posting a thread (which were not easily found before :P)

After doing more research I am led to believe the rear shocks can be adjusted by pulling carpet back in the trunk.

Didn't find confirmation on which MCS is Street/Stock legal, but did see that they need some perches for the OE spring. So with that in mind, it sounds like any setup is Street/Stock legal as long as the perch is used. All a matter of how much $$$$ I would want to spend. Considering the single adjustable set right now.

Feel free to chime in if I've misunderstood something.

Check out rule 13.5.A on page 73 of the Rule Book

I'd say that you are allowed to go with more than one adjuster by the rules. However, if you don't know this already, my guess is you are not experienced enough for a double adjusting damper. It isn't as easy as a single adjuster and can cause bigger problems having to tune 2 things.

My suggestion would be to go with a single adjuster just because it is simpler. Especially for a National level autocross, you won't have the time to think and adjust multiple things, so eliminating options is generally a good thing for a rushed format like that. Road racing allows much more time to analyze and think things through, so if you have the pockets to afford some test sessions, then the double adjusters might be better.

Just my 2 cents though. Others will probably disagree, but we each have opinions.

Thanks.

For clarity, I know DAs themselves are stock legal, the question was whether the DA MCS is stock eligible since everyone seems to be consider only the SAs. For example, Stranoparts only advertises the SA setup, so I wasn't sure if there was something about these specific DAs which would make them ineligible.

Anyway, not trying to be rude, but don't worry about my experience or background. The topic is about shocks, not about me.

Adjusting the rears isn't too bad. You just have to undo the clip to the stuff covering the of the trunk and pull them back. Though as a warning if you remove the carpet and the other trunk floor cover, there are a few very convenient places for those clips to fall somewhere deep into the car never to be seen again. Ask me how I know :(

I would call Strano or MCS to make sure they still have the right shocks available which are the stock length. They revised the DA non-remote setup at some point to make the body/shaft shorter so people could lower the car more and its not legal. The SA and remote DA setup I believe are still available, and they do make a lower perch for the stock springs. The perch threads onto the body but must be at the exact same position as stock.


I have a set of the DA remotes if you have any questions.



A few people have had issues with the Koni inserts leaking, Bilstein is probably a better option if you are looking for a cheaper option.

Thanks for the tips, I'll be careful. My old RX8 required the shock to be removed for adjustment. I never bothered with it because it was such a pain. Glad to see its a bit easier on these cars.

Thanks. I spoke to Sam yesterday afternoon and we settled upon the Koni SAs. Wish it was a more straight forward installation where I won't have to cut up my shocks, but for SAs this was the way to go. He really liked the MCS DAs but they were a bit rich for me. I am really envious of your set, haha. Thanks again.

Konis from Sam are the way to go. :-)

Most people in the CStreet thread are running those and if you look through the last few pages I have my setups there somewhere.

I just ordered a set of Konis myself from Stranoparts.com.

I asked Sam about the other options. Bilstein makes a shock, but it is not adjustable, which defeats the purpose. MCS is pretty baller, but won't make much of a difference for the additional few thousand dollars.

a shock's main attribute is valving, both compression and rebound, which translates in how it controls your car's oscillations.


adjustability is a feature, but it should never be the selling point


when you choose to upgrade a shock you are choosing between the valving of that particular manufacturer.


so no, a non adjustable bilstein does not "defeat the purpose" because even though it doesn't adjust it still offers a different feel because it is valved differently. It is also a monotube, which generally yields better control at the OTS level.




part of the reason though why everyone defaults to just one brand is because all these dampers follow the same philosophy... basic compression characteristics, high rebound. So it's like having a strict burger diet... if you're only gonna be eating burgers, then going to McFucks isn't all that bad and there really isn't a need to buy the fancy stuff.




but the real upgrade comes when you get to chew on a nice juicy steak, but that means custom valved from the start...

As 7thgear said, the Bilsteins are not adjustable, but it's a really nice shock out of the box for the money. I'm running them and the car is very competitive. I always figure that with adjustments comes the introduction of user error in some cases.

Did you have them valved to a certain spec or just off the shelf valving?

Off the shelf valving for a specific application is usually very good from Bilstein, I know their R&D guys and it's amazing what they do with just shocks. You can't go wrong with them. I'll be looking at the B6's (HD) shocks if/when I replace mine. I've got a set of Koni's on my STC civic and they leak from the adjuster. :(

I'm running off the shelf valving.