[CSG David]

Originally Posted by 10Stars

I too am looking at either the HKS Hipermax IV GT/SP and the Tein Mono Sport. Mainly I am looking for comfort but also occasional spirited driving, and maaaaybe some track days.

What would you choose between the two for me? BTW any other suggestions and I'm all ears

HKS isn't a suspension company to begin with. HKS GT has weird spring rates indicating it's solely meant for comfort and lifestyle purposes. HKS SP, in the S2000 world, was pretty rough. While the SP was fast on track, it definitely sacrificed too much on street comfort. Some people may say otherwise, but that's because I've experienced a larger variety of suspension kits available on the market.

TEIN Mono Sport is going to be similar to SP in feel and performance. You're better off with a TEIN Street Flex or RS*R Sport-i. For the budget range, they're pretty hard to beat. Other kits in this range are nothing to brag about. That's just my personal experiences with the suspension kits in this range.

Originally Posted by Trmx2

So I've heard conflicting things here, some say the HKS GT would be the best for me, others say the SP since they are more aggressive. I'm also worried about the understeer that the 6k/4k would create on the HKS GT...

Can you help explain that?

What would the major difference in the HKS SP vs. HKS GT be? Watching the Japanese videos has even given me some confusion.

According to the Japanese technical test videos on both setups, the SPs dampening settings are good for multiple styles of aggressive driving. They can be tweaked easily to allow the best performance to match the conditions of the road. They also still have a great level of comfort on the road (remember, this is from HKS tech videos....which are in Japanese, so they will naturally "Sell" the product to the audience.

The HKS GT, which were tested on mountain roads in the video, seemed to point the the GT were incredibly comfortable and still allowed the driver to feel the road which translated to an "increased driver experience" in their words. They said that on the winding mountain roads the GT performed well and they could see that they would be capable for an occasional track day, but not something that a serious track goer would want.

My interest with TEIN is that is can use the EDFC Active Pro system, which would be something to consider down the road. The new Monosport is a complete overhaul/redesign of the Monoflex...what worried me is that it's cheaper in price....so they either cut corners somewhere......or the Yen/Dollar exchange rate allowed them to offer it cheaper. Not sure.





What about you David?

What do you think between the HKS GT vs. SP? I know the GT is softer, is this necessarily a bad thing? I am unsure also, why the GT is priced higher than the SP.

As far as entry level 2-way goes, I don't want to go that route. I don't like the idea of having to build the coilover, whether you can get natural camber or not is not the issue, I want a good quality, virutually hassle free system. Without having to build it with top hats/camber plates.

However, I need to consider price range, I really can't justify spending more than about 2100 (shipped) on a system. I'd like to pay a bit less than that.

I have found some deals out there with a few systems that would allow me to get a 1700-1900 system for substantially less....

So that's what brought me to the HKS, Tein, and Tanabe.

I looked at the Blitz ZZR and feel like it's a pretty basic budget coilover and the price increase on that is due to it being JDM. I am assuming it's no better than BC.

Stance, BC, K-sport and all those other budget brands are definitely not at all what I want out of a coilover.

It's been very, very, very difficult to get unbiased reviews and recommendations anywhere on the net. Here included.

Since the car is a reasonably new platform, it seems a lot of people have followed one another in terms of the parts that they put on the car (not everyone, but a lot) so it's difficult...when everyone puts on KW V3 because someone says "Hey this is the best system" then everyone else just follows.

I want to be different, and I understand that there is a risk involved, but I want to ride on something different, and then provide the community with a REALLY in-depth review so that others can learn from it and also consider another option.

That being said, you both have been EXCELLENT at explaining things to me, and I commend you both for your guidance.

First of all, don't always believe every single marketing gig from every suspension company. HKS is not a suspension company to begin with so their advertisements should be taken with a grain of salt. HKS SP has proven to be a quick suspension setup in other vehicles, but based on the design, it's essentially similar to other suspension systems in the same category. It sacrifices a lot of comfort for the sake of performance. If this kit was placed in a higher bracket, it may be closer to an Ohlins where comfort is brought back into play while maintaining its relatively higher performance level.

Keep in mind, every suspension kit has a goal and scope to achieve in its budget range. In other words, higher budgets may give you good performance and good ride qualities. Lower budgets, you either get good performance OR good ride quality...never really both.

Out of the bunch as stated, KW and RCE have superior manufacture quality compared to the low end Japanese offerings. The price also reflects this statement. With that said, you don't need to rebuild those dampers as frequently as you think.

If I recall correctly, comfort is your number one goal. If you want to stick to 1-way setups, I believe TEIN Street Flex or RS*R Sport-i are within your scope and budget. Performance and comfort is not going to be on par with the KW and RCE (when properly setup), but it'll get you pretty close to it with proper setup.