[Lynxis]

So, I've got HKS Hipermax IV GT suspension that I bought used from a forum member late last year. I installed them myself in April and have driven around 3000kms on it so far between daily driving, 2 track days and 1 autocross event so I figure I'll talk about my experiences so far.

Regarding the coilovers themselves, spring rates are 6K front and 4K rear. They are monotube with inverted front struts design. They have 30 levels of damping adjustment and finally they come with camber adjustable top hats.

I know the spring rates are a little strange since most coilover kits use equal or stiffer rear springs while these are softer in the rear. I suspect they were looking to make these more comfortable on the street by doing this but I found the rear quite jarring over severe bumps and pot holes.

UPDATE: Preload was set incorrectly on mine which caused a harsh ride. It's a bit bouncy in the rear now but feels MUCH better than before.

UPDATE 2: Preload was set too loosely in the rear after my last update, tightened it to spec and now the rear is nice and compliant without being bouncy at all. Car feels great now, like OEM+.

The SPs use 7k rates square and are more track focused. Of course, this is my daily driver so I wanted something more comfortable on the street while still offering improved track performance over OEM so I felt the GTs matched my needs better than the SPs.

I installed the suspension myself with the help of a friend of mine in his garage. The install itself was an exercise in frustration because so much stuff was rusted together. Yay just 2 Canadian winters! =( The worst was the sway bar end links which had to be cut out to remove them but that didn't bother me much because the suspension came with new end links. I got the car back on the ground and started to drive home and with the alignment totally screwed up now that the car was lowered, it was pulling all over the place. My friend lives about an hour out of town so it was a hair raising trip back. Anyways, the next day, I set the ride height to 1 inch lower than stock and then got the car aligned with -2.2f/-1.7r camber and 0 toe and all was well.

When daily driving on the suspension, I need to review the front and rear separately because something like going over a pot hole gives me very different feelings in the front and rear. I played with the settings and I've put the front at 11 clicks from full soft and found this seems to be more comfortable and composed than stock to be honest. Hitting a pot hole with the front tire is certainly noticeable but doesn't feel overly jarring. Now, hitting that same pot hole with a rear wheel is very jarring at 11 clicks from full soft. I could feel my teeth vibrating whenever I hit one. I kept going softer until I got to 5 clicks from full soft. Any softer was making the car bounce around too much for comfort so I left it here. It definitely took the edge off such impacts compared to 11 clicks but it was still not nearly as comfortable as the front feels. I wonder if there is a particular reason for this. (UPDATE: There was incorrectly set spring preload. They feel very good but a bit bouncy at 16 clicks from full soft) At first, I wondered if maybe I had a problem with one of the struts so I purposely hit with the other wheels and the behaviour is pretty much the same so I don't think there is anything wrong, it is just the way it is. I'll note at this setting, it's not much worse than the stock suspension was over similar bumps so I have to give it a pass overall but I feel like it could be better. (Again, it is better)

I've had 2 track days and 1 autocross day on this suspension too. I ran the suspension at 11 clicks from full soft front and rear for all events. The autocross event was a test and tune and it was the first event I did on the new suspension. That day was mostly just me feeling out the new suspension, I could feel right away that the car was more stable and rolled way less than it did stock, I also found I could take slaloms faster because transitions didn't take as long as before. As a test and tune event, no standings were posted so I have no idea how I did relative to anyone else.

The first track day I did was very busy and I had no opportunity to do a full hot lap. That said, the suspension still felt very good and planted. Here, I was starting to get comfortable with it and push a bit harder. It was very balanced with just a hint of understeer which is the way I liked it. I managed a 2:18 at Shannonville that day with traffic.

The second track day I did was fully open and I did around 9 sessions. My first session was great and because it was much quieter this time, I was able to put down some hot laps and got a best time of 2:14 that session. Early into my second session, I broke my front passenger side end link. The slight understeer turned into slight oversteer and the car was not as stable as before. I was no longer confident to push as hard and my next session, my best time dropped to a 2:17 even though I had several completely clear laps. I ended the day with a best recorded time of 2:12 although I wonder if that would have been lower if I wasn't driven around with a broken end link for the majority of the day. I've ordered Whiteline adjustable end links and I'm waiting for them to come in. I want to get back out to the track at least one more time this year once the end link is back on and see if I can break into the 2:10s.

Overall, I'd say it's very good suspension for the money. It's reasonably comfortable but still very capable on the track to help eliminate body roll and speed up transitions. I don't regret buying it at all but I will say that I think if you are planning to go to the track frequently at all, you might be better served going for the SP kit.