[Assassin4Hire13]

Hey there, I have a 14 BRZ that I bought from a guy with 7400 miles on it a while ago. The car was mostly a garage queen (hence the low miles). Comically, the dude's daily was a leased GT-R he would trade out every few months with the Nissan Technical Center.

Anyway, I bought the car with said low mileage and slapped some Eibach Pro-kit springs on the stock dampers plus an alignment. Most everything I read said that I'd be fine to do this. Fast forward about 4k miles and the shocks are completely shot and bouncy as all hell. My guess is that they weren't used enough and so seals dried up and then with the lower springs and garbage roads they blew very quickly.

Moving forward, I don't have a ton of money to spend. I'm looking at about $1300-$1500 for the new set up (not including alignment, but is already budgeted separately). I am kinda okay with the drop the pro kit gave me, but I'd like it just a smidge lower. It seems to sit about 3/4" below stock and I'd like to push that to 1-1.25". Something to eat up that last bit of gap with my wheels. The ride (when it wasn't shit) was pretty okay. It was a bit harsh and didn't feel much stiffer except on turn in (I'll elaborate on what I'd like ride wise in a minute).

Usage of the car is very much a year round DD. I live in the rust belt, so please advise accordingly. The car will see a handful of autocrosses over the summer and maybe one track day a year (and that's a very strong maybe). Generally speaking, I'll be driving to and from work and cruising down winding roads that I live near. The suspension really won't be pushed to any limit for the majority of its life.

Ride wise, I only need something that is "comfortable". I know this is subjective as hell, but something stiffer than stock but not too much harsher is ideal. Potholes where I live can quickly become craters and despite how much I slalom in my lane I will inevitably hit a few. I'd like my spine to stay in my back for most of them if at all possible.

As for options I've been looking at mostly coilovers but am now starting to think picking up a set of upgraded shocks wouldn't be a bad idea. The coilovers I'd most likely buy are Bilstein B14s, KWv1s (the stainless steel ones), Fortune Auto 500s (without swift springs upgrade), or Tein Flex Zs. I liked the idea of coilovers because I could raise the car up in winter to not use the front bumper as a snow plow (which admittedly is rare, I live on a major road and the road commission does a fine job). I've been looking around these forums quite a lot and now I'm having second thoughts and that maybe getting upgraded shocks is a better idea instead of coilovers. Some threads I read said that a decent spring/shock combo will outperform most stuff in this $1-2k range.

I know this is a massive wall of text but from reading these threads I wanted to provide as much info as possible as that clearly determines what advice I'll receive. I read too many goddamn threads with OP going "What coils should I buy lol" with no extra info and then they peace out for the rest of the thread never to elaborate on their needs. I am trying to not be that guy.

Thanks for reading and any advice on the most cost effective direction based on my needs would be greatly appreciated.

PS: I could use some help with what I'll need for camber adjustment for a 1" drop. Can I use only camber plates? Do I have to buy camber bolts and rear LCA if the setup comes with plates? My understanding is that for that amount of drop you can get away with camber plates but if using stock tophats I'll want the bolts and control arms. I fully admit that I could be totally wrong. Once again, huge thanks for the help!