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Old 11-21-2021, 05:39 PM   #33
Racecomp Engineering
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Drives: 2016 BRZ, 2012 Paris Di2 & 2018 STI
Location: Severn, MD
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As for lowering springs vs coilovers...

It depends! As others have said, coilovers aren't always better. There are a lot of crap coilovers out there and yeah, some crappy springs, too. Sometimes a lowering spring or a coilover is a downgrade from stock in ride and handling.

We make both lowering springs and coilovers. Our springs are a little different than others in that they are a more mild drop of 20mm and generally a function first type of spring focused more on performance and come with replacement bumptstops. Factory springs do ride better especially 2017+ cars, but the mild drop really does help ride compared to other springs that lower an inch (25mm) or more.

If you reeeeally want a drop of more than 30mm, I do recommend a quality set of coilovers. Compression travel is an issue on factory style shocks and since most lowering springs have to be on the softer side to work with factory valving, your bump stops get a workout.

And if you are serious about the track or auto-x and use sticky tires, coilovers will be a better fit. The stiffer spring rates will make the most of stickier tires and a good coilover will be valved appropriately for that kind of driving. You can still have a blast on track with lowering springs or the stock suspension.

Coilovers do require more thoughtful and careful set up. If you buy a turbo kit, you don't just it bolt on and go rip some red line pulls after tightening the last bolt. You get it tuned by a professional or follow recommended break in or tuning procedures carefully. It really should be the same for suspension set ups that have a lot of adjustment. Alignment, ride height, rake, travel, compression/rebound/highlowspeed damping, spring rates, etc. There's a lot to think about. Work with a shop that specializes in suspension and can provide aftermarket support. We're one of them, but there are other good options out there too. Have some conversations and see who you can reach on the phone after hours.

- Andrew
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