Which Coilovers to purchase 1500 Budget.

[G-awesome]

For anyone who has never been on coilovers before as a daily driver, I don't think the majority really have a baseline on what rides 'comfortably' or 'good' on the streets. It's also really subjective as to what every individual tolerates as 'harsh' or 'comfy' depending on public road conditions. Also, if I'm in a good/relaxed mood, a semi-shitty road say on lowering springs/stock struts won't bother me at all compared to me in bad/stressed/aggravated mood where even bump will make me curse and yell like a raging Jeremy Clarkson in a Grand Tour special. ��

As an average enthusiast who rarely tracks my FRS, I would rather suggest something a bit above entry entry level to mid-range if you're on a budget just to experience and feel it out first and tinker with the suspension to your hearts content to learn about dampening, rebound, preload, etc. What may 'suck' or is 'harsh' for people with $1500+ coils may be tolerable for folks who never had any experience with coils if they decide to buy an 'average' set. The exception is if budget isn't a problem then by all means, go for $2k+ sets for the ultimate performance and comfort! Not sure if folks are willing to rebuild their coilovers after 2+ years too once it exceeds its shelf life. By then, if you still have the FRS, you can upgrade to higher end ones if you choose to. Or you may even get a new car by then..who knows?

Just my two cents.

[solidONE]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Intrigued, as they offer coilovers with no damping adjustment, which I'd prefer for classification purposes (saves me 40 lb.!).

However the damping curve on their site seems to be seriously lacking in low-speed rebound damping. But I'm no expert...
.

No expert here either, but I think this is just a sample showing they are able to mimic the performance of a Bilstein COB piston with digressive blow off on the compression side using a BC piston. I'm sure they can increase, reduce damping pressures and reshape profiles as needed. They should be able to achieve a more digressive profile on the rebound side if they wanted, just as they did the compression side.

Originally Posted by finch1750

BCs modified to that extent are no longer BCs but instead just use a cheap housing that BC also happens to use. Like Feal or other companies mentioned it is possible to make something good from that. When BC gets mentioned here it's ots stuff and while it may not be the worst in the world it is not great and there are much better options in OPs price range.

I cannot comment on the consistency of BC's valving off the shelf, but the point is that they are serviceable and damping profile is adjustable just like any other rebuild-able shock. Vendors that use the same components assembled with their own valving have very good success.

But yes.. if a a shock is built using different internals, better QC and better R&D built by better trained people in an entirely different location using different machines to test and assemble them... is it still a BC shock? Yes.. but not really. lol If fitment and reliability is no longer a variable, then it's all in the valving.

Edit: how much are flex z selling for? you can buy a set to install and another set for back up with $1500 budget. Flex-A fits in the sub $1500 as well and "slam-able". Not for the 86, but Meisters with their new piston I've demoed a set of their current ND valving which was damn near perfect on RSRR tires comfort and performance. Meister's 86 versions should be more than decent for about $1500. the ST's I've tried can ride pretty well with a pretty broad range of adjustment retailing about $1500. Pretty good choices with that budget.

[cywinr]

man this thread is a shitshow. OP just asked for coilover suggestions for 1) comfort and 2) a tad low.

the first reply recommends a complete drop on BC coils. that's the exact opposite of what OP wants. and then further talks about fuel starvation when tracking the car? and now everyone is arguing about BC coils and fuel starvation and tracking.

The OP wants COMFORT and a TAD LOW.

IMO he doesn't need 1500 coils... heck just a Tein Basis Z will do the job.

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by cywinr

man this thread is a shitshow. OP just asked for coilover suggestions for 1) comfort and 2) a tad low.

the first reply recommends a complete drop on BC coils. that's the exact opposite of what OP wants. and then further talks about fuel starvation when tracking the car? and now everyone is arguing about BC coils and fuel starvation and tracking.

The OP wants COMFORT and a TAD LOW.

IMO he doesn't need 1500 coils... heck just a Tein Basis Z will do the job.

Or spend $150 and get a similar result.


https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138523

[N1rve]

Tein Flex A or Tein Flex Z. Both are great options around $1000. Height Adjustable as well.

Tein Flex A is more comfortable as it has a Hydraulic Bump Stop -- Can take bumps better.

[solidONE]

Originally Posted by cywinr

man this thread is a shitshow. OP just asked for coilover suggestions for 1) comfort and 2) a tad low.

the first reply recommends a complete drop on BC coils. that's the exact opposite of what OP wants. and then further talks about fuel starvation when tracking the car? and now everyone is arguing about BC coils and fuel starvation and tracking.

The OP wants COMFORT and a TAD LOW.

IMO he doesn't need 1500 coils... heck just a Tein Basis Z will do the job.

The title mentions a $1500 budget. I guess we assumed that he'd want something is most comfortable and low within the budget. Plenty of options that will achieve that. It's when people mention about BC in particular you get responses like this. If the OP had asked about $1000 or lower I would have suggested flex z. I don't think there is anything that compares. In terms of features and street comfort, valving is on point on the flex-z all for less than a grand.

One could spend over $3-4K on some shiny CNC machined bling and still be unhappy with the performance, and is actually rather common. Conversely you can have an cheap set of dampers, rebuild/valve them and have them perform better than anything available OTS. It's all in the valving.

[NoHaveMSG]

The ST’s are well within the OP’s price range. KW built, and much more street oriented then the Tein’s. I have Flex Z’s on my car now. I’ve run them everywhere from fully slammed to almost as high as they will go. They are a bit rough still on the street even raised up. Base spring rate is 6kg. Can’t wait to get them off the car and get my T2’s on.

[blueovalz]

New to the thread, but with the last few posts, thought I'd post my opinion. I recently installed the Koni sport yellows on my car, with a coil-over modification to the strut tubes, and applied 225 lb/in 8" front, 250 lb/in 7" rear (~ 4kg and 4.5kg). With the Koni adjusted to 60% stiffness (single adjustable), and lowered about 1" front, 3/4" rear, I have finally found a stiffness and balance for the car (a daily driver) that is a significant improvement over OEM, without being too rigid. I did some other things to ensure I had equal to, or better than OEM shock compression travel with the lowering (which all but eliminated the obvious and frequent bump-stop issue on a lowered FRS/BRZ).

Total cost was very close to $1500, which includes the Koni dampers, Ground Control coilover kit, Ground Control camber plates, camber bolts, and various other small things that enhanced the final setup. I went this route only because cost was reasonable, and Koni is a reputable name that I've used for decades on other cars. I'm saddened by what appears to be Koni's termination in producing the yellow inserts, and relying solely on the full strut replacements. What this means is the loss of a middle-spectrum modification that allows a lot of flexibility and quality for the DIYer, at lower costs.

[cywinr]

Originally Posted by new2subaru

Or spend $150 and get a similar result.


https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138523

i don't think so... i'm on lowering springs and the ride is very harsh. my friend has the basis z and it's much more comfortable than mine.