Coilovers or Wheels first

[Tristor]

I ran 18s on stock suspension for quite some time, and tracked it that way. From an appearance perspective it looked good and I got a lot of compliments on it. 18s actually raised my effective ride height slightly due to running 225/40s instead of 235/35s.

Only reason I ditched stock suspension is that it had significant body roll and wasn't really stiff enough for me on track. Switching out my suspension stuff gained me 3.5 seconds a lap on 200tw tires. When I was on 18s w/ Michelin PS4S, the stock suspension was fine. Getting on stickier tires really reveals the limitations of the stock suspension.

If this is primarily a street car, I'd get some really good tires on good quality wheels, and just leave the suspension stock. If you want something that rides better than stock you're going to need to spend some money, none of the "budget" coilover options are any good. It all comes down to damper quality, and pretty much everything on the market under $1500 is garbage. When you go to lower, you're better off with lowering springs on good dampers if you're not going to be tracking heavily. I'd say get some Bilstein B8s (Bilstein B12 Pro-Kit comes with B8s + Eibach springs) or find someone who is selling their PP Sachs dampers and buy the RCE Yellows, and then do a rear LCA and front camber bolts to let you get a good performance alignment for the street.



Don't spend your money on crappy coilovers and ruin your car. Best thing you can do to start is get really good tires and if you can afford it, good quality lightweight wheels. I'd heavily recommend RPF1s or TC105Xs right now for the money.

[Shizuka]

Throwing in my 2c as someone who got wheels first--

Just save to be able to do both at once or just get lowering springs with stock everything else as an inexpensive stopgap, my car looked super funny on stock height with my 18x9.5 Rays. It looked so laughable that I immediately ordered coilovers the day I got my wheels put on.

Pic of how it sits now: https://ibb.co/BN21mz8
Stock height with wheels https://ibb.co/pZmFmdg

[Leonardo]

How much are you budgeting for wheels and tires?

How much would you consider spending on the suspension?

Depending on your answers, I would suggest one or the other first.

I lowered my car on eibach pro kit springs in the first few days of owning my car. Then bought wheels.

Now, If I had things to do over...

I would get first:
1" drop springs
SPC LCA
Whiteline bumpsteer kit
camber bolts
spacers for stock wheels.

Later I would upgrade the shocks to koni or bilsteins. Then buy a set of wheels. 18x9 +30 to +45 is a good size IMO.

[Spuds]

Neither. Wait a year. Then do whatever you want.

[HaXx]

Originally Posted by FinallyGot

Thats what I'm saying. Where I live the roads are pretty shitty so I'm fine with the ride height. Do you have any photos?

i somehow never figured out how to upload pics, can someone refer me to a how to or give me the quick rundown?

yeah im in NE, i def dont want a rougher ride characteristic as i only do track days occationally
or dm me your cell# and ill send you a million pics tm, theyre 18x8's stock susp, like i said
enkei's

[darksnyder]

If you DD it, then wheels and tires. Tires are the only thing keeping the car sticking to the ground. The stock suspension itself is good enough to start with. You can even learn to find the limits of stock suspension and then upgrade it.


If you track it or already have track experience, then go for coilovers. However, even then atleast the tires need to be changed for tracking.


Find below 18" TRD SF rims on Pilot Super Sport 225/40/18 on stock suspension. Changing to MPSS has totally changed the way the car grips now!

[darksnyder]

Originally Posted by HaXx

i somehow never figured out how to upload pics, can someone refer me to a how to or give me the quick rundown?

I normally click on Go Advanced and then hit Manage Attachment.

[StraightOuttaCanadaEh]

Originally Posted by HaXx

i somehow never figured out how to upload pics, can someone refer me to a how to or give me the quick rundown?

enkei's

use a pic hosting website like postimg.cc or photobucket, take the direct link and embed it between [ I M G ] and [ / I M G ]. Obviously remove spaces between the characters. Had to do that or the window will think I'm trying to upload a pic

[stlgrym3]

imo you get coilovers only if you track this car. like someone had mentioned, this car is already pretty low right out of factory. for someone who never track their cars and would like to sit a bit lower than stock suspension, get a set of lowering springs, i'm perfectly satisfying with my RCE Yellow springs with stock shocks.

[HaXx]

Originally Posted by stlgrym3

imo you get coilovers only if you track this car. like someone had mentioned, this car is already pretty low right out of factory. for someone who never track their cars and would like to sit a bit lower than stock suspension, get a set of lowering springs, i'm perfectly satisfying with my RCE Yellow springs with stock shocks.

but how hard is it installing lowering springs? do you need any special equipment? i heard its easier to put coilover in bc all you need to do is take the old ones out and put the new ones in.

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by HaXx

but how hard is it installing lowering springs? do you need any special equipment? i heard its easier to put coilover in bc all you need to do is take the old ones out and put the new ones in.

It's not that hard. You will need a pass-through type socket set though. People say you need spring compressors, but I didn't for eibach pro kit springs.

In many cases OEM springs are dangerous to remove without a spring compressor, but the springs on our cars really are not. ... Still, don't have he tophat pointing towards your face...

The DIY guide really helped me.

[FinallyGot]

Originally Posted by stlgrym3

imo you get coilovers only if you track this car. like someone had mentioned, this car is already pretty low right out of factory. for someone who never track their cars and would like to sit a bit lower than stock suspension, get a set of lowering springs, i'm perfectly satisfying with my RCE Yellow springs with stock shocks.

Yeah don't do any tracking, Just commuting and daily driving haha. I'm positive getting a bigger wheel will make my ride more harsh "less sidewall". Oh well.

[FinallyGot]

I'm thinking of getting a staggered setup. Thoughts on this spec?
Wondering if fitment would be flush. I'm aware of the wheelitfit website but I'm a bit confused looking at it. Some people say there is rubbing running 9.5" then others say they have no issues.

Front: 18x8.5 +45 Tire: 235
Rear: 18x9.5 +45 Tire: 245

As mentioned before I'm on stock suspension. Stock brake kit, maybe upgrading.

[Vital]

Originally Posted by FinallyGot

I'm thinking of getting a staggered setup. Thoughts on this spec?
Wondering if fitment would be flush. I'm aware of the wheelitfit website but I'm a bit confused looking at it.

Front: 18x8.5 +45 Tire: 235
Rear: 18x9.5 +45 Tire: 245

As mentioned before I'm on stock suspension. Stock brake kit, maybe upgrading.

Stick with a square set up 18x8.5 +45 all around. I doubt the 18x9.5 +45 would even fit up front with stock suspension. There is no benefit with a staggered set up unless you're doing it for looks and if you are well then go ahead. Also, if you're gonna stay on stock suspension its probably not a good idea to go too wide because its gonna end up looking like a 4x4...