A little help picking a set up....

[wootwoot]

Originally Posted by fatoni

i would suggest you call the professionals and ask them what they think. or see what kinds of lap times people are running on what suspensions. if/when i get coilovers, they are going to be tein src but i dont need them now as the stock suspension still works and the car can go faster than i can.

I'm a bit confused.... I'm not a professiona driver, and I don't want to be. I also won't be taking my car to the track more than a few times per year as I mentioned in the first post. When I do go to the track they will be non-competitive events... So why is it important to know what lap times guys are getting on what coilovers?

I agree I should talk to professionals. I was hoping a few would chime in as we have some high level guys bouncing around the forum. So, professionals, any advice given my criteria?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Have you considered the Bilstein B14 coilovers?

If you want something with linear springs, I would start building from there rather than going with a sleeve kit over the fixed perch Bilstein offerings.

- Andy

[Doozer]

Originally Posted by wootwoot

My FRS is a weekend car that will likely become my everyday driver at some point. I am hoping to get it out for a track-day two or three times per year max. I'm looking for something fun to conquer the back roads or take on a drive down the coast. I have a radiator, oil cooler, header, mid pipe, power blocks, intake, OFT, 4.7 diff, etc. for bolt on's. Suspention wise I have diff, cross member, control arm, trailing arm, and most other bushings. Also have RacerX rear adjustable control arms. Stainless lines, upgraded fluid, and pads are on the way. Going to be running 225 Michelin PSS. At this point I am trying to finish the suspention with coils or spring/Struts.

I have narrowed it down to a few options:

1. Bilstiens with Ground Control springs (sleeve kit) and front camber plates.
OR
2. ST XTA coilovers
OR
3. RSR iSport coilovers

These are all in the same price range with the RSR's being slightly more expensive. I don't want to deal with any more adjustability than camber, height and one way dampening. I am aware of the other systems on the market, but these make the most sense for me. Any opinions would be appreciated. I am hoping some of you will think of things I have not in making this decision.

We have similar parts and car is also a DD with track days.

Ohlin R/T's have been excellent and reliable. Standard springs(380lb) that come with them work well for tires with treadwear 100+ on track days. Anything stickier and the springs begin to feel soft.

With PSS tires and R/T's we can leave the track day camber and toe settings for DD. High camber doesn't seem to hurt the the PSS's much, just a little white noise while highway driving.

The only suspension change after a race are the clicks on the shocks. 3-7 for track days, 14-18DD.

Happy hunting.

[wootwoot]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Have you considered the Bilstein B14 coilovers?

If you want something with linear springs, I would start building from there rather than going with a sleeve kit over the fixed perch Bilstein offerings.

- Andy

Would I do custom spring rates? And would I need a re-valve? Do you know anyone that could help me with that? Maybe someone who is a vendor? On PM perhaps?

[wootwoot]

Originally Posted by Ring Leader

We have similar parts and car is also a DD with track days.

Ohlin R/T's have been excellent and reliable. Standard springs(380lb) that come with them work well for tires with treadwear 100+ on track days. Anything stickier and the springs begin to feel soft.

With PSS tires and R/T's we can leave the track day camber and toe settings for DD. High camber doesn't seem to hurt the the PSS's much, just a little white noise while highway driving.

The only suspension change after a race are the clicks on the shocks. 3-7 for track days, 14-18DD.

Happy hunting.

Those things are sweet. They are also double the price of anything listed.... May have to up my budget.

[CSG David]

RS*R owns #1 and #2. You'll want camber plates for the RS*R though.

[jvincent]

If you swap the upper mount on the RSRs and have a camber bolt for the front would that give enough camber?

[CSG David]

How much camber are you looking for?

[OkieSnuffBox]

Have you looked at the Ground Control setup?

I was a big fan of setups I had on a couple of different BMWs. The height adjustment mechanism is also much tidier than the lock ring setup.

[jvincent]

Originally Posted by CSG David

How much camber are you looking for?

Looking to get to 2* or maybe 2.25*.

I'm at 1.5* with just camber bolts.

[wootwoot]

I like the design of the RSR top hats. They are fixed and rubber, so they should be quiet. They also can be rotated to produce 0 or -1.5 degrees of camber. I imagine if you set them at -1.5 and used camber bolts you could get to -2 or -2.5. That would be more than enough for my application.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by wootwoot

Would I do custom spring rates? And would I need a re-valve? Do you know anyone that could help me with that? Maybe someone who is a vendor? On PM perhaps?

If you want linear springs, you'll have to add a decent amount of cost on top of the coilover. Probably don't need to do a revalve unless you decide to go with stiff rates. We can help but I'm not sure it's the most cost effective solution and it would require some thinking to get everything right.

They're still good coilovers with the progressive rates, just more of a street thing.

- Andy

[wootwoot]

Maybe picking up the Bilsteins and running them for a while is a good option. Then I could rebuild to different specs down the road.

How do the B16's compare to the iSports? I like that the B16's can be rebuilt. I would have to buy top hats, however.

[CSG David]

Originally Posted by wootwoot

Maybe picking up the Bilsteins and running them for a while is a good option. Then I could rebuild to different specs down the road.

How do the B16's compare to the iSports? I like that the B16's can be rebuilt. I would have to buy top hats, however.

Two different price points also indicating 2 different tiers. B16 is a good setup, but I wouldn't call it ground breaking performance. It's nice for people who haven't tried anything else better.

The Sport-i is a surprising coilover. It's not exactly extravagant, but it works exactly for its intended goal.