Your Coilovers impression?
May 6, 2006, 08:41 PM
#1
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Your Coilovers impression?
For everyone that has put a set of coilovers on their car.
What is your impression of the difference over stock?
Are you happy with them? If not, why?
Please state which coilovers you have.
What is your impression of the difference over stock?
Are you happy with them? If not, why?
Please state which coilovers you have.
May 7, 2006, 11:39 AM
#2
My impression is it is not worth it for the daily driver.
While most people are able to "train" themselves to believe that coilovers are worth it on their car, its only because they just spent $1000+ on a part for their car and they really really want to believe that it was money well spent.
A real coilover setup should be designed for performance benefits in mind, and things like ride comfort, appearance, and cost take a back seat. In general, a high quality, well performing coilover will not be cheap and will not offer a comfortable ride at all (since performance and comfort are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum). And a coilover's performance has nothing to do with its exterior appearance.
With that said, many buyers are basing their purchases on just these factors: cost, and appearance, and looking for ride comfort. Why? Misunderstanding, lack of information, and abundance of myth out there regarding coilovers and their purpose. This sets you up to make a poor purchase, but once you realize it its already too late; you've shelled out $1300 and had no idea what you were getting into. Now the ride is too stiff for daily driving, softening the damping results in an overly bouncy, underdamped ride, and the car is never going to see a track anyhow so any performance benefits that might've been realized are useless.
This emphasizes the old saying: "If you have to ask, you don't need it." I'm not directing this at you personally, but its one of the few good rules to follow when shopping for parts.
While most people are able to "train" themselves to believe that coilovers are worth it on their car, its only because they just spent $1000+ on a part for their car and they really really want to believe that it was money well spent.
A real coilover setup should be designed for performance benefits in mind, and things like ride comfort, appearance, and cost take a back seat. In general, a high quality, well performing coilover will not be cheap and will not offer a comfortable ride at all (since performance and comfort are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum). And a coilover's performance has nothing to do with its exterior appearance.
With that said, many buyers are basing their purchases on just these factors: cost, and appearance, and looking for ride comfort. Why? Misunderstanding, lack of information, and abundance of myth out there regarding coilovers and their purpose. This sets you up to make a poor purchase, but once you realize it its already too late; you've shelled out $1300 and had no idea what you were getting into. Now the ride is too stiff for daily driving, softening the damping results in an overly bouncy, underdamped ride, and the car is never going to see a track anyhow so any performance benefits that might've been realized are useless.
This emphasizes the old saying: "If you have to ask, you don't need it." I'm not directing this at you personally, but its one of the few good rules to follow when shopping for parts.
May 7, 2006, 11:49 AM
#3
based on my experience with a set of RRC jics I would say the coilovers were a great improvement. Ride quality and performance both. Even my wife found driving the evo much nicer after the coilovers.
one notion that has been discussed over and over is the road condition in the States, spring sets from Japan are a little harsh for our roads. look for a set of coilovers that has been "tuned" for our roads and what you want.
one notion that has been discussed over and over is the road condition in the States, spring sets from Japan are a little harsh for our roads. look for a set of coilovers that has been "tuned" for our roads and what you want.
May 7, 2006, 11:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Noob4life
My impression is it is not worth it for the daily driver.
While most people are able to "train" themselves to believe that coilovers are worth it on their car, its only because they just spent $1000+ on a part for their car and they really really want to believe that it was money well spent.
A real coilover setup should be designed for performance benefits in mind, and things like ride comfort, appearance, and cost take a back seat. In general, a high quality, well performing coilover will not be cheap and will not offer a comfortable ride at all (since performance and comfort are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum). And a coilover's performance has nothing to do with its exterior appearance.
With that said, many buyers are basing their purchases on just these factors: cost, and appearance, and looking for ride comfort. Why? Misunderstanding, lack of information, and abundance of myth out there regarding coilovers and their purpose. This sets you up to make a poor purchase, but once you realize it its already too late; you've shelled out $1300 and had no idea what you were getting into. Now the ride is too stiff for daily driving, softening the damping results in an overly bouncy, underdamped ride, and the car is never going to see a track anyhow so any performance benefits that might've been realized are useless.
This emphasizes the old saying: "If you have to ask, you don't need it." I'm not directing this at you personally, but its one of the few good rules to follow when shopping for parts.
While most people are able to "train" themselves to believe that coilovers are worth it on their car, its only because they just spent $1000+ on a part for their car and they really really want to believe that it was money well spent.
A real coilover setup should be designed for performance benefits in mind, and things like ride comfort, appearance, and cost take a back seat. In general, a high quality, well performing coilover will not be cheap and will not offer a comfortable ride at all (since performance and comfort are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum). And a coilover's performance has nothing to do with its exterior appearance.
With that said, many buyers are basing their purchases on just these factors: cost, and appearance, and looking for ride comfort. Why? Misunderstanding, lack of information, and abundance of myth out there regarding coilovers and their purpose. This sets you up to make a poor purchase, but once you realize it its already too late; you've shelled out $1300 and had no idea what you were getting into. Now the ride is too stiff for daily driving, softening the damping results in an overly bouncy, underdamped ride, and the car is never going to see a track anyhow so any performance benefits that might've been realized are useless.
This emphasizes the old saying: "If you have to ask, you don't need it." I'm not directing this at you personally, but its one of the few good rules to follow when shopping for parts.
Coilovers are completely worth it but you do have to pay to play. If you buy a damper with 30 levels of adjustablity than that means they are not tuned well enough to be a good damper. Higher end coilovers are almost always 6 way adjustable and I can assure you that if you put the damper on 1 the ride is even more comfortable than stock. Its also nice to have the ability to change your setup to your situation. Stock suspension is a decent all around setup but nothing comapres to a good coilover system.
May 7, 2006, 12:09 PM
#6
Originally Posted by Noob4life
My impression is it is not worth it for the daily driver.
While most people are able to "train" themselves to believe that coilovers are worth it on their car, its only because they just spent $1000+ on a part for their car and they really really want to believe that it was money well spent.
A real coilover setup should be designed for performance benefits in mind, and things like ride comfort, appearance, and cost take a back seat. In general, a high quality, well performing coilover will not be cheap and will not offer a comfortable ride at all (since performance and comfort are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum). And a coilover's performance has nothing to do with its exterior appearance.
With that said, many buyers are basing their purchases on just these factors: cost, and appearance, and looking for ride comfort. Why? Misunderstanding, lack of information, and abundance of myth out there regarding coilovers and their purpose. This sets you up to make a poor purchase, but once you realize it its already too late; you've shelled out $1300 and had no idea what you were getting into. Now the ride is too stiff for daily driving, softening the damping results in an overly bouncy, underdamped ride, and the car is never going to see a track anyhow so any performance benefits that might've been realized are useless.
This emphasizes the old saying: "If you have to ask, you don't need it." I'm not directing this at you personally, but its one of the few good rules to follow when shopping for parts.
While most people are able to "train" themselves to believe that coilovers are worth it on their car, its only because they just spent $1000+ on a part for their car and they really really want to believe that it was money well spent.
A real coilover setup should be designed for performance benefits in mind, and things like ride comfort, appearance, and cost take a back seat. In general, a high quality, well performing coilover will not be cheap and will not offer a comfortable ride at all (since performance and comfort are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum). And a coilover's performance has nothing to do with its exterior appearance.
With that said, many buyers are basing their purchases on just these factors: cost, and appearance, and looking for ride comfort. Why? Misunderstanding, lack of information, and abundance of myth out there regarding coilovers and their purpose. This sets you up to make a poor purchase, but once you realize it its already too late; you've shelled out $1300 and had no idea what you were getting into. Now the ride is too stiff for daily driving, softening the damping results in an overly bouncy, underdamped ride, and the car is never going to see a track anyhow so any performance benefits that might've been realized are useless.
This emphasizes the old saying: "If you have to ask, you don't need it." I'm not directing this at you personally, but its one of the few good rules to follow when shopping for parts.
I have a set of KW's tuned by Robi on my daily driver. I can say that the car rides more comfortably and certainly handles much better than it did. Should I choose, I could even set the bump softer than it is, though at this point I see no need to do that. Contact Robi or someone else knowledgeable in setting up Evo's. You do not have to make sacrifices...
May 7, 2006, 12:15 PM
#7
I've had two sets of coilovers..
Zeal Function V6: GREAT coilovers, although they cost me around $2400 or so, they were AWESOME performers. Ride was actually pretty good for daily driving/comfort, yea they were kinda rough, but totally worth it. But they performed AWESOME, totally confidence inspiring, allowed me to push the car as far as I dared to.
Tanabe Sustec Pro 7: Cost around $1700. They're actually really good coilovers for street/track use. On the stiffest setting they are still quite comfortable and can hold up pretty well. Although not as good as the Zeals, they are very good coilovers. On the soft setting, they feel very similar to my stock MR suspension, but slightly firmer. For daily driving, they are very good. Another benefit to these, is that you can use the TEAS controller to adjust the dampning from inside the car.
Zeal Function V6: GREAT coilovers, although they cost me around $2400 or so, they were AWESOME performers. Ride was actually pretty good for daily driving/comfort, yea they were kinda rough, but totally worth it. But they performed AWESOME, totally confidence inspiring, allowed me to push the car as far as I dared to.
Tanabe Sustec Pro 7: Cost around $1700. They're actually really good coilovers for street/track use. On the stiffest setting they are still quite comfortable and can hold up pretty well. Although not as good as the Zeals, they are very good coilovers. On the soft setting, they feel very similar to my stock MR suspension, but slightly firmer. For daily driving, they are very good. Another benefit to these, is that you can use the TEAS controller to adjust the dampning from inside the car.
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May 7, 2006, 12:29 PM
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Personally, I would recommend getting a set of 'pre-config' coil-overs from a speed *not tuner* shop. Someone who has actually track experience, will allow you to get the maximum benefit, with minimal compromise.
If you do your homework, you can get into a good set of coil-overs, dialed in, and ready to go, right to your door.
If you do your homework, you can get into a good set of coil-overs, dialed in, and ready to go, right to your door.
May 7, 2006, 02:37 PM
#9
H&R's, price-$1700, factory support at my finger tips (helps to know people at H&R as well). Height adjustability, coilovers have high initial investment, but cost per mile after that isnt so bad. That and you can change spring rates. You arent stuck with 8K+ springs for daily driver usage. You could always buy softer springs for normal usage and swap in the stiff ones when you knew you were gonna go to the track. Other than time, you are only out the alignment to swap (which you would want to do before track day anyway).
May 7, 2006, 04:04 PM
#10
Originally Posted by Stop&TurnFreak
Personally, I would recommend getting a set of 'pre-config' coil-overs from a speed *not tuner* shop. Someone who has actually track experience, will allow you to get the maximum benefit, with minimal compromise.
If you do your homework, you can get into a good set of coil-overs, dialed in, and ready to go, right to your door.
If you do your homework, you can get into a good set of coil-overs, dialed in, and ready to go, right to your door.
May 7, 2006, 08:50 PM
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That would be part of it, however, I am to the point now, I pretty much tune the suspension per track. I am getting ready to take them off the car, and have Tein revalve them for more dampening, to compensate for the R and slicks I am running this year. For a street tire out of the box, I found them to be pretty good.
If you want to see performance, just search my username for Road Atlanta Track vids.
If you want to see performance, just search my username for Road Atlanta Track vids.
May 8, 2006, 12:30 AM
#12
Originally Posted by Noob4life
My impression is it is not worth it for the daily driver.
While most people are able to "train" themselves to believe that coilovers are worth it on their car, its only because they just spent $1000+ on a part for their car and they really really want to believe that it was money well spent.
A real coilover setup should be designed for performance benefits in mind, and things like ride comfort, appearance, and cost take a back seat. In general, a high quality, well performing coilover will not be cheap and will not offer a comfortable ride at all (since performance and comfort are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum). And a coilover's performance has nothing to do with its exterior appearance.
With that said, many buyers are basing their purchases on just these factors: cost, and appearance, and looking for ride comfort. Why? Misunderstanding, lack of information, and abundance of myth out there regarding coilovers and their purpose. This sets you up to make a poor purchase, but once you realize it its already too late; you've shelled out $1300 and had no idea what you were getting into. Now the ride is too stiff for daily driving, softening the damping results in an overly bouncy, underdamped ride, and the car is never going to see a track anyhow so any performance benefits that might've been realized are useless.
This emphasizes the old saying: "If you have to ask, you don't need it." I'm not directing this at you personally, but its one of the few good rules to follow when shopping for parts.
While most people are able to "train" themselves to believe that coilovers are worth it on their car, its only because they just spent $1000+ on a part for their car and they really really want to believe that it was money well spent.
A real coilover setup should be designed for performance benefits in mind, and things like ride comfort, appearance, and cost take a back seat. In general, a high quality, well performing coilover will not be cheap and will not offer a comfortable ride at all (since performance and comfort are on totally opposite ends of the spectrum). And a coilover's performance has nothing to do with its exterior appearance.
With that said, many buyers are basing their purchases on just these factors: cost, and appearance, and looking for ride comfort. Why? Misunderstanding, lack of information, and abundance of myth out there regarding coilovers and their purpose. This sets you up to make a poor purchase, but once you realize it its already too late; you've shelled out $1300 and had no idea what you were getting into. Now the ride is too stiff for daily driving, softening the damping results in an overly bouncy, underdamped ride, and the car is never going to see a track anyhow so any performance benefits that might've been realized are useless.
This emphasizes the old saying: "If you have to ask, you don't need it." I'm not directing this at you personally, but its one of the few good rules to follow when shopping for parts.
it's hardest to get a two face coilover, one that rides well and races well. for a daily driver, it really depends on what you can and can't live with. i can't live with the ****ty overdamped and understeering stock suspension.
so i got a well damped, precise and fast setup from mueller (of course the fast setup is not for daily driving).
May 8, 2006, 05:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Stop&TurnFreak
That would be part of it, however, I am to the point now, I pretty much tune the suspension per track. I am getting ready to take them off the car, and have Tein revalve them for more dampening, to compensate for the R and slicks I am running this year. For a street tire out of the box, I found them to be pretty good.
If you want to see performance, just search my username for Road Atlanta Track vids.
If you want to see performance, just search my username for Road Atlanta Track vids.
May 8, 2006, 05:48 AM
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Originally Posted by trinydex
it's hardest to get a two face coilover, one that rides well and races well. for a daily driver, it really depends on what you can and can't live with. i can't live with the ****ty overdamped and understeering stock suspension.
so i got a well damped, precise and fast setup from mueller (of course the fast setup is not for daily driving).
Chronohunter stands by his claim that he has solved this dilemma. If he can get close it is tempting.
Most of us realistically do not have dedicated track cars. I am sure that some that do mostly daily drive convince themselves that a track (high speed) setup is what they really want--as stated in the above post. It seems that the truth is a compromise must be made somewhere.
