recently installed endura-tech coilovers/Synaptic3
Mar 25, 2010, 09:53 AM
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recently installed endura-tech coilovers/Synaptic3
hey everyone i just thought id post a quick review of my experience with endura tech coilovers. first a little background: the car is a 9 mr, it was on stock bilsteins and s-techs(not a real favorable combo around here). go figure, i got a blown strut so it was time to replace it with my first set of coilovers, why just replace one right?. i wanted the height adjustability of coilovers and the improved handling but could not see spending the $2300.00 on what many people say is the first "quality" pricepoint for coils. at least for what i will be doing with them (street, dragstrip for now), that was not reasonable. i wanted to spend aroud $1500 or so and could not find any good quality, used sets for sale locally at the time.
i then began looking into the endura-techs because they were in my price range and they were available from a shop that is fairly local to me. i exchanged PM's with eric of Synaptic 3 a number of times. he was very informative and quick to respond to all my questions. the support from a local shop as well as the price was probably what sold them to me.
i ended up going to pick them up about a week later. i was very impressed with the cleanliness and capabilities of that shop. the coils also looked very nice, they were well packaged and put together and seemed nice and solid. (no cheap feel to them) I had them installed that same day. the install took about 3 or 4 hours i think(old struts out, new coils in). everything went flawlessly. (brake lines do need to be zip tied for the record)
on the first drive i noticed the car felt very light and nuetral as compared to with the old setup. i have only tried them on a few of the lightest settings (they are 15 way adjustable) so far as the frost heaves around here do not favor a lowered car but they ride very nice. a bit firmer than the s techs i would say but they dont beat you up and the car does not roll or push in corners. the spring rates are 7kf and 5kr as to favor street use which i may end up switching them around and trying that out. keep in mind i have not got it aligned yet so i imagine my experience will get even better. i will update once Synaptic does their corner balancing and alignment.
wow that was a lot of typing...sorry for the long read. anyway overall thumbs up to endura-tech and big thanks to eric @ Synaptic 3 for hooking me up. highly recomended!
i then began looking into the endura-techs because they were in my price range and they were available from a shop that is fairly local to me. i exchanged PM's with eric of Synaptic 3 a number of times. he was very informative and quick to respond to all my questions. the support from a local shop as well as the price was probably what sold them to me.
i ended up going to pick them up about a week later. i was very impressed with the cleanliness and capabilities of that shop. the coils also looked very nice, they were well packaged and put together and seemed nice and solid. (no cheap feel to them) I had them installed that same day. the install took about 3 or 4 hours i think(old struts out, new coils in). everything went flawlessly. (brake lines do need to be zip tied for the record)
on the first drive i noticed the car felt very light and nuetral as compared to with the old setup. i have only tried them on a few of the lightest settings (they are 15 way adjustable) so far as the frost heaves around here do not favor a lowered car but they ride very nice. a bit firmer than the s techs i would say but they dont beat you up and the car does not roll or push in corners. the spring rates are 7kf and 5kr as to favor street use which i may end up switching them around and trying that out. keep in mind i have not got it aligned yet so i imagine my experience will get even better. i will update once Synaptic does their corner balancing and alignment.
wow that was a lot of typing...sorry for the long read. anyway overall thumbs up to endura-tech and big thanks to eric @ Synaptic 3 for hooking me up. highly recomended!
Mar 25, 2010, 10:02 AM
#2
Why'd you go with 7k/5k? I know that AMS (local to me) sells them. I looked at their website and it lists the same rates as you got so maybe that's their standard setup?
Get an alignment ASAP!
Last time I changed coilovers, my ride height was altered so much that I had 1/2" of toe on one side of the car! Needless to say, you could tell something was off on the initial install test-drive and I took care of it before any excessive tire wear.
After the alignment, keep us posted!
Get an alignment ASAP!
Last time I changed coilovers, my ride height was altered so much that I had 1/2" of toe on one side of the car! Needless to say, you could tell something was off on the initial install test-drive and I took care of it before any excessive tire wear.
After the alignment, keep us posted!
Mar 25, 2010, 10:25 AM
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Ya +1 on getting aligned and corner balanced if possible. I like mine for the most part. The ride is a bit less forgiving than my old KYBs with Swifts. I would recommend getting 9k springs from AMS (or whomever) as the car plows pretty bad even with stiff springs in the rear and I would think it would be even worse with lighter stuff in the rear. I need to install my sways...
Mar 25, 2010, 10:40 AM
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yea standard setup
possibly, only one is actually blown. PM me an offer
going from 5k to 9k in the back seems like a lot for the same valving..maybe im wrong? kinda new to this
possibly, only one is actually blown. PM me an offer
Ya +1 on getting aligned and corner balanced if possible. I like mine for the most part. The ride is a bit less forgiving than my old KYBs with Swifts. I would recommend getting 9k springs from AMS (or whomever) as the car plows pretty bad even with stiff springs in the rear and I would think it would be even worse with lighter stuff in the rear. I need to install my sways...
Mar 25, 2010, 11:28 AM
#6
hey everyone i just thought id post a quick review of my experience with endura tech coilovers. first a little background: the car is a 9 mr, it was on stock bilsteins and s-techs(not a real favorable combo around here). go figure, i got a blown strut so it was time to replace it with my first set of coilovers, why just replace one right?. i wanted the height adjustability of coilovers and the improved handling but could not see spending the $2300.00 on what many people say is the first "quality" pricepoint for coils. at least for what i will be doing with them (street, dragstrip for now), that was not reasonable. i wanted to spend aroud $1500 or so and could not find any good quality, used sets for sale locally at the time.
i then began looking into the endura-techs because they were in my price range and they were available from a shop that is fairly local to me. i exchanged PM's with eric of Synaptic 3 a number of times. he was very informative and quick to respond to all my questions. the support from a local shop as well as the price was probably what sold them to me.
i ended up going to pick them up about a week later. i was very impressed with the cleanliness and capabilities of that shop. the coils also looked very nice, they were well packaged and put together and seemed nice and solid. (no cheap feel to them) I had them installed that same day. the install took about 3 or 4 hours i think(old struts out, new coils in). everything went flawlessly. (brake lines do need to be zip tied for the record)
on the first drive i noticed the car felt very light and nuetral as compared to with the old setup. i have only tried them on a few of the lightest settings (they are 15 way adjustable) so far as the frost heaves around here do not favor a lowered car but they ride very nice. a bit firmer than the s techs i would say but they dont beat you up and the car does not roll or push in corners. the spring rates are 7kf and 5kr as to favor street use which i may end up switching them around and trying that out. keep in mind i have not got it aligned yet so i imagine my experience will get even better. i will update once Synaptic does their corner balancing and alignment.
wow that was a lot of typing...sorry for the long read. anyway overall thumbs up to endura-tech and big thanks to eric @ Synaptic 3 for hooking me up. highly recomended!
i then began looking into the endura-techs because they were in my price range and they were available from a shop that is fairly local to me. i exchanged PM's with eric of Synaptic 3 a number of times. he was very informative and quick to respond to all my questions. the support from a local shop as well as the price was probably what sold them to me.
i ended up going to pick them up about a week later. i was very impressed with the cleanliness and capabilities of that shop. the coils also looked very nice, they were well packaged and put together and seemed nice and solid. (no cheap feel to them) I had them installed that same day. the install took about 3 or 4 hours i think(old struts out, new coils in). everything went flawlessly. (brake lines do need to be zip tied for the record)
on the first drive i noticed the car felt very light and nuetral as compared to with the old setup. i have only tried them on a few of the lightest settings (they are 15 way adjustable) so far as the frost heaves around here do not favor a lowered car but they ride very nice. a bit firmer than the s techs i would say but they dont beat you up and the car does not roll or push in corners. the spring rates are 7kf and 5kr as to favor street use which i may end up switching them around and trying that out. keep in mind i have not got it aligned yet so i imagine my experience will get even better. i will update once Synaptic does their corner balancing and alignment.
wow that was a lot of typing...sorry for the long read. anyway overall thumbs up to endura-tech and big thanks to eric @ Synaptic 3 for hooking me up. highly recomended!
If you are new to this, and went to a shop - they still let you put on 7k front and 5k rear? And there is no brake line adapter? Why do you need height adjustably? Once you mess with height you need to re-corner balance and align.
For $75 (fix Bilstein) and $300 (Swift, GTWorx, RobiSpec) springs would have done you better.
There is no reason you should not have corner balanced and aligned that day. Springs do not settle that much. And you don't really need to corner balance if this is a street only car.
For that matter, coil-overs, don't really fit your build. But your call.
Last edited by Smike; Mar 25, 2010 at 11:32 AM.
Mar 25, 2010, 11:38 AM
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I have never experienced 5 so I can't comment on the change in feel but I believe AMS dynoed the shocks and their valving was good to something like 14k (now that doesnt mean they work ideally at 14k but 9k is a standard endura tech spring rate).
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Mar 25, 2010, 12:59 PM
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Now, I am not being mean or rain on your parade...
If you are new to this, and went to a shop - they still let you put on 7k front and 5k rear? And there is no brake line adapter? Why do you need height adjustably? Once you mess with height you need to re-corner balance and align.
For $75 (fix Bilstein) and $300 (Swift, GTWorx, RobiSpec) springs would have done you better.
There is no reason you should not have corner balanced and aligned that day. Springs do not settle that much. And you don't really need to corner balance if this is a street only car.
For that matter, coil-overs, don't really fit your build. But your call.
If you are new to this, and went to a shop - they still let you put on 7k front and 5k rear? And there is no brake line adapter? Why do you need height adjustably? Once you mess with height you need to re-corner balance and align.
For $75 (fix Bilstein) and $300 (Swift, GTWorx, RobiSpec) springs would have done you better.
There is no reason you should not have corner balanced and aligned that day. Springs do not settle that much. And you don't really need to corner balance if this is a street only car.
For that matter, coil-overs, don't really fit your build. But your call.
no 7k 5k was the standard setup, they didnt let me do it.
no brake line adapter doesnt bother me, its just a zip tie or 2 and its done.
i guess i dont need it, i want it.
i thought about going with one of those setups for a while along with coutless other options but in the end wanted to give coilovers a shot. ive never had them before and i still have the old struts that i could send in and get good springs for down the road if need be. im happy with how it turned out so far
the reason i didnt align that day was becuase i live in mass and drove up to NH early that morning to pick them up, came home, installed everything, and didnt have the desire or time to go back up there that day.
what i want to do with my car may change so im glad with my choice either way, they certainly arent a step back from where i was before.
Mar 25, 2010, 08:33 PM
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no 7k 5k was the standard setup, they didnt let me do it.
no brake line adapter doesnt bother me, its just a zip tie or 2 and its done.
i guess i dont need it, i want it.
i thought about going with one of those setups for a while along with coutless other options but in the end wanted to give coilovers a shot. ive never had them before and i still have the old struts that i could send in and get good springs for down the road if need be. im happy with how it turned out so far
the reason i didnt align that day was becuase i live in mass and drove up to NH early that morning to pick them up, came home, installed everything, and didnt have the desire or time to go back up there that day.
what i want to do with my car may change so im glad with my choice either way, they certainly arent a step back from where i was before.
no brake line adapter doesnt bother me, its just a zip tie or 2 and its done.
i guess i dont need it, i want it.
i thought about going with one of those setups for a while along with coutless other options but in the end wanted to give coilovers a shot. ive never had them before and i still have the old struts that i could send in and get good springs for down the road if need be. im happy with how it turned out so far
the reason i didnt align that day was becuase i live in mass and drove up to NH early that morning to pick them up, came home, installed everything, and didnt have the desire or time to go back up there that day.
what i want to do with my car may change so im glad with my choice either way, they certainly arent a step back from where i was before.
Jun 3, 2010, 07:36 AM
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smike please keep valving in mind when you are looking at rates. Drawing conclusions purely on specs is not fair and does not do anyone any good. Just because it says 5k in the rear does not mean you can compare that to being softer than stock struts. Please go find one to drive and then let us know if it understeers "all over the place."
Also keep in mind we offer (and have in stock) stiffer Endura-Tech factory produced springs in case you want to swap out the springs for a different ride setup depending on how you drive or what you plan to do with the car (like some track events or auto-x). So just because it comes with 7k and 5k does not mean you are stuck with that setup. The stiffer springs are completely compatible and no modifications are necessary.
race version spring package from Endura-Tech:
bump for Endura-Tech coilovers
Also keep in mind we offer (and have in stock) stiffer Endura-Tech factory produced springs in case you want to swap out the springs for a different ride setup depending on how you drive or what you plan to do with the car (like some track events or auto-x). So just because it comes with 7k and 5k does not mean you are stuck with that setup. The stiffer springs are completely compatible and no modifications are necessary.
race version spring package from Endura-Tech:
bump for Endura-Tech coilovers
Jun 3, 2010, 08:12 AM
#13
smike please keep valving in mind when you are looking at rates. Drawing conclusions purely on specs is not fair and does not do anyone any good. Just because it says 5k in the rear does not mean you can compare that to being softer than stock struts. Please go find one to drive and then let us know if it understeers "all over the place."
Also keep in mind we offer (and have in stock) stiffer Endura-Tech factory produced springs in case you want to swap out the springs for a different ride setup depending on how you drive or what you plan to do with the car (like some track events or auto-x). So just because it comes with 7k and 5k does not mean you are stuck with that setup. The stiffer springs are completely compatible and no modifications are necessary.
race version spring package from Endura-Tech:
bump for Endura-Tech coilovers
Also keep in mind we offer (and have in stock) stiffer Endura-Tech factory produced springs in case you want to swap out the springs for a different ride setup depending on how you drive or what you plan to do with the car (like some track events or auto-x). So just because it comes with 7k and 5k does not mean you are stuck with that setup. The stiffer springs are completely compatible and no modifications are necessary.
race version spring package from Endura-Tech:
bump for Endura-Tech coilovers
I have been racing Evos far longer, and I have much more experience here.
Jun 7, 2010, 07:50 PM
#14
zip ties to secure your brake line is not something I would recommend. Why would you spend that kind of money on something that doesnt even accomodate a proper mount for your brake lines? Its cool if you wanted coilovers just becuase you think they are cool, it is YOUR money. But I doubt those ride better, or handle better than bilsteins w/ gtworx,robi,swift combo.
The bilsteins would be a better option for dd and for novices getting into racing.
The bilsteins would be a better option for dd and for novices getting into racing.
Jun 7, 2010, 07:59 PM
#15
smike please keep valving in mind when you are looking at rates. Drawing conclusions purely on specs is not fair and does not do anyone any good. Just because it says 5k in the rear does not mean you can compare that to being softer than stock struts. Please go find one to drive and then let us know if it understeers "all over the place."
Also keep in mind we offer (and have in stock) stiffer Endura-Tech factory produced springs in case you want to swap out the springs for a different ride setup depending on how you drive or what you plan to do with the car (like some track events or auto-x). So just because it comes with 7k and 5k does not mean you are stuck with that setup. The stiffer springs are completely compatible and no modifications are necessary.
race version spring package from Endura-Tech:
bump for Endura-Tech coilovers
Also keep in mind we offer (and have in stock) stiffer Endura-Tech factory produced springs in case you want to swap out the springs for a different ride setup depending on how you drive or what you plan to do with the car (like some track events or auto-x). So just because it comes with 7k and 5k does not mean you are stuck with that setup. The stiffer springs are completely compatible and no modifications are necessary.
race version spring package from Endura-Tech:
bump for Endura-Tech coilovers