mrwickd123

Bought Swift Spec R's after learning that the GTWORX were on back order. Had them on the car for a week now, figured I'd make a review.



1. In the box:

This part absolutely shocked me. The springs were shipped out on Monday, 2/10/2014 and I **** you not they arrived literally the next day. I come to my room, and a big-o box is sitting at the door with "Swift" written in bold letters. I'm a kid on Christmas at this point, so I drag it in and open it up. Everything packed up real well, the box was sealed with mega staples which took a bit to remove (this is a good thing). Inside besides springs there were decals and some piece of paper with the warranty mumble jumble.
Packaging: 10/10.
Contents as described: 10/10

2. First impressions:

This is going to be brief, as the items were properly wrapped with no scratches or scuffs upon removal. Springs felt solid, not sure where else to elaborate here since there are no welds on springs or other structural issues that arise with other items. They even came with the rubber separator thing to prevent the springs from hitting each other upon compression.
Quality of parts: 10/10

3. Installation:





took off the wwf reservoir because my hands are fat. It's suggested, because it makes everything that much easier.


FFS Use an impact wrench. No joke this is a painful job without one. I can imagine that with an impact wrench this should not be a problem at all, however since I'm a genius (or more like the opposite of it) I thought I could do it without one. Long story short, what should have taken me 2 hours tops took 5 hours. And please don't cheap out and try and use a drill- I tried that too. I'm lucky I can type right now since the POS almost ripped my wrist to shreds. The rears did not need spring compressors to be mounted (very easy install), just adjusting the top hat with the bottom part was a bit annoying (this won't count against the springs). They did need compressors for removal, however. Similar story with the fronts, only a slight bit of compression was required. I will not be rating the ease of installation because there's a multitude of ways this can be done (and I definitely went with the more complicated one). Fitment was spot on, since the springs landed at the same points as the OEM ones. There were some issues with thunking, and Swift doesn't clarify for certain whether cutting bump stops is a necessity. They recommend it, but at the same time say that it won't hurt if you do not, and such inconsistency ticks me off just a bit. Thunking issues occurred with a few other people as well, which seems to be a minor setback with these springs, but nothing to worry about.
Fitment: 9/10
Ease of installation: NA

4. Performance:

Note: THE FOLLOWING IS SUBJECTIVE AND YOU MAY HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE.
On Bilsteins
The car feels flatter at higher speeds, definitely less body roll (MR Bilsteins). However I do not want the reader to assume that this eliminates body roll, not even close. There's still a presence of body roll (quite a bit), but not as much as stock. Furthermore, besides being stiffer up top, these are progressive springs. They are in fact SOFTER when driving daily. I've had a number of passengers that noted this and a few people that drove the car before and after also found the ride to be softer. At high speeds the springs feel soft yet predictably so. Sometimes I do feel as though a bit less body roll could be achieved had they been a bit stiffer up top.
The drop is subtle, not too much, just enough to be great for daily driving. It does scrape a bit more here and there but that's probably because it sits lower
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Here's a drop comparison to H&R springs with cut bump stops, H&R springs with uncut bump stops (Sev's PB X) and my Spec R springs on bilsteins with uncut bump stops (3 days after installation):


On KYBs

I got a chance to put these same springs onto KYBs on my car while my bilsteins were getting revalved. The valving on KYBs is different from that of Bilsteins, and it is quite noticeable. Compression and dampening is worse compared to the Bilsteins. On the Bilsteins, compression and dampening was not as good as stock, but not noticeable until the road got REALLY nasty, much like the Interstate 5 in the LA area. It was easily noticeable on the KYBs. That being said, with the KYBs the car felts just as flat through spirited corners. It seems to sit a tad higher on the KYBs as well. Here's a comparison of my car on Swifts (left) and my friend's car on H&Rs (right), both on KYBs:



Edit: Thanks to GSR 2K13 for a nice find!


Overall, very happy with the drop and the performance on the street. I did not yet get an alignment yet, will be doing that soon. Using my ghetto alignment measure tool I got from Amazon I'm not doing too horribly, but I should probably invest in an alignment. I will add a handling review after March 9th once I hit the track so stay tuned.
9/10

5. Bang for the buck: These springs cost me 300 dollars through the RawEvo discount, purchased from MAPerformance. For the money I think there's only GTWORX that could compare, and I have not had the chance to try those out. I am not left with a sour taste in my mouth, and I do feel as though I made the right choice with these springs. A few uncertainties could be taken care of, but overall I think these springs are well worth their price tag.
Value: 9.5/10

Total: 9.6/10

Reviewing springs is a bit more difficult than reviewing power oriented performance parts, and if anything I stated is off or wrong feel free to correct me in a polite fashion.

Lightsaber

This is an awesome review and you deserve my sincere appreciation. The objectiveness and insight has just qualified you to write for car magazines.

I was considering buying these too, but I thought they were stiffer than stock.

credditt

Good review. I have the Swift Spec R springs too. I have the standard GSR shocks, not the Bilsteins. The handling is good, but I find that the stock shocks can't keep during rapid transitions such as slaloms in autocross. For handing on the street the setup is very good though. If I don't install coilovers at some point I'd love to get some Bilstein shocks like the MR comes with.

Hsmbb6

So, with these lowering springs does anyone find them hitting bumpstops often? Does the shock have enough travel distance to prevent bottoming out? I ask this because my Honda were lowered on swifts and there simply wasn't enough travel distance, and resulted in disintegrated bump stops.

Kami Speed

iTrader: (88)

Great review!

did you cut the bumpstop when installing the springs? You shouldn't have had that issue if you did, but if you still did you should send the pics and info to Swift, they like the feedback to improve their design or modify their instructions.

credditt

I reduced the bumpstops by about 1" when when I installed mine. I spoke to Swift and they told me that while not required, I would gain additional suspension travel if I trimmed them. I've never hit the bumpstops that I can recall.

Nagua

iTrader: (1)

I noticed that you are reviewing Spec-R springs on Bilsteins. When you have a GSR. Did you get them revalved?

Nagua

iTrader: (1)

This is an issue when going low. Travel distance is limited due to the obvious. Cutting bump stop I would recommend. 1/4" to 1/2" no more. Cutting the bump stop will help with ride. But remember the bump stops are their for a reason. To keep strut from bottoming out.

Trukaroo

Good review! I also have the spec r on mine. I'd prefer more drop since i still have some wheel gap. But not too bad. Drives great as well.

mrwickd123

Review updated with the latest version from the other site

donny_utah

Excellent review! Thanks!

itmecoolz

best review ever!!