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Suspension Which Way To Go....

fritters77
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fritters77 Enthusiast

fritters77

Posted
Posted

I have read through a lot of the suspension thread just so many pages.....

What I would like to know is it worth spending the money on coilovers when I won't be changing the height and stuff once it's set up ......Or just going for I new set of springs and shocks...

Is the price difference between the two much different,,,,,,what have others done......

I know that coilovers are about $1200 or so ,not sure on costs for springs and shocks...

Any input would be appreciated ..........

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import_zone Community Regular

import_zone

Posted
Posted

its personal choice. nd a matter of finding the right set up that ur happy with. everyone prefers different set ups. and springs nd shockers are good for legality. nd to lower once like u want. coilovers are good to be able to change height when u want if ur not happy with it. nd with the right coilovers can stiffen up the ride a little. or can adjust the stiffness of the ride.

Bronx Mentor

Bronx

Posted
Posted

coil overs for track and aggressive driving.

or a nice suspension setup for a daily. coilovers will be extremely stiff compared to normal suspension.

unless you want it to handle better but want to give up comfort, go coilovers.

or just pm me and you can come for a ride in my stagea as im in sydney, its running coilovers and its a rs4s too.

import_zone Community Regular

import_zone

Posted
Posted

i am running coilovers in mine. nd mine are soft, i am looking into getting new ones that are stiffer. it all depends on wat brand. tien super wagons have a really soft spring rate

Bronx Mentor

Bronx

Posted
Posted

yeah i guess. but even on softest settings. any coilovers will be more harsh than stockish setup. i mean, take out a coilover and put it next to a stock set and see the size difference. i went for a medium setup in mine, im only running 13kg/mm front and 9kg/mm rears. but i only have shitty 27 step adjustment shocks

V28VX37 Veteran

V28VX37

Posted
Posted

yeah i guess. but even on softest settings. any coilovers will be more harsh than stockish setup. i mean, take out a coilover and put it next to a stock set and see the size difference. i went for a medium setup in mine, im only running 13kg/mm front and 9kg/mm rears. but i only have shitty 27 step adjustment shocks

I have to disagree on this one. Yes coilover suspension travel is almost always shorter than a shocks + springs setup but that doesn't automatically translate to harshness.

I spent a lot of time recently deciding which way to go and ended up getting BC Racing BR coilovers with softer-than-normal spring rates (F:6kg + R:5kg compared to normal F:8kg + R:6kg). Compared to my previous OEM shock + King Spring setup the coilovers are a lot more compliant and less harsh.

it depends entirely on the spring rate Jean. My M35 has coilovers and it isn't harsh at all. With the dampening off it's a "firm" stock feel. Still very boatish. Tighten it up a little and it will lose that feeling a lot.

^^^ What he said.

I was quoted around $800-$900 for a set of new KYBs, add some springs and you're very close to the BC BR prices. For something like Bilsteins + springs you'll be closer to the 2k mark, which should get you Tein SuperStreets or similar coilovers.

Check out these threads too:

Good luck.

fritters77 Enthusiast

fritters77

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So 99% of driving is day to day and I might throw in a track day every now and again , basically I can't afford coilovers right now so I was looking at other option and thought there are plenty of nice shocks out there and springs are pretty cheep too.....

I wouldn't mind stiffening it up a little but yeah not that keen on bouncing around on the great Syd roads....

Anyone have ideas on price for shocks and what brands they used......

fritters77 Enthusiast

fritters77

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1333013631[/url]' post='6295523']

I have to disagree on this one. Yes coilover suspension travel is almost always shorter than a shocks + springs setup but that doesn't automatically translate to harshness.

I spent a lot of time recently deciding which way to go and ended up getting BC Racing BR coilovers with softer-than-normal spring rates (F:6kg + R:5kg compared to normal F:8kg + R:6kg). Compared to my previous OEM shock + King Spring setup the coilovers are a lot more compliant and less harsh.

^^^ What he said.

I was quoted around $800-$900 for a set of new KYBs, add some springs and you're very close to the BC BR prices. For something like Bilsteins + springs you'll be closer to the 2k mark, which should get you Tein SuperStreets or similar coilovers.

Check out these threads too:

Good luck.

Well if they are going to work out about the same as the BC coilovers then I would be crazy not to go coilovers ....

jasevr4 Mentor

jasevr4

Posted
Posted

yeah i guess. but even on softest settings. any coilovers will be more harsh than stockish setup. i mean, take out a coilover and put it next to a stock set and see the size difference. i went for a medium setup in mine, im only running 13kg/mm front and 9kg/mm rears. but i only have shitty 27 step adjustment shocks

size difference doesn't mean anything. the current forks on my downhill bike have huge lowers/stanchions. compared to my skinny forks i had last year my current ones ride like a dream. all about valving, damping and spring rate. if you wanted coilovers to be plusher than your stock suspension (for some reason), it's doable. maybe not off the shelf (no demand), but they could be made. in my opinion BC BR's standard setup is maybe the slightest bit stiffer than stock, but you could chuck them in and the only person that would notice is the owner. family/friends/etc wouldn't have a clue. dial them in and you'll start to get some complaints

Commsman Veteran

Commsman

Posted
Posted

I bought my BC BR's with spring rates 2kg/mm less than standard, to try to make the ride as close to standard (on the softest setting).

Did it work? Not really. On nice roads it's perfectly fine & compliant. On any road with patched up potholes however, it crashes & bangs over them like the suspension is broken. And that's a patched road, not one with actual potholes - don't get me started on those. They would be the only mod I've done to my car that I consider a compromise. Maybe I'm too fussy (or too old?).

But on the up side, it does handle really well, especially on smooth roads. And of course you can get the stance you want. I suppose sometimes you have to suffer for fashion pinch.gif .

V28VX37 Veteran

V28VX37

Posted
Posted

I bought my BC BR's with spring rates 2kg/mm less than standard, to try to make the ride as close to standard (on the softest setting).

Did it work? Not really. On nice roads it's perfectly fine & compliant. On any road with patched up potholes however, it crashes & bangs over them like the suspension is broken. And that's a patched road, not one with actual potholes - don't get me started on those. They would be the only mod I've done to my car that I consider a compromise. Maybe I'm too fussy (or too old?).

But on the up side, it does handle really well, especially on smooth roads. And of course you can get the stance you want. I suppose sometimes you have to suffer for fashion pinch.gif .

Interesting, sounds like I was trying to do the same with more success... Different cars though, mine's an R34 sedan...

Just out of curiosity, have you played around with the stiffness setting much? I remember reading somewhere that extreme settings may not work that well on BC's (i.e. full soft/hard) and you mention 'softest setting' above.

I've set mine to 1/3 (8 clicks) from full soft both F&R and it's much better on all surfaces than the previous stock shocks + King Springs. And yeah this is with custom spring rates 6kg front (-2kg from standard) and 5kg rear (-1kg from standard) + bigger swaybars.

ironpaw Veteran

ironpaw

Posted
Posted

I bought my BC BR's with spring rates 2kg/mm less than standard, to try to make the ride as close to standard (on the softest setting).

Did it work? Not really. On nice roads it's perfectly fine & compliant. On any road with patched up potholes however, it crashes & bangs over them like the suspension is broken. And that's a patched road, not one with actual potholes - don't get me started on those. They would be the only mod I've done to my car that I consider a compromise. Maybe I'm too fussy (or too old?).

But on the up side, it does handle really well, especially on smooth roads. And of course you can get the stance you want. I suppose sometimes you have to suffer for fashion pinch.gif .

Maybe :P

I'm running Silkroads - 16kg front and 10kg rear. I friggin miss them (swapped in stock suspension to clear defect). I love the go kart feel...only issue is they're too low.

New custom springs on the way from Japan...that'd fix it!

Zorro Community Regular

Zorro

Posted
Posted

Im running HKS hypermax2 coilovers with 7f 5r (i have other rates on shelf), plus whiteline os adj swaybars, feels great in the twisties and not too harsh on crap roads either! Much better all round than the stock shocks & lowered king springs i had before! But its personal preference, it depends on what you want to do/ acheive with your car and the $ your willing to spend! Im happy with my setup! Just remember, you get what you pay for!

Daleo Grand Master

Daleo

Posted
Posted

I bought my BC BR's with spring rates 2kg/mm less than standard, to try to make the ride as close to standard (on the softest setting).

Did it work? Not really. On nice roads it's perfectly fine & compliant. On any road with patched up potholes however, it crashes & bangs over them like the suspension is broken. And that's a patched road, not one with actual potholes - don't get me started on those. They would be the only mod I've done to my car that I consider a compromise. Maybe I'm too fussy (or too old?).

But on the up side, it does handle really well, especially on smooth roads. And of course you can get the stance you want. I suppose sometimes you have to suffer for fashion pinch.gif .

This is quite interesting Leon, as I've often wondered whether BC actually altered any of the valving to accommodate the lighter springs.

I tend to think they possibly don't; this would leave you in a position where you don't have enough compression damping; and too much rebound damping.

I wonder if some of what you're feeling on rough roads is the lighter spring collapsing through some of it's compression travel, then also due to the lighter spring it doesn't rebound quickly enough to react to the next compression, gradually "packing down" the damper on bumpier roads.

Most of my suspension tuning comes from Sportsbikes; so my not be applicable, but it might be worth adding some preload to the front springs; this effectively increases the spring rate on rebound, and may give you a better chance of extending the shock in time for the next compression event.

I run the same BC BR's in the same car, with their standard spring rates; and my car is quite plush and well isolated on broken surfaces. It's very quiet, with no crashing at all; it's probably quieter than it was with the OEM gear. Also has all the benefits of the much better control, with no real down side.

V28VX37 Veteran

V28VX37

Posted
Posted

This is quite interesting Leon, as I've often wondered whether BC actually altered any of the valving to accommodate the lighter springs.

I tend to think they possibly don't; this would leave you in a position where you don't have enough compression damping; and too much rebound damping.

I looked into this before I got mine and was lead to believe they only revalve if you go more than 2kg up or down.

However mine came direct from Taiwan (Jan 2012 build that I received in January) so I suppose there's a chance they would've matched the valving to suit the lower rates...?

ClassOne Enthusiast

ClassOne

Posted
Posted

I also disagree with the whole coilover thing making a harsh ride, in the end your benifits are usually a reduction in weight and tunability, harshness comes from incorrect spring rates and hard dappening settings.

While I'm here, can someone tell me what the stock F/R spring rates are on the M35 250t ?

Also what the standard rates are on the BC c/o for the same model?

Stageas2 Enthusiast

Stageas2

Posted
Posted

We just installed Bilstein shockers into my RS4S we used my original springs I think it cost us $200 a corner and they can be re sleeved which is an added bonus they have a shorter throw than the stocky suspension I'm really happy with them,but the shockers r fatter than stocky and now i have a drama with my Gtr wheels just touching the shockers they r 9's

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