52 replies to this topic

[Adam]

Ok, so have been having a few problems with suspension lately, and it's driving me nuts. So I've considered coilovers as an option.

I thought if kick off a thread for people to discuss pros and cons of each, real life experiences. Service life and service/rebuild costs.

I have a feeling this could be a TMIC VS FMIC Thread, but see how we go!

[Richo]

Ok, so have been having a few problems with suspension lately, and it's driving me nuts. So I've considered coilovers as an option.

whats the problem and why do you think coilovers will help ?

[RX25SE]

As above.

[Adam]

My problem is, car is my daily, and ive had my front billy pack it in quite severely, so I've swapped back to old STi struts, which are marginally better, but really need to be a temporary option.

I have king springs at the moment, and I hate them. The sti struts I have put on sti black springs, and they are a nice spring, but car sits way too high.

Coilovers, I think, would get me the best of both worlds, good handling, plus, I get the perfect ride height with ease, and no leaving the car at the shop for them to figure out.

Whilst the other day I was talking about kido racing or BC coil overs, I think I would be better off investing in something a bit better to begin with. But don't know what their service life is.

Also, with the car being my daily, I need something that's going to get me on the road, quick smart.

[Richo]

why do you hate the current springs ?

[TSG]

Most people I know that have gone coilovers regret it, however only for the ride comfort. About all I can offer on the topic, I am happy with my Bilstein/STi Pink combo atm.

[RX25SE]

Can't you drop in a set of stock springs/shocks until you sort your current sping/shock issue?

Not that I have ever had them (never felt a need) but I can see dramas with coil overs too. How would you set them up? Are they allowed by your registration authority and/or insurance company? Will the missus approve now you have a mortage?*

There are a lot of good handling cars out there running factory style struts.


Are the roads around the new place any better than the old one?







*Sorry, can't help myself.

[Alex]

Pity you still haven't had a go in mine yet Adam.

Factory Bilsteins, albeit, rebuilt by Heasman's going on three years ago now (despite only about 20k kms on them if that).

Don't think I'll ever need more than that to be honest, unless I turn the car into a track car.


Import monster a set of replacement bilsteins. My KMac springs will be up for sale soon too if you're keen. They're not harsh at all.

[skillionaire]

Hi,

The coilovers in my Forester were very harsh, but I have to factor in the roads I was driving on. Chewed tyres.

The B4 I ran stock the whole time, and I always loved the ride on the Bilsteins. Got a lot more life from tyres.

The best I've had is the STi combo I've got for the Outback. Putting them back in tomorrow actually.Tyre wear is a little bit trickier here, because with my bin lids I need to run a slightly aggressive camber.

I would take up Alex's offer of having a crack in his machine, as you can't really get a better comparison (apart from the eleven million other components he's running!).

Cheers,
Nik

[simon]

I had a gen2 RX wagon on coilovers as a daily a couple of years ago and it wasnt fun, sure it handled a heap better but on a daily commute......

Im super happy with my billies & Tein S techs in my gen3. Rides like stock, Handles better than stock & looks a shitload better than stock.

I think you would probably regret coilovers

[alexGT]

adam, for the km you do you will hate coilovers for the daily trip.

rebuild the bilsteins and get a proper set of springs. i got the king springs originally for giving the car the right height, however it's not the best long term option as the king springs will kill the struts quick. H&R's, eibach or kmac will all do a MUCH better job, you may need to get springs reseated to suit ride height. unfortunately lack of aftermarket availability will mean its going to cost you.

coilovers >$1000
good spring and strut combo with rebuild >$1000

[2003rx]

COILOVERS!! i am soo happy with the BC coilover setup that i am running at the moment.

I love the fact that i can adjust my ride height to exactly what i want..and i mean EXACTLY (like 0.5mm adjustments if you want to get picky). Yes they run stiif but i honestly think it just adds to fun of having a modified car and if you want you can always just dial down the damper adjustment and its pretty comfortable. Other than that, compared to springs and with the combination of sway bars my car now runs like its sitting on a pair of rails.

My time at wakefield with stock suspension was around 1:21, with the suspension setup i can now push a 1:17 and thats only running kuhmo ku31's. So bottom line if your after superior handling i think you should go for the coilovers, and honestly they are not that uncomfortable...you guys are just weak and i drive everywhere !!!

[CodeBurn3r]

Coilovers hurt!
mate bought coilovers, they were just too stiff, sold them.. next owner has now also put them back for sale lol. ok the rates were a bit hard but still... everyone i know with coilovers say they are great for track.. no comment on Daily
I used to think coilovers would be mad.. but after being in a few cars with coilovers now.. gen 3 gen 1 and a FTO and a Commowhore, they are just too harsh..

Billys setup correctly are just right for a daily that sees it share of spirited driving..
oh and Why the hate on Kings?
tbh i think the kings in mine are just right.. ride hight is ideal (wouldnt go lower if you paid me)
i have driven STI springs and found them a tad too high for my liking, they do have a softer feel than my kings though.. pedders in my car were shit! lowered the car but not evenly and it had the worst feel. felt like it unsetled the car.

oh and as for kings killing the struts, mine have now done over 130k since they were installed by previous owner.. still all good, rears started to make a bit of noise at one stage... turned out just needed greasing and now all fine over a year later

[aekOne]

there is more to it than just coilovers vs strut spring combos. i see so far in this thread that "coilovers" get lumped together as to stiff vs various different strut/spring combinations so it's not really an apples for apples comparison.

I run coilovers in my Liberty and my Foz and ran them in the Legacy. In the Liberty i have MD's and they are bone shatteringly stiff, i would not recommend these to anyone for their daily drive (even though i did run them as a daily i was fine...some people are just to delicate). I had Biot's in the Legacy and they were a pretty good combination or performance and comfort. I had STI struts and springs originally but i thought they were to high and a bit soft. In the Foz i have D2 coilovers and they are fantastic, no one who's been in it has ever picked that they're coilovers. when set to soft, they offer a more comfortable ride than many lowered spring combinations i've ridden on. They are the cheapest of the three i've used but offer the best balance between performance and ride comfort.

if you pick the right coilovers then you'll love them, pick the wrong ones and you might not. Same goes for struts and springs. I've been on some awful combinations of strut spring combos which offer a much worse ride than "coilovers" so i really don't think it's as black and white as coilovers v strut springs.

Jai has Tein type wagon coilovers in his GTB but in his old gen 3 RX he had KYB's with Tein Lowered Springs. The GTB is definitely a softer ride of the two set ups with coilovers

Dylan has Tein Type Flex coilovers in his liberty and they very stiff and not very pleasant.

Andy has Ohlins in his STI and they are another which offer a very good compromise between performance and comfort.

You really need to get in some cars and feel the different set ups for yourself as they're all different. Some people will swear by springs / struts and say all coilovers are to hard, some guys will swear by coilovers for performance. It seems people are generally in one camp or the other. There are many different set ups and combinations so it's not as easy as the original question. In the end of the day it's your personal preference as to what's to stiff and what's to soft.

Personally i've never had any problems with coilovers and will continue to use them without thinking twice about it

[CRUISN]

Ive got brand new KYB struts and King lows in the Outback. Its great as a daily ride and very comfortable. 55 profile 17's help a lot also.

I will be fitting new BC BR coilovers this week. Theyre Liberty coilovers so Im thinking with the larger profile tyre and the Liberty spec coilover, I shouldnt have to drop the coilovers much at all to get it 2" lower than it is now. I intend to only run them on the softest damping setting.

I can give a good comparison by weeks end.

[Xon]

This is a bit of a funny thread, since you can't definitively say that either are better than the other. Some spring/strut combos will far outperform coilovers, some coilovers will far outperform strut/springs on the track but give horrible ride quality, and some (read: expensive) coilovers will just plain be better than everything else.

If you're thinking about coilovers, you should sit down and think very hard about what you want them for. If ride quality factors in at all, and budget even factors into it, then coilovers are probably not for you. Even some of the moderately priced coilovers like Tein are still considered really firm by some, although I've heard Teins sold in Australia have been revalved for Australia's horrible roads and so are a nicer ride.
Some of the brands I've heard can be quite comfortable include Ohlins, Apexi, K2, Bilstein PSS9. I think the cheapest of these start at about $2,000, and range up to exceeding $4,000 for the Bilsteins and K2.

Having said that, you can get something like BCs and set them really soft, it just won't be a refined ride. As Alex said, the standard Bilstein shocks are really good, but comparing worn out ones to rebuilt or new ones are like night and day. If you rebuild your Bilsteins I expect you would be more than happy, and the rebuild will be cheaper than the cheapest coilovers you'll see on ebay.

[B4TT]

Pity you still haven't had a go in mine yet Adam.

Factory Bilsteins, albeit, rebuilt by Heasman's going on three years ago now (despite only about 20k kms on them if that).

Don't think I'll ever need more than that to be honest, unless I turn the car into a track car.

Just highlighting the important bits.

Bilsteins >>>>> cheap coil-overs.

As I have said before, going for a combo that is too stiff will only hamper your handling abilities. Just my opinion but I think Bilsteins are a great option.

[Josh 95LIB]

Sorry to hijack thread but what are these http://justjap.com/s...cat=422&page=10 BC BR coilovers like and will they fit on a '95 BD liberty? What are they like in terms of relaibility?
Also, how do i get to the rear top hats? Sorry I'm a newb. Any help would be appreciated

[Adam]

Thanks guys, I got alot out of this, Alex, you will have pm soon!

Re: the kings hate, I find they are harsh, yet not very stiff, and just fail in a wagon with no other suspension mods.

Reason for looking at coilovers was they are a quick replacement, but definitely going to get a rebuild done now I think.

[Ren-dog]

Also, how do i get to the rear top hats? Sorry I'm a newb. Any help would be appreciated

remove your back seat. Base then back. Its 5 bolts and some fiddling around.