Coilovers on a budget?
 

Hello!

I was thinking of getting a coilover setup for my Z in due time and wanted to see what your feedbacks/experiences were?

So far, I did a little bit of research and found the Megan coils to be the best "bang for your buck"

MEGAN COILOVER SUSPENSION DAMPER 09-UP NISSAN 370Z Z34 FAIRLADY Z VQ37HR VQ37 VQ | eBay

They are below $900, and the g37 guys seem to really like these.

I am not going to track it/only daily drive.

Probably going to slap on some 19's on them later on and probably going to drop it at most ~ 1.25 inches?

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

I am hoping by going coils, I don't have to get camber kit, etc?
(sorry if this is a newbie question :rofl2:

thank you! :)


-Chris

I would stay away from Megan. Look for BC Racing BR Coilovers if you are looking for something cheap.

You will need a camber kit if you want to adjust your alignment settings once your car has been lowered. It also depends on how much you are gonna lower it since the amount of camber you end up with might not be that bad.

I would stick with just swift springs if you are trying to stay to your budget.. Cheap coilovers<springs IMO

i spent $900 on a set of coilovers for my IS300 years ago.... worst money ever spent on a car.

you get what you paid for, period.....

there u go.. quality parts for a quality car.

Megan coilovers are fine, my 40th Bro has them, their top of the line model is actually quality and their PINK, external resivoir, good damping adjustments and all. I don't know anything about the base model (the ones you linked).

There are numerous coils that you can buy that are only about 200 dollars more expensive. BC, Fortune Auto, Powertrix, or even a used set of Stance. I would save up just a tad more and get a higher quality item.

i would go with swift springs if you dont wanna lower your car much.

If you don't mind buying used parts and aren't in a rush to get this stuff on, I'd camp out in the private classifieds section of this forum. Sometimes you can find suspension parts at a steal! Swift springs for $250. Stance coilovers for $900.

Check it out.
Parts for sale (Private Classifieds) - Nissan 370Z Forum

Did the BC racing BR Series coils, bought em used. Great investment in my opinion. Adjustable height and ride and a nice feel. Works great with my spacers and I love em.

thank you
 

Thank you for your feedback!~
Hmm...ok I will camp out. haha

do you guys think I would need to get a camber kit, etc if i lowered it just an inch? or maybe even 3/4 inch?

I will definitely be on the lookout for the BC coils then :D

Don't cheap out on suspension components man this is a very nice car! I have swifts and love them 1" drop front and 1.5" rear

BC racing and powertrix are the best bet. Both made at the same manufacture

If you completely eliminate wheel gap on front and rear you'll need a rear camber kit. It's all worth it though

^^I would not say that is accurate.

I am dropped on swifts which give you about 1.25in front 1in rear and I ended up with out of spec camber settings in all four corners after the springs settled. I still have wheel gap.

Also keep in mind that this is not consistent from car to car and readings will vary.

I would second Powertirx for coils on a budget. And they are race proven.

I've been researching my coilover options on and off for a while, for my mixed-use car. IMHO, the "obvious" high-quality options at various price points are BC's BR and ER series, Tien's Monoflex, and maybe KW V3. Love to hear about other good, quality price/perf tradeoff options though.

I am looking to get V3s myself

:werd:

Why go coilover for street car? Stick with traditional shock and spring setup. Much better suited for street driving.

Our stock setup is already a coilover in the front and a separate spring in the rear. Most of our aftermarket options do the same even if they're called a "coilover", they're not true coilovers in the rear, but obviously they are in the front.

There are a couple options out there that actually do convert the rear to true coilover. TBH I'm not sure on the tradeoffs, I'm not an expert (or even an amateur) at designing suspension geometry and loading, but I don't think it's without tradeoffs to do that. My default position is not to do that unless I get some solid info that everything will be ok with the conversion :)

Yeah I have considered the springs and shocks route, too.

But after researching lowering springs and getting shocks along with that, they add up to be about 1,000 right?

Some people recommended me getting swift springs + koni yellows.

total they added up to be more than BC coilovers?

Please correct me if i am wrong.

that's why I am leaning towards just getting a set of BC coils.

thank you! :)

In the rears most people require the camber kit if you eliminate wheel gaps. It's how this car settles. He's talkin coils and my original post was about coils. I never did camber kit on my G37X lowered on Eibach springs and that kit eliminated wheel gap too. It tends to be a coil over thing for some reason

I've got a set of Stance GR+ Coils for sale for $900 shipped in the for sale section.

Great coilover, nearly mint, fire me a PM if you're interested....

You're right about the cost of BC BR coilovers vs Swift/Koni. I have the Swift/Koni combo, but initially wanted the BC BR. I was told that BC BR coilovers still require you to cut holes in the rear plastic panels of the interior.

I think you only have to cut holes in the rear plastic panels of the interior if you plan on adjusting the rebound/compression of the coilovers often. If you're the type to set and forget then you'd only have to do it when you first install them. No holes necessary. I might be wrong though.

You are correct, I have the extensions but I opted not to drill the holes and I just removed the plastic to do some fine tuning after a week to where I wanted it. Its all back together now and haven't touched it in months.

From the way it looks though you can disassemble the entensions attach them to the coils, put the plastic back on and re attach the knob to the cable sticking through the plastic so that just the knob is above the plastic for a clean look. Never really looked too far into it though.

thanks for all your feedback/educating me :)

My co-worker was telling in his honest opinion, buying used suspension parts are kinda risky because you really dont know how much wear/tear the part has, right? he told me that in the past a member on a supra forum bought some coils from another member and a week later the car got totaled because one of the coils blew up or something?

what is your take on buying use suspension parts?

hmm...so if i go BC coils or getting the stance gr+ from jjaden I dont have to cut holes in interior if im not going to adjust too much after installing it right?

and I dont have to get camber kit for the rears if i dont drop it TOO low right? per say 1~1.25 inches @ max.

sorry for noob questions! :tiphat:

thank you!

I'm sure you would still need camber arms with a drop of 1"-1.5". That's the drop I have on swifts and after maxing the factory camber out I'm still -2.5 all the way around.

Don't buy the Stance Gr-pro coilovers. There crap, had them on my 350Z. I recommend getting the Megans Rs coilovers. There the best bang for the buck hands down.

there u go.. thank you

Man honestly save your money and buy Swift springs. They handle great with stock shocks. It lowers the car just about perfect for street driving. Its not slammed by any means but you dont have to worry about speed bumps lol.

If you want even better handling throw on a set of sway bars. You would still come out cheaper than a good set of adjustable coilovers and will more than likely handle better than the cheaper sets.

:shakes head:

I edited my statement. I didnt mean that it would handle better than a good set. A cheaper set is what I meant. My bad :tiphat:

I've already got swaybars on my car, one of my earliest mods. The swaybar upgrade is really awesome when it comes to keeping the car flatter in a turn, it's a huge win. Shock/Spring upgrades are for a different purpose though. The primary problem I see with my current (factory) suspension right now is it's too soft/bouncy during and just after braking, leading to a bit of a "porpoising" effect. I imagine just about any entry level quality adjustable coilover setup will let me tune that out to some degree. I don't really even want to drop the car at this time, at least not aggressively. Maybe half an inch.

The big question marks to me are:
1) External Reservoir? Seems like the primary purpose is fluid cooling for extended running? I can't seem to find a good analysis on when you need this, but I'm inclined to think 30-minute track sessions are fine without it.
2) Spring rates?

From what I've read (and I think I'm still failing to comprehend some things), it seems it's all about Spring Rates in the end. It seems like for a given car config (total weight, distribution, geometry) there's probably a certain spring rate ratio that's ideal, and some room for variance based on how stiff you want the ride to be. And then the shock adjustments for bound/rebound really just have just one ideal setting that's matched to the springs and your car's weight (although maybe it's nice to turn them softer for a street cruise). Picking the spring rates is something I haven't seen much data on though. Is there some standard rules of thumb based on corner weights, etc?

Entry level coilovers will get you stiffer. No doubt. The main problem with cheaper entry level coilovers is the quality of the dampers. That is the main reason you will spend more money on the bigger names such as KW. The dampers are far superior to the cheaper sets.

From what I have read the swift/koni combo is good at eliminating the soft bouncy effect of the stock dampers.

Now as far as how the spring rates are chosen you got me there. That is beyond my understanding lol. If I had to guess I would say that it really depends on the drivers driving style and type of motor sport. I dont think there is one perfect setup. I could be wrong though as it is only a guess.

Still lookin? You could have my spare coilovers for $550 shipped.

http://www.the370z.com/members/pokey...-coilovers.jpg

thanks for the update. haha this thread is getting longer and longer.

No thank you I saw those coils and they are ebay coils.

Rather spend few hundred more and get new/name brand coils.

so as of right now, these are my options right?

coils + camber arms. (how much would this setup cost with install/allignment, etc)

swift springs + shocks(i heard koni yellows are good, but they are expensive! $$$$) + camber arms, correct?

Mind you, I dont want to shell out a fortune on the suspension, because it is a lease and I want to be under 1500 total. Think this is possible?

thank you! :)

BC BR $1079 shipped w/rear camber arm then install by yourself, win !!

please let me know where is it for 1079 shipped with rear camber arm?! haha

thank you