Suspension upgrade recomendation

[Red_Z]

Need some help. I already search, but can't really find any comparsion between basic coilovers and koni yellow.

I currently have Teins springs in the garage waiting for install. I am looking to spend about $1000 more around christmas time to upgrade my suspension. I am currently looking at the BC BR, Tanabe Pro-S0C, or keep the Tein and upgrade to Koni.

I mostly looking for performance. Car will be autocrossing for fun once in a while, nothing hardcore. Anyone can share experience from upgrading springs to basic coilovers (no $$$ for KWv3) or springs to springs\Koni Yellow setup will be great. thanks!!!

[gomer_110]

For a DD with the occasional AutoX I'd probably just go with the Koni's and a front sway bar.

[DR_]

There are a set of BR ER coilovers in the for sale section that you might be able to get for close to your budget. The BR ER are a great coilover (comparable to KWv3) and work great on this car. I would not go with Konis as they don't offer enough adjustment.

[Red_Z]

Originally Posted by DR_

There are a set of BR ER coilovers in the for sale section that you might be able to get for close to your budget. The BR ER are a great coilover (comparable to KWv3) and work great on this car. I would not go with Konis as they don't offer enough adjustment.

I saw the BC ER w\swift and a set of KWv3 for $1600 at the sale. I know is a good price compare to new, but it is too much for what I want to spend. Koni itself without springs are a little more expensive than BC BR.....hard to decide

[DR_]

Of those two I would go BC BR. Even though the BR are just single adjustable like the Konis they likely have more adjustment range. I've had the Konis on several vehicles and they just don't have much range.

[Fishey]

I am not a huge fan of cheap-monotube coilovers. There are certainly upsides and downsides to a cheap mono-tube over a KoniYellow + Spring solution. However from what I have found on a street car that sees very occasional autox or track use the koni + spring solution is usually better for a few reasons. Let me explain mono tubes design its not as durable as a twin-tube design. The reason comes down to there large sealing surface that deals with some very high pressure. To counter this problem most low end mono-tubes have some seriously tight seals and impressive machining to stop the loss of pressure so the shock is durable for street use but still last on average about 3 years before they start falling off (yes you can send them in but its a pain). However, these tight seals cause high stiction or static seal friction and this is a problem because it works against piston motion and is unpredictable resistance. It hurts the shocks ability to deal with small amplitude and high frequence response. Another side effect is that it also has extremely high gas reaction force meaning that inital shock response is poor. This is why we see such a poor ride quality out of many of the cheap coil-over setups. Most high end shocks have a nitrogen port not only to allow us to make pressure adjustments but to keep pressure in the shock. On a high end shock it will loose pressure over time the seals are not built for street car durability but also keep in mind that these shocks have far far far far better machining on internal components that will provide a good seal and reduce stiction but clearly this cost some serious money. This pressure loss is not the same issue as a street shock we can just re-pressure them and if you ever taken a ride in a car with Motons, Penske, Ohlins, Dynamix, Racing Konis you will notice the ride quality is actually quite nice compared to cheaper solutions. They also loose pressure at a much faster rate then street monotubes for example over a week at the track usually a shock with motons or JRZ's that I have used are down nearly 10lbs of pressure. I see this pressure loss problem alot on ACR Vipers as the Dynamics they came with are often times extremely low on pressure or don't have any pressure now even 10,000mi cars.

So what you find is usually a higher level of comfort and a higher level of durability out of a Koni + Spring setup then you do on a cheap coil-over setup. Now, that is not always the case but for me Koni + Spring is usually a good street car go to solution. When it comes to outright performance of a coilover vs a spring-shock I could sit here and argue that as well but really it comes down to what you like and where you are driving.

[Red_Z]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been reading all the coilovers threads also. I think i will be either just do Tein spings or find a few hundreds more for a used set of BC ER\Kwv3!!!