Choosing the right coilovers
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Coltrane1 (04-22-2017)
05-12-2016, 12:45 PM
#114
Ok pulled them out of the box this morning for a few photos.
Just to go over the specs and choices I made; I wanted a definite step up from the IPL suspension which I have to admit, is actually really good. I've adjusted to the car's handling habits over the last four months and overall, I like the IPL's suspension for daily driving with a few key areas I'd like to see improvements in for aggressive driving.
These are Aragosta Type S dampers. These'll be a bit firmer than the Type E which is for road use but not for track. The Type S is for circuit and spirited street driving and are upgradable to double adjustables. AST can in fact do that here in the States and I may have a local shop that's capable as well if I want to eventually go that route
-Spring rates are 12K front, 10K rear (IPL is 9.8k front, 8.02k rear)
-Aluminum shock bodies
-Seperate height and preload on the fronts, separate ride height on the rear
-OEM-type spring placement in the rear
-RUBBER upper mounts and not solid pillow ball.
The package comes with the obvious, two adjustment spanner wrenches and an allen head wrench all engraved with Aragosta. There's lots of instructions in Japanese, shock blueprints (nice!) and four stickers, two in black two in silver-gray.
The rear spring mount adapters are machined and look to be stainless steel. All of the collars are anodized aluminum with cinch bolts so they don't slip. The rear shocks, without the springs, are exceptionally light. I'll weigh everything vs. the stock units during the installation.
The adjustment clicks are very positive and firm. I remember my Teins, from way back when, being really wishy washy. But that was 10 years ago, I'm sure they've improved.
The front set are heavier with the coil-over setup as springs add a lot of weight. I'm sure they're lighter than the OEM units by quite a bit. Springs are heavy
Everything is flawless minus the dust. Zero complaints on apparent build quality. The brake line/ABS brackets are adjustable and stamped steel so those are the lowest quality part on the shock. I'm not complaining though. I may add a rubber isolator inside the bracket to as not to mar the shock body threads when tightening them down.
There are rubber or plastic isolators everywhere for the metal to metal contact and it looks like I reuse the rubber mounts on the rear for the barrel springs.
So some of the other options on these shocks are solid pillow ball on all four. You can get rubber or solid on either the S or the E. I'm trying to keep the NVH down so I went with rubber. The E series is about $300 less than the S series. So theoretically, you could get the E's for less than $2K shipped.
More photos! I snapped these with the iPhone as I didn't feel like pulling the big cameras out.
Born on date, 5/2/16. Nice. Also has the serial and model type on them. I may either pull the stickers and set them aside or clear them over so they don't wear/smear.
You can see the rubber bushings on the top mount here, on a pillow mount, the rubber would be replaced by mounts that have a solid metal "ring" around the adjustment shaft:
Rear adjustment *****. They're on the side so you have to reach up and adjust them. Easy enough and you don't have to pull the shock to make an adjustment. Teins are the same now as well.
Top of front dampers
Lower mount eyelet bushing. There were some serious problems with some of the Korean/Taiwan makers concerning these bushings disintegrating. There's a big thread over on the RX8 forum. It's one of the many reasons I was ok spending more on quality components. I want something that's OEM build quality.
Preload collar on the fronts with cinch bolt
Adjustment tools
Specs. Thank god I can read kanji characters. I kid.
Blueprints with measurements
Directions
Stickers!
Everything comes pre-set for height and preload and I'll stick with those suggested settings for now. As is, I won't need a camber kit front or rear and I'd like to keep it that way. I can't go much lower than stock due to where I park at work and my steep driveway.
Just to go over the specs and choices I made; I wanted a definite step up from the IPL suspension which I have to admit, is actually really good. I've adjusted to the car's handling habits over the last four months and overall, I like the IPL's suspension for daily driving with a few key areas I'd like to see improvements in for aggressive driving.
These are Aragosta Type S dampers. These'll be a bit firmer than the Type E which is for road use but not for track. The Type S is for circuit and spirited street driving and are upgradable to double adjustables. AST can in fact do that here in the States and I may have a local shop that's capable as well if I want to eventually go that route
-Spring rates are 12K front, 10K rear (IPL is 9.8k front, 8.02k rear)
-Aluminum shock bodies
-Seperate height and preload on the fronts, separate ride height on the rear
-OEM-type spring placement in the rear
-RUBBER upper mounts and not solid pillow ball.
The package comes with the obvious, two adjustment spanner wrenches and an allen head wrench all engraved with Aragosta. There's lots of instructions in Japanese, shock blueprints (nice!) and four stickers, two in black two in silver-gray.
The rear spring mount adapters are machined and look to be stainless steel. All of the collars are anodized aluminum with cinch bolts so they don't slip. The rear shocks, without the springs, are exceptionally light. I'll weigh everything vs. the stock units during the installation.
The adjustment clicks are very positive and firm. I remember my Teins, from way back when, being really wishy washy. But that was 10 years ago, I'm sure they've improved.
The front set are heavier with the coil-over setup as springs add a lot of weight. I'm sure they're lighter than the OEM units by quite a bit. Springs are heavy
Everything is flawless minus the dust. Zero complaints on apparent build quality. The brake line/ABS brackets are adjustable and stamped steel so those are the lowest quality part on the shock. I'm not complaining though. I may add a rubber isolator inside the bracket to as not to mar the shock body threads when tightening them down. There are rubber or plastic isolators everywhere for the metal to metal contact and it looks like I reuse the rubber mounts on the rear for the barrel springs.
So some of the other options on these shocks are solid pillow ball on all four. You can get rubber or solid on either the S or the E. I'm trying to keep the NVH down so I went with rubber. The E series is about $300 less than the S series. So theoretically, you could get the E's for less than $2K shipped.
More photos! I snapped these with the iPhone as I didn't feel like pulling the big cameras out.
Born on date, 5/2/16. Nice. Also has the serial and model type on them. I may either pull the stickers and set them aside or clear them over so they don't wear/smear.
You can see the rubber bushings on the top mount here, on a pillow mount, the rubber would be replaced by mounts that have a solid metal "ring" around the adjustment shaft:
Rear adjustment *****. They're on the side so you have to reach up and adjust them. Easy enough and you don't have to pull the shock to make an adjustment. Teins are the same now as well.
Top of front dampers
Lower mount eyelet bushing. There were some serious problems with some of the Korean/Taiwan makers concerning these bushings disintegrating. There's a big thread over on the RX8 forum. It's one of the many reasons I was ok spending more on quality components. I want something that's OEM build quality.
Preload collar on the fronts with cinch bolt
Adjustment tools
Specs. Thank god I can read kanji characters. I kid.
Blueprints with measurements
Directions
Stickers!
Everything comes pre-set for height and preload and I'll stick with those suggested settings for now. As is, I won't need a camber kit front or rear and I'd like to keep it that way. I can't go much lower than stock due to where I park at work and my steep driveway.
Last edited by Ape Factory; 07-02-2017 at 01:14 PM.
The following users liked this post:
blnewt (05-12-2016)
05-12-2016, 12:59 PM
#115
Registered User
Man, those are freaking sweet. And beautiful....
05-12-2016, 05:11 PM
#116
Wow, just Wow. Even that preload collar is balla! Nice to see up close the extra quality details that are missing from the mass produced Taiwan sets. At least my lower bushings are still good after 42k
What is the full drop range on these (with your current spring specs)?
What is the full drop range on these (with your current spring specs)?
05-12-2016, 06:12 PM
#118
I'm not sure what the max drop is but I think their recommended minimum is -35mm front and -30mm rear. But that could be for the stock suspension and OEM alignment. No reason why these wouldn't go lower. They'll also go higher than stock for those wanting the 4x4 look.
You're lucky on the bushings. Some of the RX8 guys running stance and Powertrix were shredding them in as little as 3k miles. And the replacements did the same thing!
You're lucky on the bushings. Some of the RX8 guys running stance and Powertrix were shredding them in as little as 3k miles. And the replacements did the same thing!
05-12-2016, 06:19 PM
#119
One issue I may have is I'm playing host for a Russian journalist which coincides with the few days I'd allotted to install them. I may be forced to install them this coming Monday to avoid working on the car while I have a foreign guest at my house. This would mean no shock dyno. Would be disappointing so I'm trying to come up with a plan B.
05-12-2016, 06:31 PM
#120
Here's plan B-1/2. I drive to S.A. and lend you my car. I take your car to that shop in Boerne and dyno the shocks and springs then have them install the Aragostas. I then return the car to you after a proper shakedown cruise on the Twisted Sisters.