Tein Basis vs. Koni adj. vs. Bilstein B16 (PSS10) vs. KW V3 for sedan?
 

My 13 G37S 6spd. has been on Tein Basis coilovers for a few years now and it rides decent on most roads and handles well on the track. The only exception is on some new roads that look smooth, but are bouncy. Here the car does bounce a bit more than normal- maybe not helped by the Hotchkis sway bars. These were really designed for the 370Z so I am sure the extra weight of my sedan is not ideal. I can adjust the height, but it is not independent of the spring pre-load like a good coilover so changing height also changes ride quality. I am wondering how the Koni and Bilstein options compare.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...6b50539b24.jpg


I had Koni inserts on a WRX before and they rode great on the street and were nicely adjustable for the track. The Koni shocks available are for the Z so there may be some sacrifice in ride quality and I believe I need to pick up a few extra parts to make them mount up. I would probably match them with H&R sedan springs and hope for the best. Anyone have these or have ideas?

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...35ad82d5f3.jpg


I have also heard good things about Bilstein. I like the fact that the B16 coilovers are adjustable and I can also adjust the height independent of the spring pre-load. The springs are matched to the shocks. It would also be nice to have a suspension that was designed for the sedan instead of trying to run a 370Z suspension on my sedan. The million dollar question is: How do they ride on new (bouncy) roads and other streets? Anyone have experience with these? There is no point in me upgrading if they ride just like the Tein Basis.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...8d93ae0877.jpg

The Koni shocks are a direct fit, you need only your spring of choice. Just note that the lower spring perch can be mounted upside down, which will effectively raise the height of the car if you mount it incorrectly.

I've been on Konis since August-14, so probably about 40,000 miles. I haven't had any issues, and I love the ride/handling. The downside is they suffer from droopy butt, but I'm not one to obsess over the perceived difference, and our cars have a natural droop anyway, although lowering it certainly exaggerates it.

Here is the thread I made when I installed them:

https://www.myg37.com/forums/g37-sed...-my-sedan.html


ReplicaR had the Konis and OE Sport shocks tested on a shock dyno. Good stuff in his thread here:

https://www.myg37.com/forums/build-t...tox-build.html

Lego, you mentioned in your thread that you may not be able to adjust the rears while on the car. Are you able to reach up there to adjust with the car on the ground? Does the sedan sag in the back regardless of spring? I thought that was just the Swift springs. Have you tracked your car at all with the Konis? How does it ride over newer bouncy roads? I don't mind it so much with my Teins, but my wife bounces around a bit.

I haven't tried to adjust the rears. In ReplicaR's thread, he mentions if you jack up the rear you can access the adjustment window.

I can't remember the thread, but Lobuzz311 took a bunch of measurements of a sedan at stock height the the rear was lower than the front. Swift's might be worse than others.

I haven't tracked my car. It rides fine over bumpy roads. I can't really think of a situation where there is more than one up/down compression, regardless of it's little bumps or elevation changes over a slightly more spread out distance. We have pretty good roads down here though, because we don't get the freeze/thaw cycles like up north.

Lego- I'm not worried about bumpy roads. The Tein Basis do ok on those. It's hard to explain, but I am referring to newly paved roads where the seams are not quite right and the road curls up just a bit at the seams. This causes most cars to bounce repetitively when they hit the seams and is amplified by the Teins. Normally, it would not be a huge issue, but the only two roads I can find like this in my area I have to take on my way to and from work every day. Gets a bit annoying after a while.

So I guess it would be a road that looks brand new, but you notice cars bouncing every time they go over a seam. How do the Konis do on those type of roads?

I can't help you here 4DR, I've never experienced my car bouncing, although I notice a lot of other cars that bounce up-down-up-down-up-down over bumps.

We either don't have roads like that; I'm not sensitive enough to notice; or the Koni's don't bounce.

I suspect both the Koni and Bilstein dampers are going to be better engineered than the Tein. When you look at the cost of the Basis vs just springs, you're looking at a <$200 set of dampers, or, about the cost of KYB replacement shocks.

There are only a handful of people on here that run Konis, me, BlackBetty (or at least he did), ReplicaR are all I know of. It's a more popular setup on the 370, you might get more feedback over there.

Bilsteins do NOT have preload separate from height adjustment. The MeisterR rep told me Germany's TUV (equivalent to our NHTSA) won't approve that for street applications. In addition, I don't see that feature in the photo. Furthermore, Bilstein uses progressive-rate springs.

Consider the MeisterR ZetaCRD. Quite a bit less compression damping than OE Sport dampers at low frequency for a really nice ride but better damping at higher frequencies and springs are a little bit stiffer than stock. Price is decent, too. When I bought mine, the ZetaCRD was the budget product at @$1k. They are now working on something in the $600 price range but I wouldn't buy those. You get what you pay for.

Thanks- you're right about the Bilsteins. A distributor told me they were height adjustable independent of spring load and I believed him. It almost looks like the Meister R coilovers are independently height adjustable with the 3rd collar. No?

I have never heard of Meister R coilovers before. The spring rate seems about the same as my Tein Basis, but they do have aluminum top hats compared to me using the factory top hats on Tein or Koni. My experience in the past with these types of coilovers is that they are pretty bouncy on the street. How long have you had them and how do they ride on the type of street I was talking about earlier- looks new, but bouncy on the seams? Have you ridden in a G with Tein Basis to compare? Thanks!

What about Aragosta or higher quality Teins?

I had Tein Flex coilovers on another car as well as a few other Japanese coilovers and they rode like garbage on the street. I was actually surprised how well the Tein Basis rode on the street, but they do still have the typical Japanese bounce on certain roads.

Most suspensions I have tried from Germany and Europe ride surprisingly well on the street. I'm not sure why, but that has been my experience.

The MeisterR are not "bouncy" if you set them soft. Firmest setting gets that way, though. I can say they are a definite handling improvement over stock, I picked up 8 mph through the carousel at Motorsports Ranch Houston, from exit speed of 75 mph to 83 mph with no other change to the suspension. The dampers were set full stiff and this is uncomfortably stiff on the street. I have them at 26 of 32 clicks, might go down a couple more clicks. These coil-overs are truly aimed at people who will sometimes track their car and have pretty good damping characteristics. Super-low hard parkers should look elsewhere.

Might also look at the Feal coilovers
Feal Coilovers | Feal Suspension, Inc. Race Proven Suspension Technology


I think H&R springs on the Konis would slam your G, those H&Rs seem to drop a lot lower than what their data lists, at least all that I've seen.

Might just be my application, but the monoflex is pretty nice. I've been able dial in the exact settings for differing road conditions with the EDFC.

AST is the manufacture for Aragostas from what I've read, so there is that.

Do you have a budget in mind? There are some great options with JRZ and Motons since you track.

But, you're right about the known staples like Bilstein, Koni, and Ohlins. They are a lot more consistent on the shock dyno than the Japanese popular brands.

So do you normally run them at soft on the street? Have you ridden in a G with Tein Basis on new roads that look flat, but are actually bouncy to compare?

Thanks for the heads up on H&R springs. Are you referring to these springs on a G? I know on a lot of other cars they offer a few options for springs and some of them are a major drop. What is your experience with Feal suspension?

I had those Teins on a car and they were ok on many roads, but pretty harsh on some. So have you ridden in a G with Tein Basis to compare? How do your monoflex ride on brand new roads that look smooth, but are actually bouncy at the seams.

I would like to stay under $2k if I do something, closer to $1k would be even better.

Thanks for all of the other ideas for suspension guys. I am really trying to find something that rides smoother than the Tein Basis on new roads that look smooth, but are actually bouncy over the seams. My Basis work really well for 90% of my driving otherwise.

Based on my past experience with Koni, I think they would probably ride the best on the street while still being able to be firmed up for the track. I just need to find springs that don't slam it or don't give the car a saggy butt.

I am skeptical to try other Asian coilovers as my experience in the past with Tein, JIC, HKS, Tanabe, Megan, BC, etc. is that they all were bouncy on the street. Are Japanese roads really that much smoother than ours? I thought it was just coilovers in general or ones with the solid aluminum top hats that made them bumpy on the street, but I have heard a lot of people rave about the ride of Bilstein and KW on the street.