So I just want to do a little review on my current setup and the difference the sway bars make. I have a 2009 S coupe with a little over 100k miles on the car so the suspension was getting a bit loose. I started out with the Truhart coilovers on my G37S coupe since I wanted to drop my car a bit and give it a lowered stance. I’m about 2” drop on front and back (just an estimate as I didn’t measure). I definitely had to make some adjustments as far as fender liner and stuff goes since I’m running spacers and 275 rear tires on the stock wheels.

Anyways, these are budget coilovers for you guys who may not be familiar. I do know that you get what you pay for, and there’s many people who would hate on them. I’m also a 24 year old who is fresh out of college with some debt. 😅 I paid about $600 for the coilovers and ended up installing 3/4 of them on my own. Let’s just say the fronts were a PITA and I had some issue on one corner that made me start up again the next day. Brought it to the shop so they could do the front left and the rears were easy enough to do on my own.

Let’s go over the ride. Being low was definitely something to get used to as this was the first time I have had a lowered vehicle. The handling was much better and it got rid of some of the terrible body roll that I had before. I felt a bit more vibration from the roads and potholes. I live in San Francisco where the roads are pretty good for the most part, but somehow there are random potholes everywhere. The main thing I noticed with these coilovers were that they were pretty bouncy. Nothing too crazy but I would notice if I was going on a longer curve like a freeway entrance, that I would bounce noticeably and especially if there were large cracks/lines or dips in the road. It wasn’t terrible but if I was going at slightly faster speed i could see it causing a problem (lose control)

.

Moving onto the Hotchkis sway bars. I just installed them this weekend on my front and rear with the middle setting in the back. If you’re not familiar, the hotchkis rear bar has 3 different hole settings with different stiffnesses. These sways were noticeably heavier and thicker than the OEM ones. I was too focused on the install that I didn’t take any photos. Install was not too bad as I had lifted the car on jacks and went underneath it. Took about 3 hrs by myself.

Once I took the car for a drive into some nice curvy roads, I instantly felt the difference. My bouncy coilovers were no longer bouncy and I was PLANTED. I was going through corners much more comfortable than before with almost zero body roll. My friend and I drove up to Woodside through the hills and up to Alice’s if anyone’s familiar. The handling of my car felt perfect and I really did feel like I was in a racecar (slight exaggeration). I was leading the way through these curves while my friend in an E46 M3 noticed how good the G was handling.

I know this was a lot and I just want to finish this off with my moral of this review… the budget Truhart coilovers and the Hotchkis sway bars is great $1000 suspension upgrade for anyone like myself. I know there’s better and more expensive stuff out there… but sometimes there’s a few bucks to save.

Thank you for reading!


After installing the coilovers (about 6 months and 7k miles ago)

This weekend after installing Hotchkis

The line up… black is beautiful 😈

 

I was thinking about trying those coils. Would you recommend or go with something better?

 

If you’re on a budget, I def would recommend them. I love this combo! Obviously I haven’t had any other setups but it’s perfect for me! Also rides pretty dang good! Just my opinion!

 

Budget coilovers are usually under dampened and over sprung for that "tight no body roll" feel and that's what contributes to the bounciness. If you wanna get rid of them and don't mind the harshness try tighten the rebound up a bit.