Advice on coilovers
Knowing what I know now, even if you plan to not go beyond a reasonable drop such as eibach, I would still recommend Tein coils since that's what I have experience with. I initially installed the tanabe because I wanted a minimal drop and had never driven a lowered car. Was happy with the height for a little while but there was no improvement in reducing body roll and the ride actually got bouncier over rough pavement. I switched to eibach because I wanted the front to be lower and in hope that it would get rid of the bouncy ride since many stated that they saw an improvement in performance. it helped the ride height but did nothing for ride quality/performance. Let's say that I was satisfied with my ride height at this point, there's still the issue with ride quality issue. The only way to fix that is with coils that offer better spring rate and damping adjustment. I didn't do Tanabe coils because they only offered height adjustment and many reported they were too soft and ride quality suffered quite a bit the lower you went. I wrote off BC/Megan because of the rattle issues many have mentioned. The KW3s are regarded by many as one of the best systems you can get but for a bit over 2K it wasn't worth it for my need. Tein on the other hand offers great quality fully adjustable coils at a more reasonable price starting with the SSP. The fact that they can be paired with edfc adds "cool" points.
The first thing I noticed after installing the coils with the recommended factory damping setting was how much better the car felt. Considerably less body roll and a much smoother ride even though I'm now riding lower than before. Going with coils will give the OP or anyone for that matter the better performance and ride quality even in everyday driving that simply can't be matched by springs. And if you should ever decide that you want to adjust ride height, you have the option.
^^^ Very eloquently stated sir! You speak truth.
To add an analogy, it's kind of like choosing wheels and tires. Any set of low quality cast wheels and a set of crappy tires will roll your car from point A to point B. But choosing to go beyond that and buy a set of attractive, lighter weight, better manufactured forged wheels and a set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires is more rewarding. Are they absolutely necessary to drive your car? Nope. Overkill for some people's needs or budgets? Definitely. But there's little doubt that it's a better choice for a number of reasons.
To add an analogy, it's kind of like choosing wheels and tires. Any set of low quality cast wheels and a set of crappy tires will roll your car from point A to point B. But choosing to go beyond that and buy a set of attractive, lighter weight, better manufactured forged wheels and a set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires is more rewarding. Are they absolutely necessary to drive your car? Nope. Overkill for some people's needs or budgets? Definitely. But there's little doubt that it's a better choice for a number of reasons.
I totally understand where you're coming from. This will turn into a long winded answer but here goes Knowing what I know now, even if you plan to not go beyond a reasonable drop such as eibach, I would still recommend Tein coils since that's what I have experience with. I initially installed the tanabe because I wanted a minimal drop and had never driven a lowered car. Was happy with the height for a little while but there was no improvement in reducing body roll and the ride actually got bouncier over rough pavement. I switched to eibach because I wanted the front to be lower and in hope that it would get rid of the bouncy ride since many stated that they saw an improvement in performance. it helped the ride height but did nothing for ride quality/performance.
Let's say that I was satisfied with my ride height at this point, there's still the issue with ride quality issue. The only way to fix that is with coils that offer better spring rate and damping adjustment. I didn't do Tanabe coils because they only offered height adjustment and many reported they were too soft and ride quality suffered quite a bit the lower you went. I wrote off BC/Megan because of the rattle issues many have mentioned. The KW3s are regarded by many as one of the best systems you can get but for a bit over 2K it wasn't worth it for my need. Tein on the other hand offers great quality fully adjustable coils at a more reasonable price starting with the SSP. The fact that they can be paired with edfc adds "cool" points.
The first thing I noticed after installing the coils with the recommended factory damping setting was how much better the car felt. Considerably less body roll and a much smoother ride even though I'm now riding lower than before. Going with coils will give the OP or anyone for that matter the better performance and ride quality even in everyday driving that simply can't be matched by springs. And if you should ever decide that you want to adjust ride height, you have the option.
Knowing what I know now, even if you plan to not go beyond a reasonable drop such as eibach, I would still recommend Tein coils since that's what I have experience with. I initially installed the tanabe because I wanted a minimal drop and had never driven a lowered car. Was happy with the height for a little while but there was no improvement in reducing body roll and the ride actually got bouncier over rough pavement. I switched to eibach because I wanted the front to be lower and in hope that it would get rid of the bouncy ride since many stated that they saw an improvement in performance. it helped the ride height but did nothing for ride quality/performance. Let's say that I was satisfied with my ride height at this point, there's still the issue with ride quality issue. The only way to fix that is with coils that offer better spring rate and damping adjustment. I didn't do Tanabe coils because they only offered height adjustment and many reported they were too soft and ride quality suffered quite a bit the lower you went. I wrote off BC/Megan because of the rattle issues many have mentioned. The KW3s are regarded by many as one of the best systems you can get but for a bit over 2K it wasn't worth it for my need. Tein on the other hand offers great quality fully adjustable coils at a more reasonable price starting with the SSP. The fact that they can be paired with edfc adds "cool" points.
The first thing I noticed after installing the coils with the recommended factory damping setting was how much better the car felt. Considerably less body roll and a much smoother ride even though I'm now riding lower than before. Going with coils will give the OP or anyone for that matter the better performance and ride quality even in everyday driving that simply can't be matched by springs. And if you should ever decide that you want to adjust ride height, you have the option.
^^^ Very eloquently stated sir! You speak truth.
To add an analogy, it's kind of like choosing wheels and tires. Any set of low quality cast wheels and a set of crappy tires will roll your car from point A to point B. But choosing to go beyond that and buy a set of attractive, lighter weight, better manufactured forged wheels and a set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires is more rewarding. Are they absolutely necessary to drive your car? Nope. Overkill for some people's needs or budgets? Definitely. But there's little doubt that it's a better choice for a number of reasons.
To add an analogy, it's kind of like choosing wheels and tires. Any set of low quality cast wheels and a set of crappy tires will roll your car from point A to point B. But choosing to go beyond that and buy a set of attractive, lighter weight, better manufactured forged wheels and a set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires is more rewarding. Are they absolutely necessary to drive your car? Nope. Overkill for some people's needs or budgets? Definitely. But there's little doubt that it's a better choice for a number of reasons.
Gotcha, well said Soolman and BB. Still unsure if I would drop that kind of money if I ONLY planned to lower 1.2f and 0.8R. I have been in a car with Eibachs and it is pretty close to stock. In the end it really depends on what you want to get out of a suspension mod. I switched from H&R's to TEIN Flex w/EDFC, I love it but where I feel I started to notice the big change was with aftermarket sways and strut bars. TEIN is the way to go in my opinion as well. Thanks for your opinions on this issue, it has helped me understand where you are coming from.
Just hoping to save OP from doing what a lot of us have done: Try desperately to convince ourselves that we only want to spend a little and will be happy with a simple drop on springs, only to go back a few months later and have to do a second install when we upgrade to coilovers. You know what I'm talking about. 
Raise your hand if you have done that and wished you'd just saved up and gotten coilovers to begin with!
Raise your hand if you have done that and wished you'd just saved up and gotten coilovers to begin with!
Last edited by Black Betty; Jan 2, 2012 at 11:58 AM. Reason: typo
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 167
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From: Toronto, Ontario
Springs:
Pros - set height so you know what your getting, no fuss, easier installation
Cons - zero adjustability, shock wear is faster, OEM shocks are not tuned for the spring rate and lower ride height.
Coilovers:
Pros - Adjustability across the board ie: dampening, height, preload. You can fine tune them to your specific prefrence (not everyone likes it stiff, some like more understeer, some like more oversteer, some like more rake in the front etc...) Corner balance is so important and IMHO and is a must after alignment!!! this like tuning your engine after boosting, you need to tune your new height to get full potential and benefits!
Cons - overall costs (install, alignment, corner balance) wear and tear, threads can seize after time.
I've had alot of combos before ie: Ground Controls/Koni, Tein Flex, Skunk2, Eibach/OEM Shocks, GAB, HSD... Springs may work for you if your a real casual daily driver that is only interested in looks, if your into performance I guarantee you'll want more eventually!
IMHO if your gonna spend 2k on rims and tires, you should at least spend 1k+ on suspension and that's at least 1k!!!!
Good luck! do it right the first time!!!! unless you have deep pockets or are a mechanic lol!
Pros - set height so you know what your getting, no fuss, easier installation
Cons - zero adjustability, shock wear is faster, OEM shocks are not tuned for the spring rate and lower ride height.
Coilovers:
Pros - Adjustability across the board ie: dampening, height, preload. You can fine tune them to your specific prefrence (not everyone likes it stiff, some like more understeer, some like more oversteer, some like more rake in the front etc...) Corner balance is so important and IMHO and is a must after alignment!!! this like tuning your engine after boosting, you need to tune your new height to get full potential and benefits!
Cons - overall costs (install, alignment, corner balance) wear and tear, threads can seize after time.
I've had alot of combos before ie: Ground Controls/Koni, Tein Flex, Skunk2, Eibach/OEM Shocks, GAB, HSD... Springs may work for you if your a real casual daily driver that is only interested in looks, if your into performance I guarantee you'll want more eventually!
IMHO if your gonna spend 2k on rims and tires, you should at least spend 1k+ on suspension and that's at least 1k!!!!
Good luck! do it right the first time!!!! unless you have deep pockets or are a mechanic lol!
^^^ Very eloquently stated sir! You speak truth.
To add an analogy, it's kind of like choosing wheels and tires. Any set of low quality cast wheels and a set of crappy tires will roll your car from point A to point B. But choosing to go beyond that and buy a set of attractive, lighter weight, better manufactured forged wheels and a set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires is more rewarding. Are they absolutely necessary to drive your car? Nope. Overkill for some people's needs or budgets? Definitely. But there's little doubt that it's a better choice for a number of reasons.
To add an analogy, it's kind of like choosing wheels and tires. Any set of low quality cast wheels and a set of crappy tires will roll your car from point A to point B. But choosing to go beyond that and buy a set of attractive, lighter weight, better manufactured forged wheels and a set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires is more rewarding. Are they absolutely necessary to drive your car? Nope. Overkill for some people's needs or budgets? Definitely. But there's little doubt that it's a better choice for a number of reasons.
Just hoping to save OP from doing what a lot of us have done: Try desperately to convince ourselves that we only want to spend a little and will be happy with a simple drop on springs, only to go back a few months later and have to do a second install when we upgrade to coilovers. You know what I'm talking about.
Raise your hand if you have done that and wished you'd just saved up and gotten coilovers to begin with!
Raise your hand if you have done that and wished you'd just saved up and gotten coilovers to begin with!
My dad always told me "do it right the first time, and it won't have to bed done again."
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 12,173
Likes: 244
From: Doha, Qatar
It really comes down to this, what is your ultimate objective?
Just a drop (plainly aesthetics) with minimal change in ride handling/comfort => Eibach Springs
If you can justify spending 8-10x the price on KW's then by all means. Do you plan on having a setup that looks like this?
It's like going with a twin turbo kit when your hp goals are 300whp.. sorry didn't mean to offend any of the posers with my post
Just a drop (plainly aesthetics) with minimal change in ride handling/comfort => Eibach Springs
If you can justify spending 8-10x the price on KW's then by all means. Do you plan on having a setup that looks like this?
It's like going with a twin turbo kit when your hp goals are 300whp.. sorry didn't mean to offend any of the posers with my post
Go with coilovers .. I had springs and just didnt have the ability to adjust the ride height to my liking .. Picking a coilover can be very frustrating .. I had tein on my is 350 .. I had jic and tanabe on my Z . Megan and BC now on my G .. There are pros and cons to each one .. I can say that the Megans for the price and what they offer is hands down the best .. I just sold my Megan coils for some BC with swift springs ... Wish I did not do that ...
Gotcha, well said Soolman and BB. Still unsure if I would drop that kind of money if I ONLY planned to lower 1.2f and 0.8R. I have been in a car with Eibachs and it is pretty close to stock. In the end it really depends on what you want to get out of a suspension mod. I switched from H&R's to TEIN Flex w/EDFC, I love it but where I feel I started to notice the big change was with aftermarket sways and strut bars. TEIN is the way to go in my opinion as well. Thanks for your opinions on this issue, it has helped me understand where you are coming from.
Just hoping to save OP from doing what a lot of us have done: Try desperately to convince ourselves that we only want to spend a little and will be happy with a simple drop on springs, only to go back a few months later and have to do a second install when we upgrade to coilovers. You know what I'm talking about.
Raise your hand if you have done that and wished you'd just saved up and gotten coilovers to begin with!
Raise your hand if you have done that and wished you'd just saved up and gotten coilovers to begin with!
Here's a for wishing i did coils right away and another for rushing into cheaper cast wheels because I just had to have 20s and "3K + for lighter forged wheels is just ridiculous. I mean who does that" Those are my words that I'm now eating. That's another story for another time OP_ If you care about performance
Go with coilovers .. I had springs and just didnt have the ability to adjust the ride height to my liking .. Picking a coilover can be very frustrating .. I had tein on my is 350 .. I had jic and tanabe on my Z . Megan and BC now on my G .. There are pros and cons to each one .. I can say that the Megans for the price and what they offer is hands down the best .. I just sold my Megan coils for some BC with swift springs ... Wish I did not do that ...
It really comes down to this, what is your ultimate objective?
Just a drop (plainly aesthetics) with minimal change in ride handling/comfort => Eibach Springs
If you can justify spending 8-10x the price on KW's then by all means. Do you plan on having a setup that looks like this?
It's like going with a twin turbo kit when your hp goals are 300whp.. sorry didn't mean to offend any of the posers with my post
Just a drop (plainly aesthetics) with minimal change in ride handling/comfort => Eibach Springs
If you can justify spending 8-10x the price on KW's then by all means. Do you plan on having a setup that looks like this?
It's like going with a twin turbo kit when your hp goals are 300whp.. sorry didn't mean to offend any of the posers with my post
