Not a fan of coilovers
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My friend got his VR6 Jetta back today. He got a paintjob, body kit, exhaust, intake, chip, rims and coilovers. He already had a few of those btw. Anways, the coilovers were very cool on the highway and newly paved roads, but they sucked on the back roads, where we both live. I was cringing.
I think my shocks and struts are just fine for now. Wheels and rubber are a different issue.
I think my shocks and struts are just fine for now. Wheels and rubber are a different issue.
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Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Huntington Beach, CA
Car Info: 03 Sonic Yellow WRX Sedan
I have KYB AGX's with Ground Control and 250/200 lb Eibach Springs w/ a 2"+ lift. First of all, the GC Perches get stuck and are impossible to adjust. For some reason, the ride in back is bumpy and jerky and noisy no matter where I set it at, but the front is PERFECT! The front is smooth and quiet, yet soaks up bumps like no other. The only difference I see is the spring rate and the top mount... can they be the reason why it sucks?
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maybe your KYB's are having trouble with the 2" lift ? When I first installed my GC/Koni set up, i ended up with the front of the car a little higher than stock.
AFter lowering it down to about 1.5" lower than stock, the ride in the front improved a lot !
I get some slight clunks on sharp speedbumps. You have to listen to really hear them. Other than that everything is quiet
I did wrap duct tape around the strut before sliding the GC sleeves over to ensure a SNUG fit.
The GC sleeves can be difficult to adjust.
Make sure that if you are doing the front, then you have BOTH front wheels off the ground. For the rear, make sure BOTH rear wheels are off the ground. If not then your sway bar is preventing the suspension from hanging down, keeping pressure on the spring, and making it difficult to adjust the collar.
I've got 280 lb up front and 250 in the rear. I will definitely need to put in new strut tops at some point. Without these it has somwhat of a jiggly ride at slow speeds. Kind of like what you feel riding in an empty pickup truck or moving van.
Car corners very flat and transitions very quickly left/right. Much better than stock. Ride is fine over most roads, but at speed ( 60MPH) on bumpy back roads it gets quite bumpy, whereas stock suspension floats over these roads.
G
AFter lowering it down to about 1.5" lower than stock, the ride in the front improved a lot !
I get some slight clunks on sharp speedbumps. You have to listen to really hear them. Other than that everything is quiet
I did wrap duct tape around the strut before sliding the GC sleeves over to ensure a SNUG fit.The GC sleeves can be difficult to adjust.
Make sure that if you are doing the front, then you have BOTH front wheels off the ground. For the rear, make sure BOTH rear wheels are off the ground. If not then your sway bar is preventing the suspension from hanging down, keeping pressure on the spring, and making it difficult to adjust the collar.
I've got 280 lb up front and 250 in the rear. I will definitely need to put in new strut tops at some point. Without these it has somwhat of a jiggly ride at slow speeds. Kind of like what you feel riding in an empty pickup truck or moving van.
Car corners very flat and transitions very quickly left/right. Much better than stock. Ride is fine over most roads, but at speed ( 60MPH) on bumpy back roads it gets quite bumpy, whereas stock suspension floats over these roads.
G
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From: Reno, NV
Car Info: 1993/2000/2001 GF4 mostly red
MPJ Performance can get you Tein Type Wagons for about $1000-1100 installed. They are located in Hayward. www.mpjperformance.com ask for Mike.
I'd have to disagree with Alex on several fronts on this (yeah, I know he answered a long time ago!)
You can achieve the desired rideheight easily by picking the right springs, so coilovers are not necessary at all. My main reason for not always steering a customer towards them is the compromise in ride quality you often get, as well as the associated noises. They are certainly not for everyone.
As for cornerweighting, you cannot cornerweight the setup unless it is dual height adjustable (adjustable lower bracket as well as spring perch). Otherwise, you are going to be altering rideheight from one wheel to the other.
Springs and shocks are not inferior at all IMHO....in many cases, they are superior, due to thicker pistons and better overall valving. Now, if we are talking the Tein RA, Cusco Zero 2, JIC FLTA2 range, then I agree, the coilover is superior to any spring and strut in terms of handling and adjustability, but a good spring and strut rivals the less expensive options out there IMHO.
As for the Wagon, yes the strut length differs slightly from sedan to wagon, but it really is not too great a concern when fitting coilovers, as the rideheight will always be dropped by around 1/2 inch regardless merely by installing a coilover. We have done the wagons on a sedan countless times, and it works like a very well set of matched springs and struts, that also happens to be height adjustable. The wagon really does not need a significantly (if at all) different spring rate than the sedan, as the weight difference is minimal.
Adam
You can achieve the desired rideheight easily by picking the right springs, so coilovers are not necessary at all. My main reason for not always steering a customer towards them is the compromise in ride quality you often get, as well as the associated noises. They are certainly not for everyone.
As for cornerweighting, you cannot cornerweight the setup unless it is dual height adjustable (adjustable lower bracket as well as spring perch). Otherwise, you are going to be altering rideheight from one wheel to the other.
Springs and shocks are not inferior at all IMHO....in many cases, they are superior, due to thicker pistons and better overall valving. Now, if we are talking the Tein RA, Cusco Zero 2, JIC FLTA2 range, then I agree, the coilover is superior to any spring and strut in terms of handling and adjustability, but a good spring and strut rivals the less expensive options out there IMHO.
As for the Wagon, yes the strut length differs slightly from sedan to wagon, but it really is not too great a concern when fitting coilovers, as the rideheight will always be dropped by around 1/2 inch regardless merely by installing a coilover. We have done the wagons on a sedan countless times, and it works like a very well set of matched springs and struts, that also happens to be height adjustable. The wagon really does not need a significantly (if at all) different spring rate than the sedan, as the weight difference is minimal.
Adam
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 201
From: Somerville MASS
Originally posted by teiva-boy
Alex, the problem though with coilovers is cost. Although it's cool to set it and forget it and it should be thought of that way... Is it really worth it to pay a few hundred dollars or more for something you may never need?
Although a different person would say that it's better to have and not need then to need and not have
Alex, the problem though with coilovers is cost. Although it's cool to set it and forget it and it should be thought of that way... Is it really worth it to pay a few hundred dollars or more for something you may never need?
Although a different person would say that it's better to have and not need then to need and not have
There is NO comparison to how a car on a decent set of coilovers handles compared to a shock/strut/sping type.
you can stick with your struts, but the coils WILL outhandle them by a mile
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