well ive been noticing this more and more latly , everybody is getting adjustible coilovers , slamming the shit to the ground settign the fuckers to stiff and going wowzerz home doggie , my shitz be mad tight , i corner like a mofo, but what i dont understand is what makes these , stance, megan, k-sport, tein, jic, d2, kei-office so much better than say a set up such as Koni sports, with a eibach spring ? koni offers adjustable dampning/rebound, custom valving, and all that other cool jazz, and eibach will do custom spring rates for u, and if that isnt enough for u and u need adjutable height , u can just get a ground control adjustable spring that is made by eibach to whatever spring rate you would like , not to mention the effects that slamming these cars to the ground has on suspension geometry
so i just want to know why these chinese made and japanese made coilover set ups are so much better than these two companys that are used in every form of motor sport on this planet ? nascar, f1, champ, and the list goes on, theyve been around longer , have spent millions of dollars in r&d , and have proven wins and an amazing track record
IMO they are just as good. Most people buy coils because they look cool haha.
KYB even has a product called gear climb which is made for rally or autox. Very high quality, well developed products. Although adjustablitiy IS more limited. Most people have no clue what the hell they are adjusting when they turn knobs and spin mounts on their coilovers, they just think it’s mad JDM. In reality, coilovers are best suited to racers who race on different tracks frequently. The adjustability factors in due to different road conditions. This is where coilovers are best suited IMO.
I think a REALLY good street/general track setup is some springs and shocks, and a decent set of swaybars. Adjustability is limited, but the generality and ease of use goes way up to the general street tuner. It’s good for all kinds of terrain. And say you’ve got banked corners, you’ll wanna loosen the dampeners a bit, and you HAVE that option. It’s a good begginning-medium suspension platform.
i think it has to do with the fact that its an all in one system… no need to hussle and bussle with matching the correct springs with shocks with ground control, then source seperate camber adjusters, and this and that! … not to mention the cool JDM tyte factor which no one will admit but all think how JDM they would be if they had it! just my $0.03
after some research it seems that a spring/shock combo seems best for daily driving. but this isnt exactly my area of expertise, just a conclusion ive come to.
with an adjustable spring, can you adjust it like a coilover or is there a limited range of adjustment?
reason why i’m sticking with my coils are because its simple and i don’t have to source out different parts and research intensively on how I should set my rebound to and etc.
basically the way I see it is entry coilover setup is good for those just learning about suspension setups and don’t race for a living to need such badass equipment. Seems like coilovers are for just those enthusiasts that want the car to handle a lot better than stock and they want to do it all in one shot and not have to worry about anything else.
edit: it also seems that more drifters use coilovers and those who road race use spring/shock setup. I have yet to see professional drifters use shock/spring combo.
ok what is the actual difference between a spring/shock combo and coilovers… are not the suspension dynamics still the same? And doesn’t the advantage of coilovers lye in simply the ability to purchase an adjustable package.
If the physics are still the same between both then well simply what is the correct question u should be asking?
2 reasons why the bulk of people on this forum use them… they are stupid simple, they can’t screw them up… ( although some do try admirably to do so). The other is they are simple, lazy people don’t want to be cutting a strut, doing on the prep work and fitting for a KONI cut a strut , trying to figure out coil weights for they car. Most of these kids can barely pass thier next trig test never mind do actual math…
The only feature that makes a coil over worth while for 90% of these street driving monkeys, is the fact that ( provided they are lowered properly) the actual stanchion tube can be lowered in the mounting support. this maintains the full stroke length of the shock. This of course is vastly out weighted by the fact that all these slammed cars are driving with suspension geometries so far out of wack that camber, caster, roll center and even sway bar tensions are so far gone you might as well buy a lada… it rides better. I can tell who you clowns are too, on the why’s your cars are weaving all over becuse you have no caster angle and your riding on 15% of the inside rubber, or your plowin’ the streets and you go over a few slight bumps in the road that turn your ‘supa kun pro star drift mad tyte ride’ into a bad rerun of a low rider movie. bouncin’ along 100m after the initial bound/rebound event… it’s not cool, you look like a tard, you want to have a lowered car look for the street then do it right… a body kit and wheel flares do wonders to give the car the impression being dropped and you still maintain what little control your G1 brain has over the car. if your ACTUALLY racing then get the right components to move your linkages and steerer arms back to the proper positions.
most coilover listed ( with the exception of one or two) can’t hold a light to KONI’S valving and damping system And for the price of some Kei office, Cusco or HKS mid range coilovers you can order a set of 2 way, remote res. KONI race shocks ( the professional parts )… Which are miles beyond the consumer product listed above.
^^^ while you’re not wrong, you are still ignorant as hell for a man no better than the ‘monkeys’… so it doesnt matter if you are right.
even if you do get the Koni’s and the Ground controls you still have to get camber plates and you still dont have the adjustable lower bracket… then there is the added camber adjustment on most coilovers at the lower bracket. those are three key points of adjustment not available on the GC/Koni set up.
Then you have the hassle of having to buy 3-4 different components… it ends up being more expensive and since most of us, myself included, wouldnt truely be able to take full advantage of the Koni’s on the street or with mild track it doesnt make sense to put in all the extra work and money to do it.
get one simple system, coilovers, and you’re done. It’s one stop shopping with more features etc.
interestingly enough though, Bicknell Racing Products is manufacturing alot of my CNC work right now and i just found out that they are an authorised maufacturer for Penske damnpers… i already confirmed that i can have the shock body custom made without the lower eyelet on all the dirt track cars… so essentially, i can make my own coilover with Penske dampers… it shall be done
additionally, and obviously, alot of why we buy coilovers is for ‘looks’ or to fit the stereotypical style guide of ‘drift cars’
The Koni with GC coilovers, by not allowing the range of camber and height adjustment, dont allow one to set the stance of the car with virtually no wheel gap, slightly excessive negative camber, etc.
Considering how much some of us change wheels around i can say that i definately make full use of all of these adjustment features on my Stance coilovers.
When i had my 10" FN’s on the front i needed to adjust camber at the bracket to change the angle of the strut to the wheel… otherwise the wheel hit the coilovers. If i had the Koni’s i would not have been able to run those wheels up front without larger spacers.
Complain as much as you like, but looking the part will always be nearly as important as acting the part not just in import culture but in most subversive post-adolescent cultures.
the problem i see with most coils being used on the street is that the spring rates on them are wayy too high
typical shock/spring combo springrates are in the 250-350 lbs/in range
whereas your typical coilover setup is roughly around 450-550 lbs/in
550 lbs/in for a 2800lb car? excessive, imo.
once you get coilovers with springrates closer to those of a typical shock/spring combo, then it comes down to the damper design. things like piston size, valving characteristics and build quality…
coilovers are nice because of their wide range of adjustability (especially the fact that ride height is adjustable independent of spring preload). but, as already mentioned, this is worthless if you don’t know how to take advantage of it.
as far as quality…you can always opt for an established brand like Ohlins, Whiteline, or KW if you want the same peace of mind that a standalone Koni damper offers
Like everyone said, it’s all in one and simple and also, it let’s me slam my car.
I don’t car that I fucked up my suspension geometry, as long as the car looks good.
But honestly, I wouldn’t let the car be dangerous, it handles great, brakes great, corners great, etc why do I need it to handle better? And it looks good.
on macpherson systems, you gotta keep it relatively close to stock design height (forget the reasoning at the moment, but i know you have a short lowering window in terms of suspension geometry). i’d agree that if you were going for pure grip, a solid matched spring/absorber combo will be the best choice. some people on the board here will probably tell you that running coilovers will probably make things easier for drifting. i think it’s because the monotube lateral rigidity as well as a higher spring rate skyrockets our already good anti-squat characteristics. however, i have coilovers mainly because the adjustibility allows me to learn about rebound damping hands on.
if u use the car for one thing then spring shock combp is best but if ur going to differnt tracks and doing dif types of driving the adjustablity of coils will pay off. i never think a car should be “slammed”
