Koni Yellow/Springs vs. Coilover
11-01-2009, 04:05 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: CA
Posts: 26
Koni Yellow/Springs vs. Coilover
Anyone have any good (read, real world) experience with coilovers (KW, H&R, Tein, etc.) and if they are worth the upgrade?
I run D-SPecs and Steeda Sport springs now, and they are pretty nice, but I figured I would step it up and was thinking about coilovers. I like the adjustability of the D-Specs (can be picky about feel), but it doesn't quite hit the sweet spot I am looking for. Either the rear gets too floaty mid-corner, or the right gets quite harsh.
I am looking for a smooth, controlled, confidence inspiring ride that takes corners well. Not so concerned about corner-weighting or getting 10/10ths out of the suspension (it is a street car, after all), but would most likely be willing to pony up the extra cash if I could feel the difference.
One thing I like about the Teins is the EDFC and being able to control settings from inside the car. Having a "wife mode" is really appealing to me. I also keep hearing good things about the H&Rs and KWs (which is why they were listed).
Anyway, just curious if anyone has any hands-on experience with coilovers to say if they are worth the extra money.
I run D-SPecs and Steeda Sport springs now, and they are pretty nice, but I figured I would step it up and was thinking about coilovers. I like the adjustability of the D-Specs (can be picky about feel), but it doesn't quite hit the sweet spot I am looking for. Either the rear gets too floaty mid-corner, or the right gets quite harsh.
I am looking for a smooth, controlled, confidence inspiring ride that takes corners well. Not so concerned about corner-weighting or getting 10/10ths out of the suspension (it is a street car, after all), but would most likely be willing to pony up the extra cash if I could feel the difference.
One thing I like about the Teins is the EDFC and being able to control settings from inside the car. Having a "wife mode" is really appealing to me. I also keep hearing good things about the H&Rs and KWs (which is why they were listed).
Anyway, just curious if anyone has any hands-on experience with coilovers to say if they are worth the extra money.
11-01-2009, 08:47 PM
#2
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location:
Posts: 163
Go to groundcontrol.com ! I had a set of the H@R coilovers ..(lol) I had spring sag and one blew out ! ..there garbage in my book ...Tein is for drifting thats what there set up for I wouldnt think of them as a good road racing company. KW is good stuff but I dont like the dual progressive spring set up ...It rides real nice then stiffens up to quickly , kinda like an off and on switch.
I have the ground control set up and for the money there's nothing better , custom springs and valving for you, also the housings are shorten so you can lets say set it at 1.25 or 1.5 lower than factory and keep all your travel.
I have the ground control set up and for the money there's nothing better , custom springs and valving for you, also the housings are shorten so you can lets say set it at 1.25 or 1.5 lower than factory and keep all your travel.
11-01-2009, 10:16 PM
#3
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: CALI
Posts: 667
Well thats the good thing about coilovers. The adjustability. I love my Tein Flex. I havent tried out a damper/spring combo so I cant say how much better it is. The EDFC is probably the best thing out there. More companies nowadays are putting it in their lineup of cars for cruising/sport mode. IE. M3, GTR, etc.
11-01-2009, 11:07 PM
#4
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: CA
Posts: 26
The thing is though, those are just coilover sleeves on Koni yellows. I could get the yellows and springs and save about $500. Sure, I couldn't cross-weight, but that isn't a big deal to me anyway. Would the coilover kits really make much of a difference?
11-02-2009, 11:27 AM
#6
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location:
Posts: 163
If you cant even read whats on the site you need to stay away from coilovers !
11-02-2009, 12:07 PM
#7
Former Sponsor
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,936
Ground Control's Advanced Designs are no good. In fact I'd call them junk. As for modifiying Koni's--shortening, etc frankly there is no need. The front has not issues with lack of travel and any in the rear has nothing to do with the length of the damper.
I sell KW, H&R, Eibach, Koni, D-specs, Steeda, and a lot of others--except TEIN because it's not IMHO very good. I don't care if they are "in car adjustable" or not, because if the valving isn't great it's not good anyway. Stiffer and softer doesn't necessarily equate to better control, or more taut reactions. The idea is to control the car, not turn it into a skateboard. Shocks are dampers, and that's why they are to do, damp. Japanese dampers as a whole just aren't great. D-specs are actually better than a lot of much higher dollar setups from Japan.
I like the Koni Sports better. That's no secret. Will you notice a difference? I think so, I did. So have a few others on this site (Kobie, Bob Kwaitkowski--who goes under a different screen name I can't recall) who've swapped from D-spec to Koni Sports.
You don't seem to mention any reason why I think you'd want an actually adjustable height coil-over that I can see. But if you were doing to change to one, I'd do KW Variant 3's over any of the H&R's that have no damping adjustment at all.
Here's what I'd do:
Koni fronts are still on national backorder, so you can't really swap to those right now anyway. Seems you are happy with the spring height. I think you are using the shock damping to make the car more taut in roll. I think you have two good options.
1. Wait and slap Koni Sports on it (the rears are available now if you want to do that). They will give better control without being as "skippy" as the D-specs at a similar rebound setting.
2. Do a set of better balances swaybars. The car will roll less, react more directly and with better balance to your inputs. That might well allow you to take some of the shock damping you've been trying to run to make the car more taut, back out.
I'd be happy to discuss options with you, this sort of thing is what I do with customers. I would ask some questions because I'd want to see if it's a pure damping issue, or if it's a combination balance and response issue that you are trying to adjust solely with damping.
Anyway, if you want some help--just give me a call @ 814-849-3450. I certainly don't think we need to look at coil-overs. In fact I think we might be able to fix you up for much less.
I sell KW, H&R, Eibach, Koni, D-specs, Steeda, and a lot of others--except TEIN because it's not IMHO very good. I don't care if they are "in car adjustable" or not, because if the valving isn't great it's not good anyway. Stiffer and softer doesn't necessarily equate to better control, or more taut reactions. The idea is to control the car, not turn it into a skateboard. Shocks are dampers, and that's why they are to do, damp. Japanese dampers as a whole just aren't great. D-specs are actually better than a lot of much higher dollar setups from Japan.
I like the Koni Sports better. That's no secret. Will you notice a difference? I think so, I did. So have a few others on this site (Kobie, Bob Kwaitkowski--who goes under a different screen name I can't recall) who've swapped from D-spec to Koni Sports.
You don't seem to mention any reason why I think you'd want an actually adjustable height coil-over that I can see. But if you were doing to change to one, I'd do KW Variant 3's over any of the H&R's that have no damping adjustment at all.
Here's what I'd do:
Koni fronts are still on national backorder, so you can't really swap to those right now anyway. Seems you are happy with the spring height. I think you are using the shock damping to make the car more taut in roll. I think you have two good options.
1. Wait and slap Koni Sports on it (the rears are available now if you want to do that). They will give better control without being as "skippy" as the D-specs at a similar rebound setting.
2. Do a set of better balances swaybars. The car will roll less, react more directly and with better balance to your inputs. That might well allow you to take some of the shock damping you've been trying to run to make the car more taut, back out.
I'd be happy to discuss options with you, this sort of thing is what I do with customers. I would ask some questions because I'd want to see if it's a pure damping issue, or if it's a combination balance and response issue that you are trying to adjust solely with damping.
Anyway, if you want some help--just give me a call @ 814-849-3450. I certainly don't think we need to look at coil-overs. In fact I think we might be able to fix you up for much less.
11-03-2009, 11:31 AM
#9
Former Sponsor
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,936
Thank you... I'm always learning, and firmly believe that competiting makes for better knowledge because the car gets pushed harder, more often, and more to the limit than anyone can (including myself) on the street. A lot of things that work for autox work on the street too since we are both looking for balance, grip and to work with bumps. I don't do the same setup for a full blown autox car vs. a daily driver, but a lot of the information and parts do translate.
If you have questions, you guys (and gals) should feel free to call me on my tech-line @ 814-849-3450.
If you have questions, you guys (and gals) should feel free to call me on my tech-line @ 814-849-3450.
