Im in need of a set of adjustable coilovers, and Id like to know what will be good for my setup and what I will be using it for. I will be running CCW 18x10s with 285/30r18 on all 4 corners. RB F+R anti-swaybars, and raceshop 4-pt rollbar. Car is mainly a street toy, but I do occasional drag and track racing ( nothing competitive). So I basically want a good all around setup with a good reputation of reliability. What should I be looking for as far as spring rates and shock design? Will 8/6 be too soft or should I be leaning more toward 10/8? Thanks in advance.

 

all around = not particularly good at anything

drag you want soft
street you want soft
autox and track you want hard

this kind of thing is very subjective. imo best thing to do is to go for a ride with some locals with different coilovers and see what you like.

 

How's it going Lenny?

If you really want coilovers for your use, I would recommend the following:

Silkroads (10/8)
Tein Flex (10/8)
Zeal Function X or Xs (9/8)

Give Rishie a call at Auto RnD for forum deals....

 

Thanks Tyler. Out of those, which would be your choice?

aznpoopy: I realize something thats good at everything cant be the best at anything, but there is going to be some middle ground compromise somewhere. But they do make drag/drift specific coilovers, which I assume would be worse at the other tasks than an all-around setup.

 

just as an example

i have silkroad/section rma8s... 8/7 kg/mm rate on a s14... i doubt they would be very good for drag. even with my weak n/a ka24de (150hp 150tq) motor i can spin the rears (new falkens) easily in first, in the dry if i jab the throttle half way. probably not ideal for drag racing... especially for a FD.

i also don't find them particularly comfortable for daily. the dampering doesn't really kill oscillations until you get into 7 or 8 clicks on an 8 click adjustment range... and at 7 clicks silkroad would be better named rocky-lower-back-pain-road. at 5 its okay, but bounces a bit after hitting bumps which annoys me. 10/8 would (naturally) be harsher.

its too subjective... there are plenty of ppl who are more 'hardcore' and rock much harsher spring rates and don't mind it at all... it also depends on how you drive. that's why imo you should really see if you can take a ride with some people before you commit to anything. try before you buy is always better, right?

i don't know how the roads out by you are, but imo a good compromise for daily, drag and autox would be something with a good shock and a slightly stiffer than stock spring... maybe a 6/5 or 7/6 kg/mm F/R. maybe koni or bilsteins with g/c sleeves and custom spring rates.

just my 2 cents; good luck

 

Well, I'm running Zeal Function B6s if that tells you anything...

However, they cost an *** load. I happened to work out a nice deal with Rishie on the Zeals, otherwise I would have gone with the Tein Flex.

I forgot to add to my first post that the Silkroads are cheap, the Flex reasonably priced, and the Zeals are expensive. Zeals and Flex are rebuildable in the US with a quick turn-around and reasonable prices. Don't underestimate the value of that!

 

just adding to that silkroad/section have virtually zero servicibility in the states afaik

 

Thanks guys, I think Ive decided on the Tein flex. They look like they will give good adjustability and the 10/8 rates are probably what I am looking for. I dont think I can justify the costs of the Zeals for what I am going to be using them for. I sent Rishie an email to see what he can do for me.

 

Koni sports w/ground control kit.........good all around. Also rebuildable and tunable should you decide to concnetrate your efforts.

Cheers

 

Forgot.....springs......550/450.......great set up. street, track, autocross.

 

Thats close to my old setup, Koni yellows with RSR race springs. I actually did decide to go with the Zeal Function Xs since I got a great deal from the from AutoRnD. Ill post a review once installed.

 

My street setup (I'm a Newbie):

Suspension & Exhaust:
ADR Kasai wheels, front 18x8; rear 18x9 w/Hub Centric Rings
Toyo T1’Proxes tires
TEIN Type FLEX Damper Coilover (2/2005)
HKS Super draeger cat-back exhaust with Bonez hi-flo
Catalytic converter.
Front Sway bar end links (7/2006)
Front & Rear Racing Beat Sway Bar (7/2006)
with special white bracket (7/2006)
18 piece Delrin Blushing (front, rear & diff.) (7/2006)
6 Pillow blushing for the rear (7/2006)

R1 Front tower strut brace (9/2005)
Gotham Racing Urethane Motor Mounts (7/2006)
Engine Damper (7/2006)

4 Wheel Alignment & Speed Balance all tires (7/2006)

It ROCKs ...LOL

 

Got them in the other day, man these things look good. Can't wait to get everything together



And a little pic with the CCWs:

 

What did you get? Those don't look like Tein's.

 

Zeal Function Xs , read my reply to SHPNOUT above. Got a great deal from Rishie so decided to go with these. Spring rates are 9/8

http://www.autornd.com/catalog/produ...fe38ad60e27d82

 

I am really interested to know how everything fits. I just orderd some tein flex's last week and oddly enough I am seriously considering some 18x10 ccw's as my next wheel setup (not your model though so dont worry ) Just curious how everything will fit with coilovers.

Jonathan

 

You shouldnt have any issues. The 18x10 + 50 with 285/30 is a fairly widely used setup, but you do need to be running coilovers for the smaller OD spring clearance. My previous setup was 18x9.5s with 265/35 all around, and running Koni Yellows set on middle perch with RSR race springs (447lb/391lb , approx 8/7 -kg/mm), and I had no issues with rubbing. The 285/30 is wider, but approximately .6" shorter than my old setup, and .2" shorter than stock.

 

Very nice Lenny....too bad Zeal doesn't use the clearcoated chromoly anymore....I think you'll be surprised when you get them installed. Pleasantly.

 

Is this with or without fender liners

 

goddamn those functions look sexy
not your everyday coilover

 

With liners. I would never run my car without liners.

 

man you dropped some serious cheese on those wheels/tires/coilovers! you mind posting how much those ccw's/tires cost you?

 

I picked the CCWs w/tires up slightly used, so that saved me some cash from buying new. Paid ~$2600

 

Hey Rxmfn7...I've recently bought a set of Function X coil-overs for my R2. My setup is similar: 18x10 CCW, RaceShop bar, etc. However, I'm been absolutely stunned at how soft the dampers are. I've cranked them up to the max but the car feels like it's running on the same tired old 100K mile suspension I just replaced. Way softer than the TEIN or GAB cars I've ridden in. The X are 11kg/10kg, +2 over the Xs. I'm at a loss. Over large, low-frequency bumps the car gets totally out of shape. The porpoise effect causes the car to yaw out of the turn and then back into it. If you do it at high enough speed it's really scary.

To be clear: I'm not a hard suspension junkie. The Apex'i and other track-only stuff is ridiculous. With the Function X I was shooting for a very streetable setup similar to my STi or an M3 and expected to run it at 20-50% stiffness on the street. But what I got was way, WAY softer than expected even at the highest settings--to the point that I'm worried something is broken.

So for comparison I'm curious what you think of your setup. Would you say that it's soft, hard, or just right?

Anyone else with ZEALs care to characterize the ride compared to other streetable setups?

(I attached a pic of the installed front assembly for those who haven't seen a Function X before. The yellow/blue is a bit flashy for me, but if I can get it to work right I don't really care.)

-ch

 

Unfortuntely mine arent installed yet, but shoot a PM to Rynberg as he is running a set of Zeals also. Did you buy yours new or used? Can you feel a difference at all by adjusting the shock dampening? Did you do any adjustment to the coils, and if so, are you sure you have the spring preload set correctly, and/or arent running the ride height out of the shock dampening range?