This is me looking at coilovers and their prices.

"YSI-what can brown do for you" (ysi-what-can-brown-do-for-you)
11/07/2013 at 03:56 • Filed to: None

Those little puppies will cost me nearly 4k. Why do all the good things have to be expensive? Also anyone got an recommendations? Anything under 2k will work.

DISCUSSION (38)

RotaryLover > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 04:00

4k??? And I say myself that 1.5K is expensive for coilovers for my Miata...

YSI-what can brown do for you > RotaryLover
11/07/2013 at 04:01

To be fair, they are made by a company that does a ton of racing. . . like LMP2 stuff.

EDIT: what I mean is they do a lot of suspension work on race cars

Robert Maxwell > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 04:02

What is the application?

YSI-what can brown do for you > Robert Maxwell
11/07/2013 at 04:03

Mostly autocrossing, spirited driving, and a daily. I am probably going to track the car once or twice a year as well.

Robert Maxwell > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 04:07

I mean, what car?

YSI-what can brown do for you > Robert Maxwell
11/07/2013 at 04:09

Lolol, sorry. Tis an FR-S. I am not asking for specific suggestions just companies people have had a good experience with.

Robert Maxwell > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 04:15

Here, for you what your looking at, what you want isn't as serious as what you are thinking about spending. KWs are good, and usually cheaper. I had a real good experience with Feal, who does a lot of stuff for subarus and developed one of the first consumer coilover kits for the FR-Z/BRZ. I had them on my WRX when I was stationed in Japan, and was highly pleased with them.

Here was the build thread for my car

Here it is.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

RotaryLover > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 04:17

ahh that explains it. Don't they have Stance GR+ coilovers for it?

YSI-what can brown do for you > RotaryLover
11/07/2013 at 04:19

I think they have Stance Super Sports or something like that. Don't know if they are any good though.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Robert Maxwell
11/07/2013 at 04:22

My friend got some Feals. He loves them. I was thinking about KWs as well, and I have heard a few good things about Fortune Autos. . . have never heard of them, so I am a bit scared of them.

RotaryLover > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 04:24

I heard good things on Miatas and 240sxs with stance. Don't know about FRS/BRZs though.

YSI-what can brown do for you > RotaryLover
11/07/2013 at 04:30

I have heard bad and good. Basically you can get better for the same price.

NoIDontDriftmy240 > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 04:39

How about Koni 8611 and Ground Control setup? It'll be about half of that ohlins and still perform better than most coilovers in that price range. Not to mention a lot of autoxers are use it with good result.

TheOnelectronic > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 05:16

Yeah no shit Ohlins are expensive. :p

Crocket Bernet > RotaryLover
11/07/2013 at 05:49

Squid > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 06:25

Ohlins are great but they do require a rebuild on regular intervals to maintain supreme functionality... maybe KW has some V3s in the works for the FRZ.

6cyl > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 07:04

Mostly autocrossing, spirited driving, and a daily. I am probably going to track the car once or twice a year as well.

Coil overs are a bit of a fad. It's cool to have coil overs. They are totally excessive unless you are making a dedicated race car or need them for "stance". A proper sport/race spring plus quality strut will be more than sufficient for your needs.

6cyl > 6cyl
11/07/2013 at 07:13

Direct from manufacturer online prices:

Koni Sport struts front (yellow): $405

Koni Sport struts front (yellow): $420

H&R super sport springs: $369

Total: $1,194 plus shipping

Also the Koni's have external dampening adjustment font and rear and a lifetime warranty .

Derpwagon > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 08:15

10/10 street cars do not need coilovers.

A good adjustable stut/shock and a good set of springs, paired with sway bars and endlinks will do you more good for less money.

Use the money saved to improve the driver. ;)

RotaryLover > Crocket Bernet
11/07/2013 at 08:36

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > 6cyl
11/07/2013 at 09:26

Yes yes yes yes yes and more yes. LISTEN TO THIS GUY.

Victorious Secret > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 09:31

KW V3s.

jsmizira > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 09:45

May i suggest you look into a company i like called ground control. the valving is taken from konis r&d and they are relatively inexpensive. i would not however recommend them for serious wheel to wheel raicing a heavy amarican iron class for more than one season. but for your application they should be more than adequate with room to grow. here is the link OOH SHINY!

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 09:52

KW Variant 2's are fantastic coilovers closer to your budget. My buddy has the V2's on his Mazda3 and they are comfortable yet have fantastic handling. His 3 can pretty much keep pace with my MR2 on a twisty road. Stay away from cheap crap like Raceland, Ksport, D2, etc.

Casper > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 10:29

Yes, Öhlins are massively expensive.... because they are professional quality. They also require professional levels of maintenance. That's why everyone loves them on their race bikes, but a single shock can run more than an entire cars suspension kit.

I somehow doubt you have the need for them.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Casper
11/07/2013 at 11:11

Woah, don't doubt my need for them, I race my car to Walmart everyday!

Casper > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 11:13

AUTOCROSS ALL THE THINGS!

YSI-what can brown do for you > MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig
11/07/2013 at 12:10

Unless I am mistaken, it appears you can get V1s and V3s for my car. Any opinions on them?

YSI-what can brown do for you > 6cyl
11/07/2013 at 12:12

You think so? The price is very appealing but it also puts it in range with some good coilovers options. If the coilovers and the strut and spring combo are te same price, which would you choose?

YSI-what can brown do for you > Squid
11/07/2013 at 12:13

I think V3s are out for the car. They are just above my budget though. Although if they are really good, I may consider them.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 12:19

V1's are not adjustable, but are still very very solid units. V3's are better than V2's, but you pay for it.

Union of Smog Techs of CA > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 12:34

I have those, they are awesome. However, they are too nice for shitty roads if you lower too much, and for the track moton club sports are just a bit more.

6cyl > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 12:54

Probably the strut and spring because you will be getting the best on the market vs as some middle ground coil over. Also strut and spring provides more available options to choose from regarding spring rates, strut type, dampening, etc... because you buy everything separate you can get exactly the setup that is right for you.

911e46z06 > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 13:33

6cyl nailed it.

I wouldn't go coilovers on the DD if you plan on having it for a while. I had some on my e39, and though the handling was incredible, it just stressed the hell out of all the little bushings and bearings and everything. After a couple years it started causing a lot of headaches.

Benzed92 > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 13:45

You should check out H&R's coilover set. I assume they have one for the Toyobaru, but I got my set installed over the summer and couldn't be happier with them. They also provide a significant drop of 2.5" if you so choose.

Robert Maxwell > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 13:52

Skip the fortune. Out of the "budget" ones, I'd only trust the feals. Especially because the swift springs are part of it, as well as they're locally supported.

Squid > YSI-what can brown do for you
11/07/2013 at 14:20

If you want a decent trackable set up you are looking to spend around $1500 on the low end. Wait a little while longer to save up for the best suspension you can as I could only think that it will reward you with precise handling. I think that for a car that will see DD duty, a triple adjustable damper is overkill, even a dual adjustable is overkill for what most use them for. Just what ever you do, stay away from the Megan Racing, Stance and Riceland coilovers, as they will only disappoint you before they catastrophically fail.

I wonder if Fat Cat Motorsports will be doing their custom valved Bilsteins for the BRS. They have an overwhelmingly positive response from the Miata community, and the owner is extremely knowledgeable about the dynamics of dampers and how to get the dampers tuned for what your needs are. They are a little pricey but you'd expect that with them being a custom valved damper.

Oh and don't forget to factor in a precision alignment/ride height/ corner balancing session at a race shop into the suspension budget.

I have a few things I need to fix on my car then it is time to start putting money away to get some Xida's. I want sticky tires and springs and dampers that actually work so bad.

Squid > 6cyl
11/07/2013 at 14:31

The one thing that needs to be considered with buying individual components is the spring rate and the damping ability of the shock/strut. So many people get lowering springs and put them on dampers that are not designed to function with a high spring rate that is required when lowering a vehicle. But it really just comes down to doing research followed by more research and then when you buy the individual struts/shocks having them dyno tested to make sure they will be balanced so you don't have one corner out of whack.

Suspension tuning has so many intricacies and variables to consider that it is extremely easy to spend more than some coilover systems by piecing a kit together and have the pieced together kit perform significantly worse than coilovers. I haven't really looked into the aftermarket stuff for the FRZ's yet but ability to get precise ride heights and being able to corner balance the car is where the benefits of the coilover system comes into play, at least in my mind.