The car is a 1996 Eclipse GSX, automatic. Last year, I finally ditched my stock suspension setup to reduce wheel gap, and improve handling. I replaced the stock springs/struts with Koni yellow adjustable shocks, with Eibach Pro-kit springs.
My wheel/tire combo is 17 x 8 Rota Torque +35mm offset with 245/40/17 Kumho Ecsta MX tires.
I have stock swaybars, and pretty much stock everything else relating to suspension components.
Here is a picture, just to show the current ride height.
Now, here is what I want to change. My emphasis on this whole thing is STREETABLE. I live in Illinois and the roads are pretty terrible here. I cannot stand having to slam on the brakes everytime I see a bump, or taking the occasional explosive bang of hitting a bump on the highway, and the constant bumper scraping on driveways.... the car NEEDS to be higher up.
The lowered look on the Pro-kits looks cool and all, but I can't take the ride quality, I liked driving the car so much more on the stock suspension. And I drive with my Koni's on full soft.
Also, with my 245 tires with a 35 offset wheel, my tires rub on the quarter panels sometimes when the suspension bottoms out. I realize that has more to do with the wheel/tire choice, but I am just saying this because it never used to do this on the stock springs.
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Onto the questions.
I was thinking of just putting some stock springs back onto the car. If having wheel gap means that I get to enjoy the ride quality again, so be it.
Here is the question though. I am a suspension n00b so I have to ask this stuff. Should I mount my Koni shocks to some stock springs? What would that be like? Should I just totally go back to stock springs/shocks, and just upgrade to RM sway bars and install strut tower bars in order to get some of the handling improvement back?
What is the best way to go about this? The car needs to be higher up (and I cannot afford coilovers), so that is why I am just thinking of going to stock springs. Should I keep Koni's if I go to stock springs? Will the ride still be rough with the Koni's? Should I just go back to stock springs/shocks and just upgrade sway bars/ strut bars in order to improve the handling?
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Auto 96 GSX-- Joe
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I would think that that the Prokit/Konis would be one of the better street set ups, I have a 1g with a Prokit/KYB GR2's and i really like it. I have megan coilovers as well but took them off because they are to stiff for daily driving, I'm going to try to revalve them and put different springs on them. I think going back to stock springs would be the best thing for you, and you could just keep your Konis. I think that would be a lot closer to the ride that your looking for. You could also keep the same setup and roll your rear fenders so that your tires no longer rub. RM sway bars rock and they make a lot of difference, strut tower bars are really not needed and actually don't do enough to really matter for street driving. Suspension is all about the preference of the driver and what your going to be doing with the car. I hope this helps.
Unfortunately 2G Prokits are barely any stiffer than stock, so they blow through what little travel is left and stomp the bumpstops with enthusiasm. If the bumpstops have been shortened to accommodate the Prokits, the progressive section is almost always the part that gets removed, which makes the bottoming event much harsher than it would have been. Combine the above with pot holes and frost heaves, and Prokits have a really nasty, harsh ride. If the bumpstops weren't shortened then the car is already sitting on them, permanently - a slightly different form of ugly, but ugly nonetheless.
If 2G Prokits had the correct rate for the ride height and suspension travel remaining, they would be 5-600 lb/in in the front and 350-400 lb/in in the rear.
As mentioned elsewhere, H&R OE Sports are supposed to be pretty good, and that route avoids the whole coilover kit issues of upper front spring seats. Stock springs on Konis are pretty good too, but sub-optimal from a performance perspective. Strut bars are unnecessary at the grip level you are working with - they won't hurt, but neither will they help.
The wheel offset combined with the Prokits is the cause of the tyre rub; I ran those same tyres on 17x8 +42 without rubbing, once you lift the car back up you should be fine. Installing RM bars will worsen the ride slightly; the car will handle better, but the wheels are more tightly coupled, the stiffer a/r bar restricts the independence of movement, so it will feel stiffer, and harsher.
I think you need to be more specific regarding the performance level you're trying to attain. Forget about the Prokit mess for a moment, what do you want to change relative to stock, what inconveniences are you willing to accommodate for that goal ?
Charles
Quote:
Originally Posted by talontsi18
I would think that that the Prokit/Konis would be one of the better street set ups, I have a 1g with a Prokit/KYB GR2's and i really like it. I have megan coilovers as well but took them off because they are to stiff for daily driving, I'm going to try to revalve them and put different springs on them. I think going back to stock springs would be the best thing for you, and you could just keep your Konis. I think that would be a lot closer to the ride that your looking for. You could also keep the same setup and roll your rear fenders so that your tires no longer rub. RM sway bars rock and they make a lot of difference, strut tower bars are really not needed and actually don't do enough to really matter for street driving. Suspension is all about the preference of the driver and what your going to be doing with the car. I hope this helps.
I have a set of Koni yellows matted with H&R springs. I also installed new strut mounts. I've had the setup for about 20 months and I must say its very comfortable. Its no Lexus but very comfortable for my 70 mile a day commute to work and that being with 40 profile tires. I remember the stock suspension from my GST Spyder was luxury car comfortable but of course not the best oriented. You may want to try the Koni's with the stock springs and see how you like it. It will be a notch better from having stock suspension in terms of performance.
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90 GSX HKS' Former Promo Car /92 GVR4 / 05 STi
Wow are you sure thats the pro kit and not the sportlines? That's quite a drop you have, mine has the pro kit and isn't nearly as low. Koni's make a very good shock, I would definitely keep those. You might want to look into the ground control coilover sleeves which will allow you to adjust ride height but won't cost nearly as much as full coilovers. By the way, how much clearance do the rear tires have with upper spindle of the control arm? That's a pretty wide tire you're running for a 2ga.
Get some RM sway bars, They help me a lot with the tire rubbing issues that I had when I used to have the tokiko illumina shocks and eibach sport's combo. And If you are thinking about building your suspension, this is something you should really conssider.BTW I was thinking about raising up my car too, but I didn't have to once I got them.
If I'm not mistaken, Konis have adjustable perches. Like, there's a snap ring or something that will allow you to lower your car ~1" with stock springs.
By the looks of your photos, your perches are not currently sitting in their highest location, but rather their lowest. This, of course, won't make the ProKits any stiffer though.
I don't own Konis, but I've seen them and I swear this is what I remember. If I'm off the mark, please disregard me.
If I'm not mistaken, Konis have adjustable perches. Like, there's a snap ring or something that will allow you to lower your car ~1" with stock springs.
By the looks of your photos, your perches are not currently sitting in their highest location, but rather their lowest. This, of course, won't make the ProKits any stiffer though.
I don't own Konis, but I've seen them and I swear this is what I remember. If I'm off the mark, please disregard me.
That is the first time I heard that Maybe the2g kit???I have the 1g kit and certainly isn't as the front is an insert
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90 GSX HKS' Former Promo Car /92 GVR4 / 05 STi
I have a couple of sets of 2G Konis, mine only have a single snap ring groove. I don't think flipping the spring seat is wise as that's what centers and locates the spring - they are conical though, so they probably won't catch , but they will rub and wear the damper body.
That is the first time I heard that Maybe the2g kit???I have the 1g kit and certainly isn't as the front is an insert
Makes complete sense. Entirely different application.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ACM
I have a couple of sets of 2G Konis, mine only have a single snap ring groove. I don't think flipping the spring seat is wise as that's what centers and locates the spring - they are conical though, so they probably won't catch , but they will rub and wear the damper body.
Noted. Do you know what year those Koni's were purchased? I'll ask my friend, the owner of the set I saw, and get his opinion. I also think I recall him telling me they were a revised version, and that his fronts were slightly different than his rears - though entirely compatible.
Thanks for the info.
Confirmed. Recent Konis have 2 different ways you can install the perch and each is ~1" high/lower than the other. Unfortuanetly, I can't comment on the rubbing of the damper body but I'm under the impression that it works just fine.
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CB
'98 GSX
Last edited by PieEyedPiper; 11-09-2009 at 05:24 PM.
Reason: Auto-merged with previous post to prevent "bumping"
Anymore ideas on running a comfortable suspension setup for DD with decent handling characteristics as the OP was asking?
I was originally planning on selling my Tein Basic coilovers and going with the prokit/ koni combo, but the OP seems to be having the same problem as me...
