Megan Racing EZ streets or GC with Koni yellows

[waggs187]

So just as the subject states. Which should I go with?

I use my car as a daily driver and eventually will have around 350 hp. I just want a nice riding car and a little performance would be okay as well.

So here is the deal. My rear mounting plates are rusted out and I need to replace them but since I'm going to be in there I figured I might as well replace everything and do it once.

The megan racing ez streets come with everything for $699 shipped. But I don't know how they will ride. I've been in some cars that have had coilovers and they rode like crap. So if anyone has feedback on these it would be greatly appreciated.

The GC's are around $720 or so with the koni struts. Does anyone know if they come with the mounting bracket? If so I might be going this route as they are made in the states and have lifetime warranty. If not I'll have to add the cost of the mounting brackets in as well and by that time is it even worth it to spend the extra money? That's what I need you guys for. I need some help with deciding. I don't want to waste that money. I want to do it right the first time.

Thanks in advance

 

[SpawnedX]

1. Please, please post a link on where you can get GCs with springs and Koni Yellows for $720.00. Koni Yellows alone are $600.00+.

Now that, that is out of the way, if you are concerned with ride comfortability, a performance car and suspension are not for you. A performance suspension is stiff to reduce roll, which translates to not as much absorption properties. The further you go from stock, performance wise, the rougher the ride.

Megan's are better than stock, but not as good as Koni Yellows with GCs, which aren't as good as KW Variant 3s. The more you spend the better you get. What you are willing to spend is up to you.

Let the unbelievably long train of people reminding you to search, because, yes this has been covered 10,000,000 times already, followed by them all telling you coilovers suck and you should for no reason get anything less than Koni Yellows.

 

['97boostinGST]

Koni's are retarted expensive, but like Spawned said, you get what you pay for.
I know this isn't what you asked for but, i love my setup as it is.
H&R sport springs with KYB AGX they are 8-way adjustable shocks.
Spent $520 on this compared to actual coils.
You can't go wrong with koni's tho.

 

[SpawnedX]

Just for reference I have Tokico Illuminas with Eibach Pros.

 

[waggs187]

1. Please, please post a link on where you can get GCs with springs and Koni Yellows for $720.00. Koni Yellows alone are $600.00+.

I guess the Koni dirty Yellow then for $159.00 for front pair and $159.00 rear pair.

Now that, that is out of the way, if you are concerned with ride comfortability, a performance car and suspension are not for you. A performance suspension is stiff to reduce roll, which translates to not as much absorption properties. The further you go from stock, performance wise, the rougher the ride.

Megan's are better than stock, but not as good as Koni Yellows with GCs, which aren't as good as KW Variant 3s. The more you spend the better you get. What you are willing to spend is up to you.

I understand that a performance suspension upgrade is going to sacrifice a little ride comfort. I'm not using this as an autocross vehicle. Something that is close to stock ride quality.

Let the unbelievably long train of people reminding you to search, because, yes this has been covered 10,000,000 times already, followed by them all telling you coilovers suck and you should for no reason get anything less than Koni Yellows.

I appreciate your help but.....don't assume that someone hasn't searched this forum. I understand that it talks about koni yellows or else I wouldn't even know they existed. But what there isn't a lot of info on is the Megan Racing EZ Streets.

I'm so unexperienced in the suspension to say that I thought regular upgrade koni's were what the big fuss was all about. Which is what you corrected me on.

I also understand that you might not like answering similar questions to people. But I guarantee that they really appreciate it. I know I do. Thanks!

back to my question with stuff. I guess I really don't want to spend much more that $700 on my upgrade. I just need to know if the Megans are going to ride like crap or not. From what I've read in the searches I've done, the GC's are the way to go. Now that being said. Which struts should I go with? Since the koni yellows are extremely expensive for my need. Those who have the GC's, do they come with the top mounting plate?

V/r,

 

[SpawnedX]

That $159.00 is not a price per pair. That's a price per shock.

 

[ACM]

Koni/GC will be well over $700 - just the Konis are over $600, and no, the GC upper mounts are extra, they're not include in the kit. $100 each iirc. Konis on their own are a very enjoyable upgrade, as a damper they are well worth the money. With $700 to spend I would be surprised if you could improve on doing just this.

A cheap, pleasantly riding alternative is Tokico Illuminas with everything else stock - springs etc. They are somewhat adjustable and the damping rates are well matched to stock springs - they are completely unsuitable for stiffer springs however. My Illuminas blew their seals after a year, however they do have a lifetime warranty; the only function mine have any more is to just hold the racecar up when the Penskes are out for rebuild, so I never bothered.

My lone experience with AGX was in conjunction with a GC kit, and frankly I'd rather stab my at eyes with a pencil than run them again.

If you found no data on the Megans then it is possible nobody's running them. As someone noted earlier, a good indicator is the price - and at $700 for a complete kit it's not very likely that are much use...

This is all related to 2Gs - I have no experience with 1Gs

 

[UofACATS]

The nicest performance suspension I ever had on a DSM was koni yellow and h&r oe sports. It was nearly perfect for what you want.

If you want to do it right the first time, like you said, consider no other damper other than the Koni. It's the best affordable damper, and well worth it. On the other hand, I find these various "full coilovers" to be quite underwhelming, although I have no direct experience.

Do your upgrades in stages if you're concerned about cost. Your car would ride great with the Koni sports and stock springs.

 

[bsbllfit7]

look for konis used. I got my konis with eibach pros for 250 shipped from dsm graveyard and they are in perfect condition!

 

[LandoAWD]

I picked up my Koni/AGX/GC mish-mash combo for 500. Good advice to source them used.

 

[Doubleot]

I have Megan Street Series and I drive my car daily. I love them, Not too much bounce and it rides pretty close to stock. It does have more stiffness then the stock suspension obviously but it isn't enough that would make me take them off.

Good luck.

 

[sax_man]

Not too thread hijack, but how do Koni Yellows hold up to daily use?

 

[bsbllfit7]

They hold up really well. Stiffer thanstock but not hard on the car going over bumps or anything. One of the best upgrades I have done yet.

Sent from my HTC EVO 4G

 

[waggs187]

well I guess i'm screwed other than going with megan racing ez street. That is the only way i'm going to get the top mounting plate with it for the price I want to pay(my wife will sign off on). If anyone knows where to get the mounting plate cheaper than @100.00 a plate I might be alright. But I don't know where to look. Thanks for everyone who participated. It helps grow this community.

so I decided I'm going to go with Koni Yellows and get the strut mounts for now. Later down the road I'll get GC's to go with it. Should I replace any of my dust shields or anything else and also do the Konis come with the strut bumper and cup? If not did any of you replace these things while doing your upgrade?

 

[waggs187]

I just wanted to let you guys know that I bought the Konis for $492 shipped. Koni has a discount right now.

How would the Eibach Pros be with the Koni's? I might end up purchasing those as well since I found such a great deal on the Koni's.

 

[bsbllfit7]

I am running that setup and it performs much much better than stock and isn't TOO LOW

Sent from my HTC EVO 4G

 

[ACM]

I have run that exact setup - if there are any bumps, pot holes, ridges, anything other than smooth undulations, you'll be hating life after the first day. Pro Kits are around 200 pounds too soft for the ride height they give, or about 2" too low for their spring rate.

Check for jtmcinder's evaluation, but I believe H&R OE Sport have the best combination of ride height and spring rate.

 

[waggs187]

I have run that exact setup - if there are any bumps, pot holes, ridges, anything other than smooth undulations, you'll be hating life after the first day. Pro Kits are around 200 pounds too soft for the ride height they give, or about 2" too low for their spring rate.

Check for jtmcinder's evaluation, but I believe H&R OE Sport have the best combination of ride height and spring rate.

I will. thanks for the info. I've noticed that quite a few people who run the Koni's get the H&R springs. I guess there is more research to do. I'll check out the evaluation on the setup.

 

[UofACATS]

Post #8 recommends OE Sports because the author has used them with Koni Yellows. He finds the combination sublime for daily duties, with a *just right* amount of kick in the pants and the least amount of drawbacks.

Either get H&R OE Sports, a GC coilover kit, or keep the stock springs.. (All paired with the Konis with the exception of stock springs, which may be run with stock or Koni dampers). There are other options, such as a Muellerized JIC Coilover system that would put a smile on your face, but my recommendations are taking the OP into consideration. They are also in order of my personal recommendation.

Those are your options because of the following:

OE Sports have a sufficient ride height to spring rate ratio (ACM mentions above). They are a great balance between "sport and comfort," and "stock height and lowered." I can't possibly recommend them enough for a daily DSM.
Ground Control coilover kit allows you to lower your car more and still have a reasonable performance because again, sufficient ride height to spring rate ratio. It's lower, but stiffer. If you're going to be lower you need to be stiffer.
For an example that doesn't follow this rule we have sportlines. Too low, too soft. Ride = garbage.
Stock springs are soft, but they're about 6 feet long so bottoming out usually isn't an issue.

 

[waggs187]

So I can use the OE Sports on my awd car even though it's for a fwd? I thought I read on here that a few people were using them on their cars but everytime I go to look it up for my vehicle it states that it's only for the fwd models.

 

[KiNg MaRtY]

Yes, the AWD for AWD an FWD for FWD. The rear is lighter on FWD so if you get AWD springs, the rear will sit higher.

I have Koni+H&R springs on my VR-4 and is very comfortable for my 70 mile round trip commute.

 

[MITSUMURDOK]

well I guess i'm screwed other than going with megan racing ez street. That is the only way i'm going to get the top mounting plate with it for the price I want to pay(my wife will sign off on). If anyone knows where to get the mounting plate cheaper than @100.00 a plate I might be alright. But I don't know where to look. Thanks for everyone who participated. It helps grow this community.

so I decided I'm going to go with Koni Yellows and get the strut mounts for now. Later down the road I'll get GC's to go with it. Should I replace any of my dust shields or anything else and also do the Konis come with the strut bumper and cup? If not did any of you replace these things while doing your upgrade?

95 99 Eclipse Talon Rear Upper Strut Mount Plates - eBay (item 360298366754 end time Mar-06-11 12:47:06 PST)

$57.99 for both....my local dealer has them in stock for $65/side

 

[UofACATS]

So I can use the OE Sports on my awd car even though it's for a fwd? I thought I read on here that a few people were using them on their cars but everytime I go to look it up for my vehicle it states that it's only for the fwd models.

I personally took the H&R OE Sport springs that I originally purchased and used on my '95 GS-T, and installed them without issue on my '95 GSX.

Go for it!

 

[waggs187]

I think I'm going to wait for enough money to do the GC unit. It's still going to be a daily driver but I think I want to do road racing now. It's looks really fun. Anyone on here do autox or road racing? Would the H&R be okay or should I wait for the GC?

 

[underradar92]

Put the car together with the H&R's, spend the cash you would have spent on the Ground Controls for entry fee (and probably brake pads and fluid) and prepare to be addicted.