best coilover setup

[bOOstd GSX]

I currently am running tokico 5 way adjustable shocks and springs, a front and rear sway bar and I will soon be welding in a custom 6 or 8 point rollcage. The car is also gutted from the front seats back. I want to switch to a high grade coilover. What are the best ones to go with? Tein flex, jic... help please!! I will be autox'ing so I want my car to handle like crazy.

 

[MNGSX]

If you are that serious about auto-x.. Get something made that is completely custom...

RRE's billet pillowballs.... These put a spherical bushing at all four corners. They do make 2g ones.. Hypercoil springs, custom built shocks on bilstein or penske components. Etc...

Penske

If you have a custom setup done right you will beat most everybody with off the shelf systems. They have many options from just remote resivoir to weight jacking. The most potent is the "third spring"... Simplified it's basically connecting the L&R shocks on one end to one "smart" resivoir which creates a hydraulic swaybar.... That is some expensive shiznit... But the remote resivoir, rebuildability, and valving options of the basic penske shock is worth it....

Here is the RRE JIC page.. They are nice.. The most competive cars are'nt running a system that came in one box.

RRE JIC

Here is the RRE shock plates. On 2gs... obviously... they have nothing to do with camber but everything to do with not binding shocks...

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On a all out twisties car like that put them at all four corners.

RRE shock plates.

 

[bOOstd GSX]

Jeez that custom setup sounds nice, How much do you think somehting like that would run my pockets?

I guess it comes down to i get pissed off everytime i cant keep up with my buddies evo. :laugh:

 

[MNGSX]

You can spent anything from 2x more than JIC's to as msuch as 10x more with penske... They make anything that is even close to being possible in suspension technologies. Including things many complanies thought was'nt possible. You probably don't need the shocks from a formula one car (which penske does make) so I say not a scary amount more than JICs..
Check the triple adjustable basic speciality shock for the vipers... The shock they will build for a dsm front will be very similar but without the eyelet at the top of the shaft.

More Info

These are guesses but tripple ajustables ~ $1000 each..... ballpark... Doubles about $750-800 each. Depending on who you get them from it will vary.

Back to other mods I'd also get the energy suspension bushing kit and a air hammer or press to knock out the old ones.

 

[bOOstd GSX]

That sounds good, I have the energy suspension motor mount kit and I am very pleased with it I was thinkign about going with the bushing kit as well. Between the gutted interior, the roll cage, the custom vr4 brake setup, super light rota gt3 16's, and maybe that penske setup, I should have a track monster.

 

[Dallas J]

If you wait a little bit, Dennis Grant will have his spherical upper mounts with koni's done soon.

An advantage to getting the koni's from him are that he has access to a shock dyno and will match the koni's as close as possible in adjustment range.

Also, acording to him, the koni's are better dampened than even the JICs. The only problem with them is the adjustment range.

Other than that though, A set of ground control's and koni's are a proven combination to win races.

-Dallas J

 

[MNGSX]

If you wait a little bit, Dennis Grant will have his spherical upper mounts with koni's done soon.

An advantage to getting the koni's from him are that he has access to a shock dyno and will match the koni's as close as possible in adjustment range.

Also, acording to him, the koni's are better dampened than even the JICs. The only problem with them is the adjustment range.

Other than that though, A set of ground control's and koni's are a proven combination to win races.

-Dallas J

DG knows his stuff... It should scortch on the track... But I'm sure even he will agree that there just is'nt anything like a penske. No adjustment range problems.... And many more areas to adjust with the triples...

 

[MNGSX]

That sounds good, I have the energy suspension motor mount kit and I am very pleased with it I was thinkign about going with the bushing kit as well. Between the gutted interior, the roll cage, the custom vr4 brake setup, super light rota gt3 16's, and maybe that penske setup, I should have a track monster.

The cage connected at the proper points will be so much stiffer than a car with just STB's it is'nt even funny...

I have the complete ES master kit installed... Best hours I have ever spent cussing at suspension parts....

I almost forgot.

You will need coaxial upperhats... but anyplace selling you the shocks will know that....

Basically the spring contacts the hat.. then the hat contacts the pillow ball..

 

[bOOstd GSX]

Well now that it has arose, where are some good mounting points for the cage? My friend will be mendrel bending the chromoly tubing and tig welding ti all together for me. He's a mustang guy so he probably wouldnt know the best places for the cage to sit.

BTW: Does my current tokico setup suck?

 

[Dallas J]

DG knows his stuff... It should scortch on the track... But I'm sure even he will agree that there just is'nt anything like a penske. No adjustment range problems.... And many more areas to adjust with the triples...

Of course the penske's or the ohlins would be a better option if you have the money for them. They just cost 3-4 times as much

DG also stated that some of the shocks he dyno'd had enough rebound to control his 900lb/in front springs perfectly.

Koni's = bang for you buck.
Penske = a level ill never be

-Dallas J

 

[MNGSX]

Well now that it has arose, where are some good mounting points for the cage? My friend will be mendrel bending the chromoly tubing and tig welding ti all together for me. He's a mustang guy so he probably wouldnt know the best places for the cage to sit.

BTW: Does my current tokico setup suck?

The tokico's have alot of limitations...

With the cage you just want to tie the strut towers together... but remember its a suspension system with an upper control arm at all four corners. So really try to connect the backside of the upper control arm mounts to the cage.

 

[2g4G63]

Im running the Omni Power Coilovers on my car and i love them. Has a solid ride with little body roll. I know the owner of Omni Power, and he just started making the coilovers for Eclipse's, and i got the first set ever! Hes got really good prices so just email me if your interested in picking up a set. [email protected]

 

[c5chris]

Tell us about your new coilovers. Any reviews for it will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[DG-FNR]

If you guys want Penskes, I'm a Penske dealer, and could work up a 1G and 2G Penske package. There'd be nothing better in a DSM shock.

But lemme tell you, they sure won't be cheap. A Penske setup won't be any cheaper than $1800 a corner - not if they're done right.

The only real choice for mere mortals is the Konis.

DG

Learn: http://streetmodified.org/books.html

 

[MNGSX]

My guess for the penske prices was just a shock... No mounts, hats.. etc... based on prices I have seen for the most popular penske kits... Like I said.. a guess..

 

[c5chris]

Lets talk a little more practical alternative. JICs are a little more realistic at $2K. I was looking into the Apex'i World Sport Damper since my buddy has it and it rides better than any springs/strut combo that I rode in.

I certainly wont pay over $3K in just a coilover setup for a car that has a blue book value of $6-10K. I better be sponsored by a racing team and race professionally or else it's overkill.

What else is out there?
Tein
Apex'i
Ground Control
JIC
Skunk 2

 

[MNGSX]

He is gutted with a 8pt cage and wants to be reall competitive in auto x.

So its DG style konis... or penskes... Honestly unless he has the driving skills and the knowledge to set up tire pressure and aligmnent down already the penskes are a waste.

For an all out drag car or hot street car... konis or AGX's... With the new part # agx's, sphericals and coax hats I have no problems dropped as low as common sense and the upper control arm angle will allow. Plus it was cheap..

Used GC's, junk the springs, low ball mail order AGX's etc.

If I was serious about auto-x ing I would be serious about suspension...

 

[DG-FNR]

I've had a lot of the other low-ball alternatives on the dyno, and you wouldn't believe some of the stuff I've seen.

Penske, Koni, Bilstein, Ohlins, Sachs, Dynamic Suspension. I've yet to dyno a Mouton or a JRZ, so I have no opinion on them. If it's not on that list, Danger Will Robinson!

The Japanese stuff in particular has been really disappointing.

For a street car/entry level race car, the only real practical choice are the Konis.

For a 1G, it looks like there is a Bilstein fitment that I should be able to make rebuidable/revalveable/adjustable.

DG

 

[jtmcinder]

He is gutted with a 8pt cage and wants to be reall competitive in auto x....

Oh, yeah. You see DSMs kicking tail in D/Mod, E/Mod, F/Prepared all the time. Not!

- Jtoby

 

[MNGSX]

Oh, yeah. You see DSMs kicking tail in D/Mod, E/Mod, F/Prepared all the time. Not!

- Jtoby

Maybe because nobody listens to the guy who posted before you who is a D Mod champ in a AWD DSM no less.. so they don't run the right stuff...


Basically when I grow tired of the AGX's there at this point is'nt much in the way for a AGX to Koni swap... The rest of the hardware is there already... The shocks are the easiest parts to swap....

DG one ?

AGX (new style-short) vs Illuminas I know the AGX don't compare to Konis...

 

[eclipsegsx9797]

jic is my first choice, next would be tein flex/edfc setup. both kick ass and at a great price. more then enough for what we need.

 

[jtmcinder]

Maybe because nobody listens to the guy who posted before you who is a D Mod champ in a AWD DSM no less.. so they don't run the right stuff...

That would be an excellent reply ... if it weren't for the fact that the classes in Canada are quite different from those in the US. You can run a boost controller in Canada's Street Prepared, for example, and Street Modified doesn't even exist.

Here at home, no DSM has ever trophied in a prepared or mod class ... ever!

- Jtoby <- member of the CACC and the SCCA

 

[MNGSX]

Since all cars competing in a given canadian class are subject to the same rules what makes you think that DSM's cant be competitive in the US since all US cars of the same class will be subject to the same class rules ?

I think it is mostly because most US dsmers are 1/4 mile junkies.. not that it cant be done... nor that it is the easiest car to compete in.

Never mind... while searching for someone who had a car that looked like it was making a run I found another one of your posts..

http://www.sccaforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=000742;p=0

So he should really be looking at ESP, SM or DS?

 

[DG-FNR]

While it's true that I did in fact win the Canadian D Modified National Championship this year, there's a pretty big difference between SCCA D Modified and CNAC D Modified.

Well... the rules are pretty close, but nobody at the Canadian event had a "real" DM car as you'd expect to see at an SCCA event - like a Lotus 7 clone on slicks.

A DSM at an SCCA event in DM or EM is about 1000lbs too heavy, even fully gutted out and with liberal use of titanium.

All the cars I was running against at the Canadian event were more like SCCA Street Modified (where I normally run) or maybe a Prepared car (some were gutted in excess of what SCCA SM allows)

In a nutshell, I was asked to attend the Canadian National Championships last year. There was a hole in my schedule, and the event was only 800 miles away, so we went. When we got there, there was no Street Modified class to run in, and rather than try and figure out the prep points on the car, I just ran it in the heaviest-prep class it was eligible for (so there'd be no problems with rules conflicts between the CNAC and the SCCA)

And yes, we won.

We have the fastest autocross DSM ever built, and it does very well in the class for which it was prepared. But in SCCA DM or EM, it'd be cannon fodder.

DG

 

[jtmcinder]

We have the fastest autocross DSM ever built...

You have a nice car - no-one will deny that - but over-statement never helps your case.

What you have is a DSM that has rarely (if ever) been beaten head-to-head at an SCCA event by another DSM since being prepped for Street Mod. The stronger version of your statement, however, enjoys little or no support. For example, Charles Moss (ACM) had better times on both courses at Nationals this year, even though he's in ESP, which means a t25 and stock internals. Maybe the weather played a role, but it seriously weakens your claim. Similarly, Sean Caron (Tevenor) beat you head-to-head at the last Shoot-out that had an autocross and his car is faster in the 1/4 mile than yours.

You have the DSM with the most SCCA wins, that's easy to show. Whether it's the fastest is open to debate ... albeit a worthless, fruitless, testosterone-laden, waste-of-time debate.

On a lighter note: did you see the launch light that was used at Canadian Nationals? Do you know who built it? Do you know what it is called? Bet that made you smile.

- Jtoby