Coilover Gurus Needed

[habitatguy187]

$399 for a Ground Control kit (request stiffer spring rates than their default option): Ground Control - Coilover Conversion kit, 89-94 Mitsubishi Eclipse/Talon

Ludachris is there a specific spring rate you recommend? I've read people say that 600 front and 300 rear works out well. I will have my battery relocated to the trunk though.

 

[Ludachris]

Ludachris is there a specific spring rate you recommend? I've read people say that 600 front and 300 rear works out well. I will have my battery relocated to the trunk though.

I think I've got 500/400 on the car right now. You'll probably want to start off with something close to that and expect to change out for another combo at some point to dial it in. I don't know that I'd run 600 lb. springs on a street car.

 

[habitatguy187]

^^^ Thanks again for the info

 

[Tanro]

I've been saving up for coilovers. Glad I read this thread though. I had my recent engine troubles eat into my coilover budget.

The setup I am looking at now is gonna be:

Koni Yellows
Ground Control Coilover Kit (the real one from ground control's website, not ebay GCs)
RM Racing Rear Swaybar Kit (might go with both cause they pretty and red)
Jay Racing Toe Eliminator Kit
Energy Suspension Bushings (All Around)

I also have some BNIB Ball Joints and Control arms for my Other car, had planned on putting them on it before I blew the rear diff.

So I am thinking of putting the all that stuff on it as time allows once I get my rebuilt 6 bolt dropped in.

Any suggestions on anything else I can look at getting besides Stut Tower Braces? I allready have them.

What should I look at setting my alignment to to maintain decent tire wear but give me a bit more of and edge on the track?

Also does anyone know where to get the whiteline sway bars these days? They look a bit beefier than RM

 

[habitatguy187]

I was reading my latest issue of Car and Driver last night and they had an article dedicated to handling, and then an article dedicated to the history of bmw m3's.

I love the e30 and as I was thinking about what makes it such a great handling car, for some reason I came to the conclusion that it has a super-stiff chassis (whether or not this is even true, idk). Anyway I think I'm going to pull the interior (minus the dash) before I pull apart the suspension and see what I think might benefit from stitch-welding.

I was also thinking about welding in a bar between the C pillars, but I'm not sure about that one yet. I also plan on making some fender braces and maybe doing some other things mentioned in this thread - http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/custom-fabrication/354217-effective-bracing.html

 

[underradar92]

Also does anyone know where to get the whiteline sway bars these days? They look a bit beefier than RM

Turn In Concepts - Turn in Concepts is where the GVR4 piece in my kitchen came from, you could give them a try. They also supplied the Whiteline offset front control arm bushings, which add a smidge more caster.

You will likely have to call them, I don't think the stuff is listed on the website.

 

[Ludachris]

I've been saving up for coilovers. Glad I read this thread though. I had my recent engine troubles eat into my coilover budget.

The setup I am looking at now is gonna be:

Koni Yellows
Ground Control Coilover Kit (the real one from ground control's website, not ebay GCs)
RM Racing Rear Swaybar Kit (might go with both cause they pretty and red)
Jay Racing Toe Eliminator Kit
Energy Suspension Bushings (All Around)

I also have some BNIB Ball Joints and Control arms for my Other car, had planned on putting them on it before I blew the rear diff.

So I am thinking of putting the all that stuff on it as time allows once I get my rebuilt 6 bolt dropped in.

Any suggestions on anything else I can look at getting besides Stut Tower Braces? I allready have them.

What should I look at setting my alignment to to maintain decent tire wear but give me a bit more of and edge on the track?

Also does anyone know where to get the whiteline sway bars these days? They look a bit beefier than RM

One of our supporting vendors carries the Whiteline stuff:
tunersnation.com

They've posted some announcements about it in the Vendor forum here on our site.

 

[Tanro]

They are not linked to the item in the product catalog. Wow. That white line is a 1.02" sway bar. The one I was looking at was .93" swaybar and non adjustable. I think I know what my next mod is gonna be.

 

[bmoha2]

I had the toikiko/ h&r spring combo on my 2g talon with all poly bushings. It's a fun setup. Front and rear strut tower braces are mandatory. I fabbed up my own rear strut tower brace so it is actually functional. Huge benifits in handling are there to be had in upgrading to a light set of 17s and decent tires. I have a set of 17x8 oz superleggeras for my car that weigh 16# flat. Feels totally diferent than tall sidewall 16s.

 

[Ludachris]

I had the toikiko/ h&r spring combo on my 2g talon with all poly bushings. It's a fun setup. Front and rear strut tower braces are mandatory. I fabbed up my own rear strut tower brace so it is actually functional. Huge benifits in handling are there to be had in upgrading to a light set of 17s and decent tires. I have a set of 17x8 oz superleggeras for my car that weigh 16# flat. Feels totally diferent than tall sidewall 16s.

And that set-up will be fine for most who just want a "sporty" feel on the street. But as it's been said several times before, it's not ideal for those who want a good track set-up. At least with Ground Controls you can swap in different spring rates if/when needed.

 

[WolfsFang]

i just got these a few days ago

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[bmoha2]

I have been thinking about swapping out a set of gc coilovers in place of the h&rs. I don't know if I can justify the cost of going to a new set of konis until these toikikos are broken.

 

[WolfsFang]

I have been thinking about swapping out a set of gc coilovers in place of the h&rs. I don't know if I can justify the cost of going to a new set of konis until these toikikos are broken.

i ordered the H&R sport springs yesterday. might install them this sat if they come in. ill take her for a drive and see how it feels/handles.ill try to find some bumpy roads as well >

 

[underradar92]

One of our supporting vendors carries the Whiteline stuff:
tunersnation.com

They've posted some announcements about it in the Vendor forum here on our site.

I was unaware of this. Thanks Chris.

 

[Tanro]

I allready have a set of eibach springs 1" drop. They came with my old 1g. and my old 1g came with agx's in the rear and an unamed blue shock in the front.

I am running AGX's front and rear and have gotten the car as flat as I can with the agx's but the adjusters on them are garbage. One click have either little to no effect, or drastic change, and can go either soft or hard regardless of direction based on which shock I am adjusting. Its like trying to play darts, blindfolded, while riding a merry go round.

 

[bmoha2]

Unnamed blue shock might be toikiko blues. Nonadjustable.
I hope your not planning on putting the h&r springs on stock struts. I made that mistake after getting some bad advice from a tuner shop in Milwaukee. It'll blow the stock struts in short order.

 

[Ludachris]

Unnamed blue shock might be toikiko blues. Nonadjustable.
I hope your not planning on putting the h&r springs on stock struts. I made that mistake after getting some bad advice from a tuner shop in Milwaukee. It'll blow the stock struts in short order.

Eibach Prokits did the same to my AGX's in a year's time. KYB's aren't made for lowering springs, and I don't think Tokicos are either. They're all designed for stock ride height. When you lower the car, you run the risk of excessive shock wear - doesn't matter if they're stock or not. That's another reason to go with a better product like Koni, which has shorter travel than the others.

 

[KiNg MaRtY]

The Tokico's will handle much more than what the KYB's will. They are a stronger struts than the KYB's. Koni still being the best though. In order of strongest strut I would say:
GR-2, AGX, Tokico Blue, Tokico Illumina's, Koni

I've had them all at some point or another.

 

[Tanro]

Well they are not tokico blues. They were whatever "sport" shock Oreillys had in stock that day. We busted the front AGXs on a bad landing during a rally event.

http://www.sixthsphere.com/storage2/viewer.php?file=i7t8lcj3nk6k55mz5yr.jpg

Thats what I had. No Tokico Logo, too dark to be Tokico Blues.

So far we have had no issue with the AGX shocks on Eibach Springs. 1" drop is not a huge drop. The rear shocks have been going strong for 25K at least. The front's only busted because we hit a jump to fast, landed bad. Had to run to oreilly's get some shocks so we keep running that event.

From everything I have read so far the Eibach prokit 1" springs are the most recommended because they will not drop you far enough to cause any serious camber change or wear out your shocks faster. But I trust what you say Chris and you have more experience than me. So any insight on why your shocks would failing suddenly with only a 1" change in ride height would be appreciated.

 

[bmoha2]

The toikikos are designed to be lowered. Interestingly enough they work well at stock height as well. The toikiko illumina adjustables don't get a lot of great press but they have seriously impressed the hell out of me. They provide enough adjustability to go from a cadilac soft ride to surprisingly stiff. Mine have been on my car for more than 5 years. They are all still functioning as they did when new. Have not rusted. Also I did a quick u turn in a parking lot that I was not familiar with faster than I should have been going (20mph) and ran over a small ledge into a loading dock depression. It was about a two and a half foot drop. Scared the heck out of me but didn't break anything. I fully expected to blow out a strut but didn't. So I'm a fan.

 

[underradar92]

bmoha, post #666. Are you the devil?

Anyhoo, the OP has a 1g and according to this: Tokico Gas Shocks - EAGLE Illuminas are not available for a 1g.

 

[bmoha2]

666 haha that's funny. I have always thought my talon should be renamed Christine like in the Stephen king book and movie. I even have the back brace and I sure have put enough blood sweat and tears into that monster.
Eventually my car will have koni/gc combo under it but it'll have toikiko
/gc combo first.

 

[Dhan]

Wow, this thread gets an A+ for informative.

The Koni/GC kit setup sounds like a great compromise, but maybe a little to rigid for the dirt?

 

[underradar92]

I'd say giving up a bunch of travel in front (Koni Yellows) would be suboptimal for offroad use, yes.

 

[red94gsx]

Tanro, another option for suspension is the RRE caster/camber plates like Luda said. I'm planning on getting some of these myself. They require you to trim a bit of the strut tower in order to get the maximum from them, but open up a lot of alignment possibilities.