2G Suspension: Coilovers vs Lowering Springs.

[my98GST]

Im trying to get a good idea of what to do to mine. I have a 98 GST and im wanting to start hitting up my suspension. The only problem is I cant decide if i want to go the coilover route or some lowering springs and some nice shocks..

This will be a daily driver with quite a bit of spirited driving, i also live in a very mountainous area where i go riding through the mountains so i want something that is going to be nice and stiff and not have any body roll.

If you guys suggest springs, what type? If i decided to go wtih springs i know that the height will not be adjustable so i don't want something that is going to make me scrape the front bumper and exhaust everywhere i go and i also want them to be nice and stiff. With going with the springs what kind of shock would you guys recommend? I don't want something too terribly expensive but still want something nice and firm.

Coilovers, what would you guys suggest? Are any of you guys running like skunk2's or groundcontrol's? If you are what type of shock are you running?



Post your suspension set up and please feel free to guide me in the right direction to making a nice handling car. thanks and much appreciated.

 

[Lunch_Box]

I have Koni yellows with Ground control coilovers, haven't had a chance to drive the car yet but I have heard nothing but great things about this set up.

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

Coilovers are great it you are setting up for a autox car or something along those lines. I can't see spending the money on them though because most people will never get the full potential out of them just driving on the street. The best combination I found was a set of KGB Shocks and Tien lowering springs. Either that or Eibach springs. I have VERY minimal bounce with them and it handled better than I ever could have imagined. I was very happy with them and since they cost less than 1/3 of the price of coilovers it was even better.

 

[Mist3r Spool]

If you plan on autocrossing or road racing then go with coil-overs. I was thinking of going coil-overs, but I couldn't justify the price for this car. I did go with some Tein's for my Type R, but that's a Type R, they handle from out the showroom. I've had H&R Sports w/Tokico HPs for about 2 years now and am very happy with the ride-It's smooth in the city and tightens up really well in the curves. The stance is nice for the springs, it sits low but manageable. As for the shocks/struts, I'm thinking of picking up some KYB AGXs, they are well-priced and give some flexibility for ride adjustment. Based on what you've stated on your type of driving, I'd recommend you purchase some sport springs and adjustable shocks/struts. With the money you saved from not purchasing coil-overs, you can grab some upgraded sway bars and other tie bars/separators.

 

[speedy13]

I had sportlines on AGX's on my 2gnt(check gallery for stance) and they were great for spirited driving,but if it was for mountains i would of liked something a little bit stiffer as far as springs go.If i had the money to dish out i would of gone with teins basic damper setup for about 750 bucks,that would of been great.Although i had no complaints about the AGX's,their a good bang for your buck.I think the pro-kit will be better handling wise then the sportlines if you decide to go with eibachs,i didn't know this at the time,and i wish i would of before i got into them,so thats why i'm telling you.thats my .02

 

[my98GST]

i appreciate the input a lot guys thanks!

keep them coming for i would love to see what other peoples set ups are.

 

[UCspyderGS-T]

i appreciate the input a lot guys thanks!

keep them coming for i would love to see what other peoples set ups are.

Have you asked Scoot on what to go with..... I have purchased my suspension and am getting ready to put it on the car.... Hopefully here soon you will get to see if it works well or not

 

[my98GST]

Have you asked Scoot on what to go with..... I have purchased my suspension and am getting ready to put it on the car.... Hopefully here soon you will get to see if it works well or not

No i havent talked to Scooter about any suspension. I didn't nkow he really dealt with suspension. I need to talk to him and see if he could get some pics of my t-28 and send them to me so i could sell it on here.


Anyone else care to share their suspension set up?

 

[my98GST]

does anyone have any experience with the tokico high performance blue shocks/struts? how did you like them?


95blackgsturbo how much did the teins lower your car? How stiff are they?

 

[matt87]

I have a teg and i have tokico illuminas with megan adjustable coilsprings on right now. Its better than stock but i still am unhappy with the set up. Every person i know that uses koni yellows and a set of springs with a good spring rates liked them alot

If your looking for coilovers for daily driving and you dont want to spend alot of cash but still get a quality product look for ksport or d2 coilovers. They are both height adjustable without effecting shock travel, can be set for spring preload, and are 32 way adjustable but are still under $1000.

 

[my98GST]

out of the eibach's which are the stiffest and would be best suited for fairly hard spirited driving with lots of cornering?

Also how would the tein tech S measure up against the best eibach that you guys would pick? Anyone know how much the tein's drop it?

 

[Ray_G]

Hi-
I've got an Eibach pro kit on with Tokico Illumna's up front and non-adjustable blues on the back (let's not delve into why that happened...suffice it to say I'm learning more and more each day about how to not do things via personal experience). All told I like the set-up, stance is good-alignment is on the limit but no real issue from the drop, and the handling is much better than what it was riding like with the 10 year old suspension. One thing I would reccomend thinking about is the anti-sway bars along with the other stuff you are doing. While I have AWD and you are running with FWD-thus the handling characteristics are somewhat different, the benefits of a good anti-sway bar like the Suspension Techniques one will play into body roll too-and can assist without having to resort to very stuff spring rates and strut/shocks. My understanding of upgrading the rear sway bar on a FWD DSM is that the propensity to understeer is more significant, but I cannot confirm that from my own personal experience.

That being said the current spring/strut set up is merely a temp fix until the time comes to go to coilovers, but the car is still being daily driven right now and I can't dedicate the time nor the $ just yet to going that route-all in due time.

If I were you I'd think hard about going further than about 1.3-1.5" in drop (camber issues, along with ground clearance); you may want to choose a good strut/shock that matches up well with the brand of spring you pick, and consider the benefits of anti-sway bars along with tying together the top with strut tower braces.
r-
Ray

 

[my98GST]

Is anyone riding on the ground control with koni's or any other type of shock? If so how is the ride?

 

[my98GST]

i would really like some feed back on the tokico high performance blue shocks. are they stiff or are they soft? how well do they improve the handling?

 

[paul s]

I'm running Koni(sport) with 500f/350r ground control and poly bushings and rm sway bars, the ride is firm but not harsh. On the track it rocks..

 

[my98GST]

so would you guys suggest some eibach sportlines iwth some adj. shocks i.e. agx or koni yellow, or some GC's with adj. shocks for very spirited driving, hammering through the mountains, and then easy daily driving with some track use.

 

[my98GST]

Also just wondering if anyone has done anything with the skunk2 coilovers?

 

[nightstocker99]

I am getting ready to purchase Tokico Illuminas that are adjustable with a set of Tein S. Springs. From all the information I have gathered this set up is nice and the ride height is nice. I would go with this setup if I were you. If you think your car will bottom out and scrape where you live get the Tein H Springs. the is like a 1 inch drop not a 1.3 inch drop. I myself I am not a big fan of coilovers either you get them real cheap on e-bay or not cheap at all on a dealer website. That and in PA when there is a foot of snow on the ground you wouldn't want to be rising the ride height now do you.

 

[my98GST]

thanks guys for the input. Keep posting your set ups. Anyone heard of anything with the skunk2 coilovers on a DSM?

 

[Mist3r Spool]

thanks guys for the input. Keep posting your set ups. Anyone heard of anything with the skunk2 coilovers on a DSM?

My buddy had them, they are very stiff/bouncy on the streets but nice and responsive on the track. Perhaps if you have a nice set of adjustable shocks/struts it'll help smooth out the ride on the streets.

 

[my98GST]

My buddy had them, they are very stiff/bouncy on the streets but nice and responsive on the track. Perhaps if you have a nice set of adjustable shocks/struts it'll help smooth out the ride on the streets.

much appreciated sir. I believe that im going to go with the skunk2 coilovers with some AGX's or Koni Yellows. I guess that will be good enough for me until i get some more power and then go with the sway bars.

Anyone who has adj. shocks, what settings are you running? Im wanting to do it the first time so i dont have to keep taking them on and off to keep adjusting them. Im wanting them fairly stiff so i wont have much flex under hardcornering and i don't want the ass end to squat when i launch it on the track, and i definitely don't want to be pissing blood the next morning after going for a cruise.

 

[EclipseRacing99]

i have koni's and ground controls on my car right now. its the best combo for the money i think. i daily drive my car and the ride is great, over bumps its stiff but nice. ive had tokico 5ways with h&r race springs, tokico 5ways with ground controls, and stock struts with ground controls.