coilover recommendation

**lgvenable** · 09-17-2012, 10:19 PM

I'm rebuilding my 92 NA DD suspension with coilovers, and want recommendations. From what I see Teins are the best choice, but the evo coilvers with Supercar Engineering adapters are a choice too, as you can get higher quality Evo 8 or 9 coilovers and adapter at a lower price than Teins, and with careful choices you can get coilovers which are compatible with the Tein EDFC controllers.

So please give me the best real world recommendations. Not looking for a softer stock feel, but frankly I love my LS3 Camaro SS suspension,which I'd love to duplicate or exceed.

**TurboSinceBirth** · 09-18-2012, 01:39 AM

I'll give you a quick rundown of the ones I've owned.

Currently I have Apexi S1 Evo coilovers on my car with the SCE adapters. I absolutely love these coilovers. My car stays solidly planted to the ground. Body roll is non existent. My tires are the only limitation now for cornering even faster. The ride is excellent and almost like a bone stock ECS car. I have had multiple members ride in my car and not even say a word about the ride quality until I ask them, "Did you know this car has coilovers?" The only ones that did were the ones that recognized the shiny camber plates when I had the hood popped. I wanted a more comfortable street ride with excellent handling which was why I chose these coilovers after reading quite a bit about the evo guys using them. Vary rarely is the ride ever bouncy. When it is it's on a road bad enough that it feels bouncy in stock cars of various makes and models so it takes a huge bump to really upset the car.

Megans are by far the best bang for the buck coilover under $1k. You get a nice street ride out of them. It's not uncomfortable but definitely noticeably stiffer compared to lowering springs and ECS struts in sport mode. It won't ride like a cadillac but it won't beat you till your back hurts either. They work great for street, strip, or the track.

Tein coilovers are overpriced/overhyped by a large amount. I don't know why people have the mindset that these are great coilovers. They ride harsh on the street. Don't go on any uneven roads or anything that isn't baby smooth because the car gets upset very easily. The front coilover was not designed for our cars very well. The travel is too short. I have some comparison pics between the Tein, K-Sport, and Apexi coilovers. It's kind of sad the travel it has. Part of it comes down to setting up your ride height properly so that you don't preload the springs too much losing necessary travel for rebound but it doesn't make up for the poor design in the first place. I noticed that the car likes to tripod around corners or ride on three wheels if the road isn't smooth. They're great for the track because they're very stiff and the car doesn't move around much but calling them a great entry level track coilover is an overstatement. You can spend a few hundred more and get a much better entry level coilover for the track while still spending less than $2k.

K-Sports were the worst of them all. The ride was even harsher than the Teins. The cartridges leaked too often and needed replaced. There never was a happy medium between bouncy from not enough rebound to bone jarring. They're a cheap poorly made coilover at best. I would not recommend them and stay far away from them.

So save your money and either buy Megans if you have $1k or less to spend. If you can go up to $2k look into the Apexi S1 and KW V3 coilovers. Honestly though it's not a night and day difference to be worth the extra $1k so I would just put that somewhere else. I just wanted that last 5-10% I was looking for over a cheaper coilover.

You should look into some of the Evo options for a nice variety. I would try a set of their Evo MR Bilstein suspension with lowering springs. If that doesn't give a stiff enough ride, then either look into some of their coilover options or just opt out for Megans. You can find used setups from Evo guys for very cheap though which would let you experiment.

**Maximal** · 09-18-2012, 08:16 AM

Yep, I'm a huge fan of the Megans myself and actually have them on sale this month (and no, it's not the reason I love them

).

**MeTarzan** · 09-18-2012, 08:18 AM

Anyone have any experience with BC's on our platform?? I've been in a few light cars with them and seem to work well but not sure how they work on our tanks