Coilover choice for 04 Sti

OK, so Im looking at getting some coilovers. 04 Sti...its a daily driver so that has to come into play, but I plan on doing a few track days this spring/summer/fall at Brainard, Road America and maybe others. A (harsh?) ride doesnt bother me but I don't want it to bounce. Also it might help on cost to do sway bars, bushings or any other braces at the same time so I don't have to get it alligned twice (corner balanced) So I guess Im looking for some suggestion on a good setup. Brand names, prices, features (though I don't think I would be changing much once it's setup) and also what kind of milage could I expect to get from differant brands and does driving them in the winter cause problems.

 

From my experience with coil overs in general they are going to be a stiff ride. And I know what you mean by the "bounce". I have yet to not feel that in a coil over car.

 

You might be able to control the bounce if you get ones where you can adjust the rebound and jounce. I can't point you in the correct direction though. I've been told a longer stroke may help so maybe so aggressive springs (high rates) and some revalved Bilsteins may work best.

 

Give these a try:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1172313&highlight=bounce

For $360 you don't have much in to them and can always sell them for almost what you paid.

On the other end:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1054922&highlight=bounce

You lazy ass. Ha. Search is your friend It took me a long time to decide on my setup and I'm still tweaking it. There is a ton of info out there. Or, just call a few different vendors and listen to what they have to say.

 

Unless you are sold on coilovers I'd take a look at RCE springs with Group N top hats

Sways I'd go Whiteline 27mm adj front and Whiteline 24mm adj. rear with Kartboy Straight Rear Endlinks

 

I'm also looking for suspension for an 04 STi. considering megan street coils (had them on one 240sx and had the megan tracks on another 240sx) - i've had good experiences with their product, helix dna coilovers, or espelir active gt springs, rce springs, prodrive springs, swift springs with either group n top hats or camber plates

right now megans or helix are my 1st choices because i've daily driven coils before and i don't mind the ride, plus the price difference from springs + camber plates isn't very much compared to these two coilovers. this will mainly be a street driven car, possibly some autox and open lapping at USAIR

 

i am also lookin into new suspension for my 04 sti. i'm lookin at tein's ra coilovers. anyone heard any positive feedback about these?

 

I had Tein FLEX coilovers and HATED them. Clunked a lot and crappy ride.

 

I've heard nothing but good things about RCE springs. I too am looking to track the STi and will be going the RCE route because coilovers are just going to be too stiff. 27mm sway bar may be a bit stiff if you're only tracking a few times, but they will be nice at the track.

 

Don't go with Teins. Extremely bouncing and LOTS of clunk noise.

 

IMO, most spring makers don't know what they are doing. So many of them go with cut coils or progressive rates to lower the car, and then you end up hitting the bump stops all the time (the loud clunking everyone hears). For road racing, stiffer is better. If they aren't stiffer, don't waste your money.
That said, unless you have raced a lot before and can drive the car on the limits, the stock springs won't be holding you back.

Save the money you would spend on springs and use it to buy a new set of tires after you melt your current ones.

Sorry if that isn't a helpful answer.

 

Everything I've heard about the RCE springs is that they remove the bobblehead effect while being stiffer than stock (stiffer than the Pinks as well). They are relatively new to the market, but get really good reviews for people doing light track duty. Drop is around an inch. There is a lot of discussion about these out on iwsti, just do a search for RCE springs and you should find some of the reviews. Of course coilovers would be your best bet for a slightly more dedicated track car. if you're thinking Teins, save your money up for something nicer.

 

What about the spec-c type RA struts with some new springs, i've heard people have had good results with that.

 

I will be looking for those when i go to japan next week. They are hard to find though and i should have scooped up the last set i found in japan for $500

 

Ive thought about buying springs to get a little drop, and more stiffness, but I have 68k on the car and I don't want to put new springs on old struts. I don't know what the life on the struts is, but I would guess from all the stuff Ive read, that there shot or close to shot, so, if Im going to get new struts + springs, the cost gets me to the coilover range (or close) and no adjustability.

 

I think Koni make inserts for the STi, at least I'm pretty sure they do. It requires some work to fit them. I had a set on my last car and they were the cats meow. Great adjustability, and relatively cheap. I hear you though, when the price gets close to coilover prices, it almost seems worth it.

 

You can get the Bilstein PSS9's for the 04. Not too many reviews on them for the STi's but the Euro people love them.

 

Is there ANYWHERE where i can find the spec-c type ra struts?

 

bc racing br series coilovers...same performance as KW variant's but alot less then the 1500 dollar price tag...well actually under 1k...8/6k spring rates, 1 year warranty, 30 way adjustable, fixed cup design, 53mm shocks!!!!, camber plates, pillow ball mounts, everything you want... oh yeah what happens after the 1 year warranty? if you blow anything out you can buy a NEW replacement for $95 per side...alot better then what jic charges...$200 per rebuild!!! so over time you will spend less then if you keep just shocks/springs!!!

 

Find the guy who bought my old car after I sold it, he has a whole spec C type RA setup in there =]

I sold it to 83projectbrat, he sold it to some other guy he knows.

 

nope, koni doesnt sell inserts for inverted struts. you would have to get a set of blown WRX struts, take them apart and put the koni inserts into there.

 

That's what I meant by "It requires some work..."

 

awsome i'll give that a try. i didnt know these were such a hot part. Is there any JDM website that sells them or somthin?

 

Zak, any insight on these coilovers???

 

what's the exact price?

the helix dna are my #1 choice right now

 

I asked Zak about those last nite. I'll let him post.

 

I've been reading alot of reviews and they all seem to be good, for the price there selling for. I think the normal discount for these are just under 1k.

 

I need new suspensionz. I talked to Josh for a little while about these last nite, sounds like a good deal especially with the replacement part. What I'm wondering is if the company will be around to replace these in a few years. I talked to Zak as far as the quality...he seems to be a pretty good authority on suspension bits.

 

I agree with jason that the roads here arent ideal for coilovers as most off the shelf ones are too stiff for the messed up roads and cold temps we get here. The helix/gpmoto/bc racing ones seem to be valved more softly and sprung more softly than your average off the shelf race coilover. It looks like BC is willing to sell repolacement struts for $99 or something so that takes having to have them revalved every couple of years out of the picture so much.

I wouldnt recommend running coilovers much around here anyways unless you occasionally race. I still think a lot of upgrade struts like KYB AGX or tokico d specs with springs like STi pinks or espelirs wil make a much better street suspension than even a good set of street coilovers. even KYB AGX's/tokico dspecs and ground control coilover sleeves i think will be the best way to settle on having adjsutable ride height and a really good street suspension.

most people seem to think that stiffer is better with suspensions and I think especially for the street thats wrong. mostly they're trying to control body roll with stiff springs or ride height by changing spring height, both of which are incorrect but effective ways to do things, but are big sacrifices really adjusting the wrong things. The more give you have the more grip you have to a certain extent, so a little soft is preferable on the street (by a little soft I mean within 230-350 lbs springs)

anyways i can't say that the BC racing coilovers look like a bad deal, but I'd like to see them post a shock dyno sheet and know what the rates on teh springs are. They probably have standard race springs that aren't hard to replace, but it would be nice to know what rates they are. if they are copies of the KW variants then they should be about he same rates. I still think that a good strut and spring combo with appropriate swaybars is better on the street though.

 

they sure will be...they've been around for years...i cant say who they make parts for...but they do make other companies parts. its just their US location is new. The owner happens to be a personal friend of mine...trust me, they arent going anywhere if anything they are expanding.

and for pricing...these are in the same price range as helix/megan...but the quality is better...by far. you get more coilover for your $

interested in how much? i'll run a special for you guys

PM or phone only...i cant write it down or i'll get in trouble

 

Import Image could you tell me the Spring diameter on those coilovers? I would like to pickup some helper springs for the rear of the BC coilovers

 

info is here:

http://www.bcec.com.tw/products/products.html

Its part of a new trend of a lot of suspension companies in china, japan and taiwan who manufacture suspensions for other companies are starting to develop their own lines. Word on the street is a lot of these places are oem manufacturers for tanabe, zeal etc.

build quality and look is very similar to a tanabe/megan color scheme, but the bottom parts of teh struts look pretty different on each, except the BC and Helix which look similar

BC racing


Helix

megan racing


GPmoto, these are leg turbos but they have almost the same front design:


kw variant 1's

 

Hmmm alot of differant options... The cheaper replacement buying option is nice. Still $400 to replace all 4 at once, but I guess do 2 a year or something. But what kind of bounce do they have? A couple of the higher end coilovers that I have read reviews on claim to have almost no bounce. Add that to the high quality, I just don't want to buy something because it's suposta be as good as something else.

 

OK... At highway speeds (50+ mph) driving on say 35 around Eagan, Im not sure if its bumpy, uneven, or the expantion joints... but it's like bump..bump..bump..bump and I feel like Im in a hond with the springs cut. I don't know if it's struts, springs, tires (I have snow tires on) but at times it's really bad, other times when the road is smoother it's like "Yeah!! I love this car" At slower speeds, hitting bumps, if it's harsh I don't mind...

 

Give him the cappucino challenge Jason :laugh: :laugh:

 

bounce means that you are oversprung and underdamped usually, or at that setting the struts have too much rebound and not enough compression. Try setting the coilovers on a stiffer setting.

Bumping down the dampening setting on a coilover isnt a magic "nice comfy street mode" setting, its lowering the dampening rate which will cause the car to be in general a bit bouncier since its adjusting compression and rebound at the same time at an arbitrary rate that you're probably unfamiliar with.

 

ok, over sprung, underdamped, I can't adjust the stock suspention, so Im gona guess either worn struts or just a bad match from the factory. So, if were talking a price range from say $1000 to $2500, what is going to give me the best ride(daily driving)/best track(weekend racing)?

 

Regardless of the suspenion you have, Whether you drive on 169, 100 or 35E YOUR GOING TO BOUNCE. My stock STI bounces on those rodes and so did my factory accord. If you dont want to bounce on these roads get an old lincoln from the reservation :laugh: and i dont mean Mystic Lake

 

Oh man, tell me about it. The northbound lane of 169 just north of 62 IS FREAKING HORRIBLE! lol.

 

my STi is kinda bouncy. maybe feb. i can afford coils.

still liking helix