suspension suggestions!

[4EverDrift]

heres the deal I got 600-700 dollars and need to upgrade stock s13 suspension.
The main question is to go with coilovers, which would mean a harsh ride on the street, or just replace the springs and shocks. The car is used for street driving and canyons and drift on the weekends. I know most would say coilovers of course because adjustability, but im wondering if some beg to differ.
For that price range what would someone who has either suspension suggest. And any big pro's and con's you have experienced with your suspention?
thnx for da suggestions

[ThatGuy]

Save your money. Buy KTS or Stance coilovers. Don't waste your money on spring and strut combos. Don't be in a hurry to spend your money. Wait, Save, ENJOY.

[CKAMC]

your half way there... save and get another 500-600 and your ready to get some good coils... megans d2 are wack. Get what ThatGuy said...

STANCE

[CoasTek240]

you guys know, that he doesnt need to spend $1000+change to get some coils that he wont use half the potential of.
a nice set of Ksports should do you well. or even megan racing.
look at our gb section and advertisers section.

[CKAMC]

you guys know, that he doesnt need to spend $1000+change to get some coils that he wont use half the potential of.
a nice set of Ksports should do you well. or even megan racing.
look at our gb section and advertisers section.


wow i forgot bout ksports...

better than megans IMO.

still with stance you wont need to upgrade for quite a while (depending on development of driving) thats why I would pick them first.

[!Zar!]

Why don't you buy nice tires and an alignment instead?

[bigOdom1]

konis and ground control ftw

[!Zar!]

More like koni and ground control for the everyday primered battle ship.

[cdlong]

ditto the konis/GC. good quality shock and a broad selection of springs.

i've had shock/springs and coilovers. everyone says driving with coilovers on the street every day is fine, and i agree, but only if you are dedicated. the ride is rougher, and annoying at times, and people won't like riding in your car. but it does make the car handle better if you set them up right.

don't forget the other crap you need when you upgrade the suspension. bushings all around, tie rod ends, adjustable control arms. $700 (or even $1000) gets eaten up pretty fast. i've spent at least $1700 on my budget coilover suspension setup.

[chmercer]

kts on full soft is like .2 stiffer than stock, for real

[!Zar!]

kts on full soft is like .2 stiffer than stock, for real
You're killing their dreams.

Claiming coilovers are too stiff is an excuse poor people use to justify buying shocks and springs.

[ThatGuy]

kts on full soft is like .2 stiffer than stock, for real

+1 and then some.

[ronmcdon]

do you have 5-lug? If so, for 700, you may be able to get a set of used z32 tt wheels and a set of good tires (615's, MX, Z212). For the $, usually the best upgrade is to get better and wider tires.

If you're cheap and dont want to get a set of coilovers, a set of swaybars should do decent in getting rid of the rediculous amount of bodyroll found in the stock s14's.

messing with the 240's suspensions arn't cheap imo. its not like a miata or an ef/eg civic that already comes with a decent suspension from the factory, whereas all you need to do is throw on a good set of wheels and tires and you're set. i have a base s14 w/ 4-lug, open diff, no rear swaybar, shot bushings, etc. it's a bit of a pita getting all the parts to sort out my suspension. 700 isn't going to get me too far.

[punxva]

yea i went with some AGX's and eibach sportlines, and i wish i had just saved up a little but more money and went with the stance coilovers, they are def. a better choice

[cdlong]

kts on full soft is like .2 stiffer than stock, for real

but the springs are about 4 times the stiffness.

you guys are such snobs.

[ThatGuy]

Are you kidding me? He asked for advice, and made a comment about coilovers being too stiff for daily driving. We just offered our opinions. Nothing snobish about it. I daily my S13 on KTS, pretty well slammed, on 18's. The ride is not harsh. In fact it is still quite confortable. It's all a matter of personal opinion. If your little tushy is too sensitive to handle an extra bump or two, that doesn't mean you need to start calling people names. :keke:

[cdlong]

that was more of a general statement, not limited to this thread. every time i see a question about suspension, most people say "save up [twice as much money] for coilovers." coilovers aren't the only option.

[Jonnie Fraz]

What do you guys think about replacing the 13 + year old bushings. I did just some of the bushings in my car and it made a ton of difference.

[jkgaddis]

no, they are just the only option worth spending the money on. what's cheaper, buying a strut/spring combo and then progressing and realizing you want coilovers instead and then buying those? or just buying the coilovers to begin with? if you want a luxury ride, stick to stock. if you want performance, do it right or do it twice.

and as far as cost, just keep an eye out for some used coilovers. i got a set of kei office xr'2 for 400 used in damned good shape. now, its a bitch for most people to get them rebuilt but i can do it myself. however you can find tein, or stance, or kts pretty cheap used.

and on the subject of snobs, people are just posting thier opinions (which is what was asked of us). so who's the real snob? the guys who offer thier experienced insight? or the guy who calls them snobs for having an opposing opinion to his own?

thank you, im out.

[jkgaddis]

bushings can make a difference, especially if the stock ones are beat. but to me its kinda pointless without doing the rest of the suspension first. its kinda like that last little bit you should do to make it super tight.

[chmercer]

but the springs are about 4 times the stiffness.

you guys are such snobs.

have you ridden in a car with kts and the shocks set on full soft? my grandma did, she was all, is this a caddilac and shit? fuckkk.

[MrChow]

bushings can make a difference, especially if the stock ones are beat. but to me its kinda pointless without doing the rest of the suspension first. its kinda like that last little bit you should do to make it super tight.
I agree to this. I remember helping a friend with this DC2 bushing and then driving it a again after we finish it. That's was just crazy how it felt! The new bushing basically makes the car feel like a brand new car.
Now the a S13/S14 chassis has a sub-frame and they just hate life as it is right now. Here's a very good article about it. http://www.turbomagazine.com/tech/0610turp_project_nissan_240sx/

My opinion to you is take your time. Do the research. And while your doing your research if you haven't yet do the tune-ups and the maintenances to your car (aka take care of your car). Get MPG up a lil so you can save your money up in the end. Thats what i'm doing right now.

My other question is about the KTS coilover. After reading everyone else opinion I when and did some research about it. They look like a very nice coilovers. And aren't over 12k for them.
My question is that how long have a few of you have it for? Aka does the shock go out fast? I've heard that koni last a long long ass time. One of the few reason I wanna to go spring & strut setup.
-thanks

[4EverDrift]

Thanx for all your opinions esp.
cdlong
thatguy

ima do so more research but I gotta move fast cause the back shocks are shot and something else is wrong cause on the freeway if I try and accelerate the tires lose traction and my s13 starts going side to side and up and down. (405 south past Wilshire sucks!) So i think ima try and get some used coilovers like someone suggested or go with some konis/GC setup. Im down to sell some more body parts and put at least 1k into the suspension, and yes I will change the bushings! Definitly want to get it right the first time.

[NotoriouS14]

i just recently purchased some KYB agx and i might purchase some tanabe springs. i would have much rather gone with some coilovers BUT
i just needed shocks and springs period.3 of my shocks are blown and the springs are cut so you can imagine how my ride is :-(
but with your budget you might as well save a couple more hundred and get some bad ass coilovers..depends on your budget and what your willing to spend.

im in downtown and on wilshire everyday and it effin sux..i feel you on that one bro.

[unwed_transient]

My other question is about the KTS coilover. After reading everyone else opinion I when and did some research about it. They look like a very nice coilovers. And aren't over 12k for them.
My question is that how long have a few of you have it for? Aka does the shock go out fast? I've heard that koni last a long long ass time. One of the few reason I wanna to go spring & strut setup.
-thanks

they'll outlast you in most cases.

you'll either get better and want to change the setup, or you'll get bored and sell the car.

the good thing is if you buy them directly from splparts, 550 gets you new dampers on all four corners!!


if they blow out, that is.

[rossfashow]

Not to highjack this thread buy I am looking to autocross my 240 and want the best coilovers I'm thinking about either;

tanabe seven

Cusco 240SX Zero-2R Coilovers

Tein 240SX RE Coilovers

but I'm leaning towards the tanabe sevens though

[OptionZero]

won't coilovers bump you into a higher class because of the pilow ball mounts?

[C. Senor]

to the original poster, i've been riding on semi-blown--blown shocks for a a couple weeks now...i'm saving for stances(which i should be able to get this weekend)..was going to go with megans but kept thinkin to myself why not save a few more bucks and buy better coilovers...then there's a guy selling kts for 750 which is a good price, then thought why spend 750 now and maybe have to spend like 5-6 hundred more bucks a few months down the road (assuming i somehow the shocks blow)(not trying to crap on homie's sell just how i view things) why not just wait a few more weeks and get some good new coilovers and not have to worry about it for a long time....and i drive the 91 daily and the 60 like once a week...so i feel you on the ride on blown shocks, but yeah my 2 cents..save up.... from what i've read (like 5 hours straight of research on different coilovers in the 1000-1500 range and all different opinions written about them) get some kts bet bag for th buck,spl has them for like 1059 iirc, that what like 300 bucks more...save man....but in all fairness i've been told megans make good street coilovers if you're never gonna track your car, just want the adjustablity...sorry the post is so long...i'm done now.

[cdlong]

won't coilovers bump you into a higher class because of the pilow ball mounts?

the springs, camber plates, and pillowball mounts are all illegal in stock class. you can run aftermarket shocks in stock class (i wonder if anyone, anywhere runs a 240 in stock class) but you can't change the other stuff. if you change anything else, that bumps you up to STS or street prepared. outside of stock class, coilovers are pretty much wide open.

so really it's only a concern if you're running in stock, which, as i said, is highly unlikely.

[apexhumper]

Ok since this seems to have been resolved and no one wants to start more threads I thought I'd jack this one for a second.

I searched like mad for suspension upgrades and coilovers and didn't find anything covering my question so here goes.

I'm looking for coilovers for my '95 240, catch is that most people on here that were asking for advice want a drift, autox, track-ish set up. I on the other hand need something for the street that I can also use for "spirited" driving and maybe eventually on a track, but mainly road use. The actual catch being that I need a softer set up than most, not because my tushie cant take the bumps but because my injured spine can't take the bumps. I haven't had any experience with coilovers, not even riding in a car that has coilovers so I'm clueless here, I'm practically about to buy the Tein Super Streets but am wondering if anyone has experience with them or any other opinions, any info would be greatly appreciated.

[ronmcdon]

i'm not an expert, but imo you probably don't need coilovers. I would suggest if you need something only for street use, just get quality lowering springs with lower rates. if all you need is drop, get something like eibach prokits with similar to oem rates. it should theoretically work with the stock shocks, but i'm not sure. ots koni yellows may be safer, esp if you might consider changing spring with higher rates later on.

if you'd like to get rid of additional bodyroll without compromising ride quality, you may also want to get some rollbars in addition. all this may end up costing you less than a set of coilovers. I used to have almost the exact same setup on my VW passat. I had eibach prokits w/ koni yellows, and set of beefier f&r swaybars. i enjoyed that setup very much. felt like an oem sport tuned suspension that was very comfortable for daily, but imo also decent for occasional lapping.

you may also want to check if your bushings (esp the subframe), tie-rods, tension rods are in good condition.

[apexhumper]

Thanks man, it's good to hear that because I was originaly thinking of a similar set up but like usual everyone just says "coilovers", the reason I was thinking of going the coilover way is because currently my car is on koni's and has some unknown "RickyRacer" springs that it's had since before I bought it back in '00.....yet the thing handles like it's on friggin magnetic rails, I absolutely love driving the car hard on flat surfaces and curved roads, but add sone shitty roads to the equation (any CA freeway) and it gets harsh quick. So I still want the performance handling but because of my back I need a somewhat smoother ride

[MELLO*SOS]

edit: Didn't finish reading your thread before replying.. You've already got your answer.

[ronmcdon]

well if you have the koni yellows, you should be able to adjust the valving to a softer setting. give that a try. your ride should be more comfortable. If not, consider a quality lowering spring with softer rates along the lines of eibach, h&r, swift, etc.

also, try to find out the spring rates of no-name brand springs if you can. as a rule of thumb, koni yellows should be able to withstand up 500lb rates but its better to be safe than sorry.