S14 Megan Lowering Springs + Koni Yellows = I'm Crazy?

[ColumbusDrift]

I'm on quite a budget and have been thinking of ways to set-up my S14 for very occasional road racing, autocross, and weekend driving. Based on reading a lot of information on this forum and nissanroadracing forum, I'm leaning towards Koni Yellow for my dampers. The logical and more ideal approach is to use some ground control coilover sleeves, but they cost ~$399shipped from most websites.

Megan lowering springs can be had at ~$130 - $140 shipped. That's cheap and they list the spring rate at FR =350 and RR = FR =250 which seems pretty stiff. At Tirerack a set of FR and RR Koni Yellows is $538 shipped. Thus I could have a fairly cheap set-up for around $700 once I add in camber adjustment bolts for the FR.

Does anyone have any experience with Megan lowering springs? Maybe there are some better alternatives for springs + the Koni's? Thanks for any insight on this matter.

[modulation]

Despite what all the mad tight drifters will tell you, that setup is better then just about any tien, stance, kts or similar setup.

[NINJASPY]

problem with the off the shelf yellows for the s14 application...

the rears are not externally adjustable... you have to take the shock out, compress them, then adjust them. But most people say you never/rarely adjust them.

the fronts "dont go low enough" with ground control setup, maybe the springs will work better. maybe the shaft is lowered so much it bottoms out.

beware of megan springs, there was a post a while back about how they suck and how swift is so much better.

no front camber plates.

otherwise... the shocks are MUCH better than 90% of the "coilover" setups out there.

imo, shocks are more important that anything else in a good suspension setup.

[ColumbusDrift]

problem with the off the shelf yellows for the s14 application...

the rears are not externally adjustable... you have to take the shock out, compress them, then adjust them. But most people say you never/rarely adjust them.

the fronts "dont go low enough" with ground control setup, maybe the springs will work better. maybe the shaft is lowered so much it bottoms out.

beware of megan springs, there was a post a while back about how they suck and how swift is so much better.

no front camber plates.

otherwise... the shocks are MUCH better than 90% of the "coilover" setups out there.

imo, shocks are more important that anything else in a good suspension setup.

You bring up some good points. I did see the post about the megan springs. I'll contact megan and ask them about their quality control (or lack off). I think with just lowering springs it will keep the cost down and allow better wheel options once I get budget.

I'm not sure I really need camber plates as the camber bolts should get me close to where I need to be. I already have spc performance tension control rods, toe, ruca, and traction rods which can also help me dial everything in.

I'll have to check if swift makes an off the shelf lowering spring for the S14. Thanks for your support.

[ColumbusDrift]

Despite what all the mad tight drifters will tell you, that setup is better then just about any tien, stance, kts or similar setup.

I agree with you. Most of the people at my work (BMW guys) that are serious about track driving and autocross use Koni for their dampers. I also will be driving on Michigan roads which aren't exactly glass smooth.

[crashjust4kix]

I ran this setup myself for a spell (for 100 bux someone had to try them, right?), and I was actually pretty happy with it. I don't know if I trust megan to make a really consistent spring, but no one else offers a higher rate drop-in for us. HOWEVER, I strongly suggest investing in the koni produced bumpstops (on 350# you will hit them occasionally) and the koni lowering spacers from TIC (they're for a subaru but the fit/work fine on my s13)- that'll give you about 3/4" more bump travel up front. all together IMO it should make you pretty happy for awhile unless you're tracking constantly.

[ColumbusDrift]

I ran this setup myself for a spell (for 100 bux someone had to try them, right?), and I was actually pretty happy with it. I don't know if I trust megan to make a really consistent spring, but no one else offers a higher rate drop-in for us. HOWEVER, I strongly suggest investing in the koni produced bumpstops (on 350# you will hit them occasionally) and the koni lowering spacers from TIC (they're for a subaru but the fit/work fine on my s13)- that'll give you about 3/4" more bump travel up front. all together IMO it should make you pretty happy for awhile unless you're tracking constantly.

Thanks for the good advice and write-up. I'll look into the koni produced bumpstops. I'm not sure if the koni yellows some with bumpstops or does koni assume you reuse the stock ones? I would think the koni rod diameter > than OEM rod diameter.

Do you happen to have any pictures of the megan spring drop rate? I'm more concerned about the performance like you mentioned, but any improvement in appearance is always good.

[modulation]

I finally got my koni's after a 2.5 month wait last week. This weekend I put the koni's and megan springs on my S13 and wow it's freaking awesome. My friend with a ITC spec 510 even got a smile on his face driving around corners once we had everything installed.

crashjust4kix is right though, I did the zip-tie test and I did hit my bump-stops. I was using stock ones so I cut them down like 1.5 inches and now I'm not really hitting them except on huge bumps. I'd rather play it safe then sorry though so I ordered some TIC koni spacers.

I wish I could have found a little stiffer spring, maybe I should have custom ordered some. I would have like 400f/350r or so, I don't think koni yellows can go much higher then that without revalving.

[crashjust4kix]

I'm glad it worked out for you. keep us posted as to how it works out for you over the rest of the season...

[NINJASPY]

pics please.
did you end up getting camber plates; etc?

[S14DRIFTSPORT240SX]

im rolling megans 2 inch drop and its wonderful. more stiff than soft but i perfer that anyways to know im not a boat on water lol. i like to feel the road thats my opinion

[noynek]

I know this is Old . However no one posted driving impressions after continued use. Concerned about longevity of the Megan Spring

[wanksta]

I changed from Eibach to Megan on my S14. After a 24hr endurance race the front Megans only measured 125lb. The old Eibachs i took off measured 160lb. Megans claim of 350lb is way off.

[Butcher240sx]

i have ebiach spro's on tokico blues. the ride is excellent. alot of people talk shit about ebiach but they make a consistant product. the shocks make all the difference in the world. most people try to eliminate body roll with the springs but that is what sway bars are for. I drive my s13 everyday so i need a comfortable ride. I has some stiff ass coilovers on my integra and my ex wouldnt ride in it because they made her big ass tiddies hurt. That was one of my deciding factors in my setup, got to keep the ladies happy too. Be a real badass and get the nismo tunes struts and springs. tuned for your car already. isnt adjustable but they dont need to be.

[KA240SX808]

Tokico Blues. Not Koni ;)

And I personally would get the Pro kit over the sportlines from a performance stand point. They have a slightly less drop and slightly stiffer rates to keep you off the bump stops a little more. And yes if you can live with the minimal drop the Nismo S-Tune is a very nice combo.

[Silverbullet]

I changed from Eibach to Megan on my S14. After a 24hr endurance race the front Megans only measured 125lb. The old Eibachs i took off measured 160lb. Megans claim of 350lb is way off.

How close was the Eibach to the advertised rate? Did you test all 4?

BTW, i ahve a pair of Koni yellow sport 8610 dampers for S13/S14 FS if anyone interested. Its hard to convice drifters to go with shock/spring setup.

[Darren]

Shocks and springs / coil overs are very important, but don't forget how sloppy our chassis are, if you want a great car, you will have to start improving the chassis bracing / anti-sway bars at some point....

for instance; you will feel an immediate different with a power brace or equivalent and it's cheap, even if you have to pay a welder to do it..... making your "cheap" shock & spring setup feel that much better

btw, koni's ARE the real deal, had the internally adjustable koni yellows in a tracked honda crx i had and they were better on the track with ~500 lbs/sq in springs than my $3500 ground control coilovers :D

my .02 Good luck, this is a life long / preference choice

[KA240SX808]

How close was the Eibach to the advertised rate? Did you test all 4?

BTW, i ahve a pair of Koni yellow sport 8610 dampers for S13/S14 FS if anyone interested. Its hard to convice drifters to go with shock/spring setup.

Eibach info from Eibach themselves is as given:

S14
Sportline 1.7"/1.4" Drop | Front Rate =109-171lbs | Rear Rate = 114-160lbs
Pro Kit 1.2"/1.0" Drop | Front Rate = 137-228lbs | Rear Rate = 114-171lbs

So assuming he measured the rear as it's the easiest to take out/apart it would be on the dot.

[wanksta]

I measured the fronts. I wish I had measured the Megans before to see if they changed or were just that soft to start with. Goin back to the Eibachs for the 14hrs of Sebring in a few weeks.

[gills]

I changed from Eibach to Megan on my S14. After a 24hr endurance race the front Megans only measured 125lb. The old Eibachs i took off measured 160lb. Megans claim of 350lb is way off.

I measured the fronts. I wish I had measured the Megans before to see if they changed or were just that soft to start with. Goin back to the Eibachs for the 14hrs of Sebring in a few weeks.

NECRO BUMP because it's worth it for anyone considering these steaming piles of sh!t that Megan falsely advertises horribly. I measured them first thing when they arrived because, well, they're Megan parts and nothing they claim should ever be believed. Like Wanksta, I do entry level/budget endurance racing so we can't use fancy stuff hence my desire to ever consider these.

Copy and pasted from my post on nissanroadracing.com:

OK, so here's some really funny/pathetic stuff. I know 99% of the people on here don't care about regular lowering springs, but this is worth sharing for any future google searches so it's more of a PSA really for any future budget endurance racers.

Finally received my advertised 350 lbs/in front, 250 lbs/in rear Megan lowering springs (which took forever to ship from Megan, BTW). As soon as I opened the package I knew right away that the advertised rate was total BS. The wire diameter was just way too thin (0.515") for this OD and coil count compared to what I've been testing lately. I'm using a press and well calibrated 10k lbs load cell used in my factory for various applications.

Anyway, here you are:

Some super awesome steel made from japan, baby! Must be good ****!
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/mrbebu/IMG_20150917_150618-nopm-_zpsy2d8lbl5.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/mrbebu/media/IMG_20150917_150618-nopm-_zpsy2d8lbl5.jpg.html)

Front spring sitting at more or less free length:
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/mrbebu/20150917_165902_zpsaq7vubqn.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/mrbebu/media/20150917_165902_zpsaq7vubqn.jpg.html)

Front spring sitting at 704 lbs, which is near the static weight on the front left of my S13 with driver in car:
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/mrbebu/20150917_170046_zpsteggfjwv.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/mrbebu/media/20150917_170046_zpsteggfjwv.jpg.html)

Compressed a little more to 789lbs:
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/mrbebu/IMG_20150917_171218-nopm-_zpstde6ogyn.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/mrbebu/media/IMG_20150917_171218-nopm-_zpstde6ogyn.jpg.html)

Trying to compress the spring another inch after hitting 700lbs and it is practically coil bound hence the large ump:
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/mrbebu/IMG_20150917_172317-nopm-_zpskqmlyys9.jpg (http://s77.photobucket.com/user/mrbebu/media/IMG_20150917_172317-nopm-_zpskqmlyys9.jpg.html)

So, you do the math. These springs are barely stiffer than stock springs. They are supposed to lower the car almost 2" as well. They must ride great, eh? :rolleyes: