ZX88

i decided to create this thread because i noticed that every week we get the same question "What are good coilovers?" or "what should i buy?" Instead of us wasting space on zilvia creating new threads on the same topic why not create a thread that will inform a noob to help them decide what coilover they should get.

-This is just a list of different companies that make coilovers for our car i categorized the list based on information from past threads and from reading review on this site as well a NICO.

companies

----Price is not directly proportional to the quality------

Expensive sets($$$$$$$)($1500-$2600)

- Swift
-Super March

-Sard
- Gt Spec

-Toda Racing
- Type FS

-Cusco
-Comp Zero-2(R)
-Comp Zero-1
-Apexi
-

-JIC
- Magic FLT-A2

-Tein
- RA
- RE
- RS
-Kei office
-( discontinued but can be found used) warning no rebuilds

-Zeal
- Super function
- Function xs
- Function x
- Function D

-Yashiro factory
- http://www.yashiofactory.co.jp/

-HKS
- Hipermax DRAG
- Hipermax RS

-Tanabe
- Sustec Pro SEVEN

-Buddy club
-P1 Racing Damper

-KW
-Variant 3

-Apexi
- N1 Damper Pro
- N1 Damper Type V

- G6R


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Midrange sets[( budget friendly and really good)($1100-$1499)

-Stance
- GR+
- GR+ PRO

- G-Master

-Tanabe
- Pro SS Type II
- Sustec Pro S-S

-Power by max
- Competition coilover

-Tein
- Flex
- Super DRIFT SideWay Master

-JIC
-Magic SF-1
-Magic FLT-A1

-Silkroad
- RM/A8
- Section

-Greddy
- Type S

-KTS

-BC -
- BR
-RS-R
- Sports I

- Cusco
- Comp-S

-Ksport
- GT pro damper
- Kontrol drift

-Apexi
-N-1 Damper ExV

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Cheap stuff ( usually below $1000)

-Apexi
- World Sport Damper

- Tein
-super street
- basics

- STANCE
- GR Basic

- Ground control
- coilover sleeves and decent shock combo

- Buddy club
-N+ Spec

- Tanabe
-Pro S-OC Type II

-Megan
- Track
- Street

-Ksport
-kontrol

-KBee

-NEX
- GT
- SS

unknown brands

-Motorwerks

stuff that never should be used
-ebay coilovers sleeves
-aerospeed sleeves
- in fact any sleeves besides the ground control ones should never be installed.

Where/ Who to buy from

On Zilvia

-Any of Zilvia.nets Approved advertisers located in the advertiser directory
-Group Buys (forums) "check the review forums to see how good the seller is"
-For sale Forum

Websites
( these three companies pretty much have all the brands mentioned above)

-http://www.240sxmotoring.com
-http://www.phase2motortrend.com
-http://www.aspecproducts.com/default.asp

Disclaimer when buying used coilovers

-the gamble with buying used coilovers say over ebay is that you never really know what the condition the shocks are in. Even though they might seem cheaper chances are that they have been ridden hard and will most likely need a rebuild. Rebuilds can be costly especially if the coilover is discontinued or you have to ship it out to japan/etc. Unless you are 100 percent sure of the condition of the coilovers i would not bother buying used rusty coilovers over ebay/etc. Nothing is worse than bouncing around on blown shocks.

This thread is pretty open if anyone else have any other brand that they know feel free to post and if you have it give us a review on what you think.

Post your reviews like this

Company:__________________
Model:______________________
Review:__________________


More info on certain brand/models and on coilovers in general.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Nissan_...ilover_reviews

http://driftkat.com/Nissan240SXCoilovers.php

Bobafreak

i give you one good rep my friend this is a good post.

__________________
*VIOLENT RUNNING TRIBE*
"Love is god, hatin is satin!"

MomentumGT

Maybe add Buddy Club P1 Racing Damper to the top list along with the Racing Spec Damper. And the N+ Spec to the "Cheap Stuff" but decent list. My experience with BC has been pretty good as of late. Also add KW as well

Also maybe add a Grip/Road Race/Top of the Line list as well. Starting with Progress, Moton, Penske, etc...

Good post!

-Jon

__________________

momentumgt.com - "building blocks of speed"

x'ed

Glad to see im getting some changes made around here, lol, whatever the cause may be.

Matej

The quality isn't necessarily directly proportional to the price.
Also, there are other things to consider, such as warranty, support for rebuilds in the U.S., and etc.

hijack3d

Very true. It'd be nice to list the manufacturers that actually give stateside support. I only know (and correct me if I'm wrong):

Stateside support:

Greddy
Tein
KTS
K-Sport
PowerMax
Megan
Buddy Club

People are welcome to add on to that, or subtract, just thought it'd be a good list for the ultra n00bs....

And I also agree that price doesn't always determine quality. There are a lot of companies now that seem to be manufacturering their own coilovers, not so well known so they're slightly less expensive, but still decent quality.

__________________

Don't worry, it's legit: Review (Thanks Mike)

ayuaddict

i didnt see KTS anywhere on that list...maybe you should add it.

infamous240sx

Its in the midrange area bro.

BAY240

awesome nice thread i keep researching old threads for this exact information. you helped out a ton and actually kept me from making a horrible mistake!

also what do you guys recomend for a college student not makin any money but a budget of about a grand? i have a blown stock shock and the tension rods need to be replaced too. my car will be my DD and its going to see a lot more road than track.

Thanx

ZX88

tein SS and basic would be under 1000 and are decent you wont be able to slam your ride but it will be lower and you can preload the springs. they don't have any camber plate either so you have to use your old boots.save up a little more and get stance or other mid range coilovers.that will allow you to adjust more things.

aznpoopy

this is a good guide as to prices, but doesn't really get into the meat of what makes one coilover better than another (all other options being equal)... the shock.

few here have the technical background (or the money and resources) to make a really objective in-depth evaluation (or dyno) of every shock that comes in every coilover. and most people wouldn't understand it anyway. hell i know i don't. so i would take the list with a pinch of salt.

ZenkiKid

+ Repp on the thread. Yeah used coilovers are a gamble, so far it looks like i won my gamble on my gab sport revo stroke 2s. Over a year and still strong!!

Wiisass

I would love to do this, but the logistics of it make things pretty impossible. It would require cooperation from the manufacturers or distributors and then the costs of dyno time and fixtures to mount the dampers on a dyno. But it would allow for objective analysis of the many available options on the market. Who knows if the higher priced JDM dampers have the same valving as the lower priced stuff or where the valving is in relation to where it should be.

But there's a good chance it would never happen.

__________________
TIP Engineering
R/T Tuning
Drift and RWD Sport
DriftAssNation

TheSquidd

Yeah would never happen, because I guarantee half of those coil overs all come from the same damn factory in Taiwan. Mine included. No company wants to see that kind of information become common knowledge.

My main thing is who the hell is giving the review?

So far, the reviews posted are wholeheartedly trustworthy, but if we could avoid the whole:

"Oh yeah I bought some Megan Racing coil overs, they drift good, stiff, I slammed my car!"

type of review, it'd be great.

Please, only people that know what a coil over does and should do post reviews. People that have tested the coil overs in an environment where their performance MATTERS (drift, time trial, SCCA, auto-x) This excludes me as well since I don't know the first thing about suspension.

Links to other sites, as basis for some of the claims for the reviews, would also be excellent.

__________________
www.squidd.org
www.violent-running.org

AceInHole

Dennis Grant claims to have done something similar.

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets6.html

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Wiisass

I'm a fan of what Dennis wrote. It's a good guide based on actual experience and what seems like mostly unbiased reports. I mean if you really want good track coilovers, look at what real race teams and privateers are running. There aren't many using JDM coilovers and if there are, there's a good chance they're either revalved and tested. Or there's a good chance, they could be faster if they were using better shocks.

But I also agree with Squidd, who is giving these reviews. No offense meant, but I don't trust the detailed suspension reviews of many people on this site. It's not that I don't think the people know what they're feeling, it's that I think they don't have a good benchmark to compare their current setup to. Not many people have actually driven and raced on a well setup damper system. That's not saying that people don't know how it should feel, but some people aren't experienced enough to give a good review. Saying coilovers are harsh could mean many different things and may be misconstrued as something else. Which is what I've seen on paper when comparing the MAX plots to people's feedback.

__________________
TIP Engineering
R/T Tuning
Drift and RWD Sport
DriftAssNation

hijack3d

You're absolutely right... When I'm shopping for coilovers I like to know:

• Is there stateside support?
• A warranty?
• Longevity? How long can I expect them to last?
• How adjustable is this? 18-way? 32-way? 1,003,422-way?
• Ride quality?
• How's the design of the coilover? Does it allow for proper adjustments to be made without hassle?
• Pillow ball mounts?
• Possible resale value?

I think the OP had a good start... No one really reviewed their coilovers like he asked though... but there are just tons more questions that need to be answered..

__________________

Don't worry, it's legit: Review (Thanks Mike)

eastcoastS14

sustec pro sevens
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/coilovers/SEVEN.asp

TEAS controller
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/coilovers/TEAS.asp

expect to pay about $2500 for the combo

in any case its hard to compare all coilovers anyway since anyone who's running a particular set will most likely like them to some extent or else they wouldnt have em. In all reality it only matters so much since you will never know the difference anyway as most of us will never have the chance to ride in a car with every coilover. I recommend getting something with a decent amount of features in your price range that will serve what you intend to do with your car well...if people can share experiences like "oh mine broke after a month and it took for ever to get a rebuild" or 'ive never had a problem with these" that would help but just saying what you do or do not like only helps a little

AceInHole

You forgot to post about stuff that actually works.

High end:
Ohlins/ JRZ/ Penske: Currently no off the shelf model. Not expecting 240 owners to look towards these anyways as they: a. actually work, and b. actually cost money. Ohlins did bolt on stuff for the S13 and S14, not available in the US, though.

Moton
Motorsport: $5500 to $11000
Available in 2-way, 3-way, and 4-way adjustable, external reservoir shocks/ struts. They have probably the largest range of adjustment, with an equally impressive damper setup. Among the features is a blow-off-valve system which allows large bumps/ impacts to go by without upsetting the car.
Clubsport:$Unkown (No app listed for Nissan, but I'm assuming they could be custom made for around the cost of the Evo/ Sti app).
Cheaper version of Moton Motorsport shocks, which still retains a large adjustment range. Double adjustable shock with external reservoirs.

Koni:
28-series: $5500
Aluminum body double adjustable monotube shocks/ struts.
Available through most shops that do custom setups, although I believe TrueChoice has already made a set. Proven through SCCA National level autocross on Jason Rhoades' STS winning car.
86-series: $2000 w/GC perches/ springs
Double adjustable twin tube shocks. Not as digressive, but huge range in damping. Modular setup allows easy replacement/ rebuilding. My front struts currently have 11kg springs on them, with damping adjusters at 1/3 from soft, and they're just a bit overdamped.
Yellows:$1100 w/GC perches/ springs
Single adjustable twin tube shocks. Very digressive, but not quite as capable of higher springrates as the 86 series. I've run up to 8kg springs on the yellows and the seem to hold up fine.
I run these personally with close to 11/ 8 kg springs (F/R).

Bilstein
Cost unknown, although from Wiisass' review they'd be around $1200- $1500 with springs/ perches. I've seen what looked like a PSS9 setup for an S14 around but most of the stuff is from Europe or Japan.



My pick: I'm currently running Koni 8611's up front, with Yellows in back. I'm on 11kg/ 8kg springs, and my ride comfort is pretty decent. It's probably equivolent to a JDM coilover setup on 8kg/ 6kg in terms of harshness, although with less "bounce". My setup including springs and camber plates would run about $1800.

What I'd get next:
I've seen extremely good results with Ohlins. Mark Daddio's Evo is on roughly 800lb springs (14kg) up front. It weighs only slightly more than my S14 (i've heard he's near the 2800 mark) and it rides amazingly smooth. I've yet to hitch a ride with a Moton shod car, but from what I hear it's the basic upgrade for Porsche owners, and a lot of BMW racers run them as well, with fantastic results. Both companies offer solutions that should land in the sub $5000 range.

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mmdb

Dunno if this has been mentioned within the post, but called AMS today and apparently they do have Ohlins made for the s14. From what I was told they're both compression and rebound adjustable. Cost is ~3200 or so. On the side note I was told Ohlins are designed for high speed dampening, which could be undesirable for certain setups.

eastcoastS14

I recently installed my sustec pro sevens. Just looking at them you can tell they are very high quality.... Very beefy and solid. Although once I installed them they are pretty bouncy but I havent had any chance to adjust them at all....once I get a chance I can get a better sense of how they handle. The only thing I can say Im not neccessarily a fan of is the manual adjustment knobs....they kind of just sit on the top of the valve and seem like they could just fall off very easily

Bobafreak

woot woot. i thought kei office went out of business though? Someone inform me.

__________________
*VIOLENT RUNNING TRIBE*
"Love is god, hatin is satin!"

ZX88

kie office has stop making there coilovers but you can find them used.

http://www.driftfactory.com/keifaq.php

Aoshi112

Don't forget about KW Variant 3's. They're about 1700ish. Highly decorated coilovers recommended by Robi of Robispec. Lots of evos run them with great results.

Otis Performance

you might want to add these http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/S13-o...QQcmdZViewItem

there super cheap so someone is going to ask about them.

Okinawandrifter87

Kei Office is continued but I think he is making a new line called Dg5? Someone correct me if I am wrong thanks, just trying to contribute to this helpful thread.

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Driftphreak87

Antihero983

dont forget that if your coilovers dont come with camber plates, you can usually buy them, and if you keep your strut/spring setup i believe cusco makes camper plates for the front for that setup.

__________________
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robtheflyer

Just came across a website the other day and was surprised by some names of the coilovers they had for s14s. Sard GT Spec and Swift Super Mach, pretty rare and I wonder if they would be as good as I think they are. Don't forget Silk Road.. heard some good reviews about those.

http://www.autornd.com/catalog/index...e9c57d69216ee6

s13.5ftw

yup i was gonna say he didnt include dg5's, and i got a review on these from formula d driver joon woo maeng, he says he likes them a lot, he said that he could feel the difference from his last coils (no idea what they were), but anyways for those people wondering about the dg5's i guess there a good buy? 2500 better be a good buy lol

usdm180sx

Kei office is now DG-5. Bad ass and just as expensive. I would also add Tein Mono Flex to the middle range price list

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-Norm!