I have been told the Koni Yellow shocks are the greatest, I just need to know which is the best shock/struts to buy?? I would like a variable struts and shocks. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Brad

 

i would like to hear about this also.

maybe someone can throw in a combo that doesnt **** off the chicks because of the bumpy ride.

 

I have Koni reds up front, Koni yellows in the back. The fronts are cranked up all the way, while the backs are set at about 1/4 of max damping. The backs are quite stiff, but are still have an acceptable ride quality for the street. I like the Konis a lot.

 

bilstein all the way, i've had koni and got rid of them because of the ride. they are alright for the track but can't compare. the model depends on your height. if you have worn out springs or pro-kit height i would stick with hd's. any lower and go with the sport.

eibach's and bilsteins you will not regret it.

 

are the bilstein adjustable?? I have read the Koni's are isnt this a plus for the koni's??

 

I am going to be trying out the KYB AGX's. Those are adjustable. (Also, I personally can get them cheap as hell)

 

that's why i got my kyb's and i regret it....you can get them adjustable but your looking at upwards of 800 for two in the bilsteins.

the koni's are adjustable but i found that even on my favorite setting the bilsteins were much nicer. just install them and forget it.

 

I have to agree that Bilsteins are nice dampers. I have had a set of them for about 3 years and have never had a complaint even with my worn, sagging front springs. BTW, I had KYBs before that, non adjustable, they were pretty crappy in my opinion. I could not tell a difference with them compared to the old, stock shocks/stuts. When I switched to the Bilsteins, WOW. Good ride, great handling. NOw I just need to get some springs...

 

Anyone have any experience with the Tokico Illumina 5-Way Adjustables that Spohn sells?

 

not on a thirdgen....driven them on a civic before with adjustable coilovers. their ok i suppose but i didn't have anything to compare them with other then the stock 100+ mileage setup.

 

What springs would you recommend to match the Bilsteins? I am looking for a clean stance and something decent for traction at the track occassionally. I've been looking at Ground Control and Intrax springs. I have heard that the Intraxs are not too great, but they seem to look good on our cars. Any input? About the Tokicos, same here. Have ridden in an Integra and Civic with them. Pretty nice ride with a decent sized drop, but with that you are comparing oranges to apples!! thanks guys

 

I have Bilsteins and I am strongly considering going with the GW Comp springs. I am looking for a well handling car and I can live with some loss in ride quality. My goal is handling over comfort...

 

I was planning on going with the bilstein/eibach combo and had a few questions. First, I noticed there are two different bilstein shocks for our cars, HD and Sport (I think), which is better for me? Second, with this combo, will I HAVE TO weld in new LCA brackets? If so, I guess it's not a big deal. Will the brackets require new LCAs too? Thanks.

 

You don't have to use LCA relocation brackets, but it is highly recommended with lowered cars. Your stock arms will work but many get aftermarket ones when they do the relocation brackets. Also get the weld in kind, not the bolt in...

 

Is welding these in pretty straight-forward? Is it something simple that any muffler/fabrication shop can handle?

 

Yep...

 

i described what my optimal setting was. the eibach prokit/bilstein hd's are just awsome. for that height you don't need relocating brackets and it handles very very well. i also upgraded my sway bars at the time too though to 1-le spec.

if your going to go sportline use the sports as they will work better with lowered cars. with a close to 2" drop you will want the relocating brackets for the lca's.

 

Hey Kandied, did you have springs in on the car when you did the motor swap or did you already have the coilovers? Reason i ask is b/c i am looking at these companies, like Intrax for example, b/c they lower our cars up to 2". I have lost a bunch of weight off of the front end and well, after my motor swap, the front of the car is just plain ugly! It sits up way too high now. I don't know how to go about solving this besides with a set of lowering springs. Currently i have the Eibach Drag springs and pretty new KYBs. It sticks up pretty damn high and i do not know how to get it lower without the new springs. Any input would be cool.

 

no i didn't.....i change the fronts to coilovers at the same time. when you change things like that you run into problems. you could by a sportline setup and try it out...or intrax like your thinking.

i do have a set of front pro-kit coils that would work perfect for that. i'm not sure if i'm going to a sportline spring in the rear or leaving the pro-kit. i'll have to see after my new front suspension this winter. unfortunately spring rates vary from car to car so when you do something like we have you run into problems.

 

Well, i don't know how the car would react to the pro kit springs in the front and with the drag springs in the back. Couldn't be too bad of a ride. If you decide to go through with the rear spring swap, let me know. I'll take them off your hands! thanks

 

Just cut the springs and be done with it. I'd start with 1/4 to 1/2 a coil, just remember you cant put it back.

 

"just remember you cant put it back"

which is exactly why i have not done that in the past year! Not sure how well that would work. Besides, that would kill the resale value of them. lol

 

I have the Tokico 5 way adjustables with Hotchkis springs. I really like the way that they ride, but I don't have anything to compare them to. The reason why I went with them is because the rear Konis have to be at full extension in order to be adjusted. The Tokicos have small adjusters on the tops that you turn with a small screw driver. The plastic adjusters leave a little to be desired, but still easier than jacking up the rear and crawling under the car for the Konis. Especially while sitting on a tight grid, with cars parked all around you!

 

Works fine... and screw resale value!

I can tell you from personal experience that cutting a coil off the stock front WS6 springs is too much.

 

with my eibachs i followed gm hightech and cut 1/2" off the top coil in the fronts and it worked perfect.

 

Even if I don't HAVE TO install new LCA brackets after I install the eibach/bilstein combo, will the brackets give me an advantage even if they aren't needed? Are they worth the money?

 

:hail:

 

I dont know that I'd say they arent needed. I have the combo you're talking about, and IMO from measuring up the rear suspension, it needs them. Car seems to hook fair right now, but then again its slow.

 

I guess it wouldn't hurt to put them in...they aren't that expensive. If I do decide to put the brackets in, will that require that I get new LCAs? Also, do you recommend that I get the bar that NJITIROC posted (I think it's called a panhard bar)? Thanks

 

Hey NJITIROC, nice setup. Where did you get the shocks and struts from? I've been looking around and every place seems about the same as far as price goes. I am guessing you got them from Spohn with the panhard bar!? And Irocster, almost anything as far as suspension goes would be better than most stock pieces, and sometimes there are parts out there that are overkill for a stock car. That adjustable version in the pic is for centering the rear end. I believe it works best when you have lowering springs. If you have any questions at all, see if you can call up Steve Spohn. He's a cool guy and will answer all of your questions so long he has time. He will not talk you into getting over priced stuff neither, besides, he too has to make a name for himslef and his company, so he is not out to get anybody! He'll be able to get you the right parts for your needs. good luck

 

hey 86IROCNJ
i got the front struts from LIngenfelter, the rear shocks from some place (it was like truckperformancecenter or something like that) and the springs and panhard rod i got from spohn.

i like the setup. its the prokit and the bilstein sports.

 

i have tokico illuminas with eibach pro kit, relocation brackets, spohn adj lca's and adj panhard bar, i don't have much to compare it to, but compared to the shot springs and completly dead shocks and struts, it rocks! plus the adjustments on the tokicos are quick and easy.

 

Thanks for the reply. I think i might just cut a 1/2 coil and see what happens. I have long tubes so i can't go too low. But right now the car sits so damn high, its pretty rediculous. thanks guys

 

you dont have an '01 SS do you? were you on the SLP board back in teh day?

 

I wish! My freind has one though, M6, Black, its pretty nice. That thing can move on the parkway.

 

that picture is a beautiful thing...

the need for relocation brackets has to be evident in the lowering. i only have the prokit in the rear and haven't needed it running some very decent 60's on my 18's.



i would do the stronger pieces like subframes, stb and the like as well as bigger sway bars for turns and then put a really nice setup of struts/shocks/springs in the car. all the other pieces are nice but you could easily wrap up 5-700 on parts that are minor on the street.

 

I originally had replace my stock shock/struts with KYB and ran those for about 3 months before wanting more so I made the switch to Bilstein and have been please ever since. That was 2 years ago

 

I will purchase Blistein and will let everyone know the ride turns out.

 

Go the Koni route. You'll find their quality, performance and adjustability second to none. I have gotten my best Koni deals, regardless of the vehicle, from: PPI

 

Any of you guys have a Gtech? Have you tried doing latera stuff and measuring it? If you did before and after test on, say on ramps you might be able to tune them better for both traction and comfort. Just a thought

 

go to blistein web site, look for shock/strut/ spring package they have set up for 3rd gens. if you don't see it call and ask for it. last time i called (about a year ago) it was going for about 700-800 dollars

 

My friend has a g-tech. I ran a .96g with the setup found on the page on my signature