2nd Lobe Steady

What's the main difference besides $$$$$?
Are coilovers safe? I heard if your suspension drops, it could be dangerous. Anybody have experience?

JEFFOS69

Usually a full coilover is matched with each other - Spring rate with damper. A good seperate coilover with a good shock will work well also but for the extra money you may as well go with a full proper setup in my opinion if you're buying both at once (spring and shock)

FuzzyLS BRO

suspension drops? coilovers give you the option of setting your ride height so it's adjustible, springs however are not adjustible. you can get both coilovers and springs with the same springrate also.

2nd Lobe Steady

Will the ride be too stiff or too soft if I use the stock shock with coilover springs? Where's the best place to buy coilovers?

JEFFOS69

For coilovers it depends on the brand youre looking for. Also I would go against using just springs and stock shocks as you will be greatly reducing the travel and springs rates that they are designed to and wont ride that nicely and will have a shorter life. You'll enjoy the way your car drives much more with a good coilover or shock and spring combo rather then just springs.

HKJ

^generic brand coilover sleeves on stock shocks will ride pretty decent, but your stock shocks may blow over time.

if you're looking for a suspension drop only, stock shocks and coilover sleeves/springs will be plenty for you (cheap as well.. about 200$). the ride won't be as smooth as aftermarket coilovers because the shocks won't be valved to handle the higher spring rates, but ride quality isn't that bad.

if you want some performance out of your setup, a nice street coilover will give you full adjustability, and a much better ride. a typical street coilover will run you anywhere from 1000$ for the omni's and about 1300$ for the tein ss.

2nd Lobe Steady

Are there shocks that are specifically designed for short travel, ie. lowered cars?
How do you match spring rate with shock rate? :confusedo
What kind of drop can I expect?
Nobody has mentioned safety.
How do they handle winters?

WildoutWhiteGSR

yup Koni Yellows would be one type of shock made for lowered cars


In order to match spring rates with shock rates you have to contact the shock company and tell them the amount you want to lower your car and the spring rate of the springs in order to have it properly matched.

Most or 90% of people ignore this and choose to complain about it later, when they're car rides like ----. Or you could just go out and buy full coilovers from the get go.

WildoutWhiteGSR

The drop with coilovers is adjustable. Safety wise there's nothing to worry about aside from inproper installation.

Winters on either setup will be fine. With the coilovers you'll need to clean the threads every couple of months to prevent rustings and it seizing up.

2nd Lobe Steady

Thanks yO!

HKJ

i think koni has a shortened version of their sport coilovers. you'd have to double check with them.

again, you'd have to call koni if you'd like to match a spring rate to their shock. i hear a lot of people use regular off shelf koni sports (yellows) with regular off shelf ground control coilovers (400f 300r i think) with a lot of sucess.

depending on what you use. a spring may drop you anywhere from 1.75" to 2.75" from what i understand. a full coilover can rise your car UP 3" or drop you 3-4" depending.

only safety issue i would be worried about are cheaply made thaiwan coilovers. they're known to crack at the collar, and have other defects. do your research before spending the money on a full coilover.

also, check this: https://www.torontointegras.ca/forum...ad.php?t=15718

i wouldn't recommend driving coilovers in the winter. some seem to use them in the winter fine, but you will have to maintain them well. the threads might corrode and seize. also, some jdm brand coilovers, (tein HA, and zeal for instance) do not have any protective zinc coating on them, and are prone to surface rust as well.

the spring/shock combo can be driven in the winter as long as you don't mind getting stuck in the snow from time to time.

im bored. hope that helped.

JEFFOS69

My tein basics are fine in the winter so far. Also tein ss for 1300 is a good deal not a usual price.

2nd Lobe Steady

Onto the next set of questions. What are my options with camber adjustment? What price range do they fall under? I have a DC2.

WildoutWhiteGSR

don't worry about camber, instead spend that money on an alignment

FuzzyLS BRO

yes, you will have camber, however don't get the miss conception that camber wears tires. when you lower a car you throw the toe alignment out of wack, thus wearing tires. get an alignment to set your toe back to factory spec and you won't be wearing tires.