I have a 1998 GSR with an Eibach Prokit 1" drop and I want to go lower.

2 Questions

(1) What are my options and approximate costs?

(2) Do you most people swap back to stock for the winter? (Is it true that coilovers seize if driven through the winter?)

Testimonials welcome.

 

Depends on what you're looking for. Do you track the car? AutoX? Just cruise?

I run a full Buddy Club race suspension in my car with 14K linear springs in the rear and 10K linear springs up front. Does NOT make a good street set up. But it's amazing on the track.

Won't recommend lowering it lower than 2" because that really effects performance at that point. Plus, make sure the shocks are valved to handle the spring rates of the springs. Coilovers will seize in the winter. You can spray it with thick oil to give it some protection but still, not advised for winter driving.

Personally, I'm pretty impressed with those full Omni Coilovers. Shocks are valved to handle much higher spring rates than it comes with and overall quality seems pretty impressive. Look to spend 800-900 for the full plug and play setup. Street setup is better for a street driven car, track is better for a track only car. Good luck.

 

^^ I'm not sure how true it is that coilovers seize up if driven in the winter time...because Trenell(Wildoutwhitegsr) has them and doesn't have probs and neither does my cousin who lives in Chicago...

also it depends on how stiff of a ride you want...for instance when you hit a lil groove in the road...do you want your passengers and yourself to feel it or not feel it....OR it depends on how hard you drive your car as well because the lower you go the more careful you need to be now since alot of the roads are shitty...good luck

 

The set-up would be for cruising puposes only (and some 5th gear v-teching on the highway late night for fun)

So do most people on here swap back to thier stock suspension set-ups for winter (full swap and alignment)?

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I appreciate it.

 

I'm performance bent so street ridability isn't a factor for me. I think if you just go with a progressive spring you'll be fine. The way you can tell the difference is a linear spring uses a pretty heavy coil that has the same spiral from bottom to top. Meaning, no matter how much pressure is applied you always get the same spring rate. Makes for predictable track driving. A progressive spring however has generally thinner coils that spiral closer together at the top and or bottom. This means as the spring compresses the spring rate increases. For street driving that means smaller bumps will be absorbed and when you're pushing the car into a sweaper or on an off-ramp, you'll get better perfromance as you load up the spring.

I know a HADA guy who swapped in a test set of Omni Race coilovers and got exactly the same times as with his full Tien race coilovers. A setup like mine will run you around 3K, a set of Tiens around 2700. Omnis are like I said, 800-900 bucks depending on application. Do a search on honda-tech.com and see what people say about the street setup and it's drivability. It does give you the option to run higher spring rates for when your ********* drop and you're ready to do some track driving.

Another classic recomendation is a Ground control kit mated with Koni yellows Konis cost $1300 and the GC are under 500$...this is a classic setup,
allows you to grow and is completely rebuildable. The benefit to this setup is the shocks are dampening adjustible so you have the option to run softer on the street, harder on the track and adjust your settings for different tracks. Hope that helps. Like I said, I only care about performance so you might want to research whatever it is you buy.

 

I thought Trenell didnt drive his car in the winter???

 

I have Tein SS full coilovers with a Skunk 2 camber kit on the front. I love it, but it is quite expensive , I don't know if you want to go for something a little cheaper for looks only. I just covered my coils in oil and drove them through the winter, everything is fine with them.

 

This winter no, but last winter yes.

 

I've seen pics of your car. It's ride height looks ill. Respect. How much was your set-up? where did you buy it? install it?

 

It was pretty expensive... I got deals on both parts but can't get those deals anymore (sorry can't hook you up ) But the cheapest I've heard for the Tein SS coilovers recently is $1500 tax in... The camber kit will probably be like $400.

 

i'm riding on tein ss's too. planning on getting the omni power camber kit. Suppose to be exactly like the skunk2's but cheaper

 

im on zeal b2's. i believe they're 12k front 8k rear (i have to re-check). also have a ITR rear sway bar, and running on toyo T1S's.

the zeals aren't that harsh on the street (if on a low to medium setting), and handle pretty nicely on the street. turning the fronts up a notch or two, and the rear waaay up, the car handles just the way i like it. re-end gets a little loose though, but its lots fun :P

if you're not performance oriented, and just want a drop, i think the koni yellows and some type of sleeve coilover will do the job.

 

My :

If your car is just for the street, I wouldn't bother with a coilover set-up - too much money to spend if you're not going to at least autocross it.

Your cheapest route - H&R Sports on stock shocks. Approximately 2" drop front, 1.75" rear. The spring rates aren't that aggressive and they are progressive springs, so you have some ride comfort and they won't blow your shocks as quickly.

The "Not as Cheap" route - H&R Sport (or any spring really) or the spring/coil sleaves on an adjustable shock (AGX, Illumina, etc.) The sleeves will give you the height adjustability while the adjustable shock will give you some play with the rebound/compression.

You have a lot of options, if you ask me. It all depends on your budget and the way you use your car.

 

actually bryan is right... the h&r sport/agx is quite common among street-only guys.

 

Hayame Coilovers, exact same spring rates as the Tein SS. Only difference is I don't have dampening adjustablity. Front and Rear Strut Tower braces and JDM rear sway bar.

Does it mean anything on paper though, nope. You gotta ride in the different setups to see exactly how much is too much or too little for you.

 

Where did you guys buy your set-ups?

 

wal-mart

 

What I have currently: Eibach Pro Kit with KYB AGX shocks, Neuspeed 4pt. front strut bar, trunk brace bar, and riding on Kumho 712's

What I'd like to purchase soon: Type R rear sway bar and polyurethane bushing kit

 

Tein HA's 10K front 14K rear
Neuspeed(however you spell it) 19 mm rear sway bar
Type R rear lower LCA (required for the HA's)
lowered to a 2 finger gap
1/8" toe Out front- 0 rear
225- 50- 15's

Very Tail Happy
You don't want to HAVE to drive too far on city streets

like RRRex, this is a track/ Auto x setup. almost 0 daily driving.

 

I'm having the same dilema here. Deciding which setup to go with.

The options I am looking at are:

1. Tein Basic suspension or SS without pillowmount
2. H&R sport drop with Koni yellow's
3. Omni Power suspension for 8-9 bills from John Lo at optionjdm.com

Some background info on my style.

I had springs on all my previous cars except for my last one. All slammed on stock shocks. The springs never gave me any problems, bounces or harshness. I like it smooth. The coils gave me the adjustability I want (slam in the summer and 4X4 in the winter) but bounced all over the place (likely because of my own stupidity not have aftermarket shocks)

I don't do autocross or the circuit at this time ( this may change), but I'm a very aggressive driver on the street and like to take my corners tight and quick.

So in short I want the adjustability without comprimising my ride quality too much. When it's just me in the car, I dont mind it being rough or stiff, just when I have others in the car it's not nice having a car bouncing all over the place.
I know. I know. I can't have my cake and eat it too. But what do you guys suggest?

 

^ if youre just mainly driving it on the street, go with the Koni's and H&R's. Full coilover setups are fairly pricey and you dont really need them unless youre tracking your car or auto x'ing it.

There's a few guys on the board that have this setup and they also track/auto x their cars.

Im running Koni Yellows with H&R Race springs, SRR LCA's, OEM ITR Front strut bar and a DC lower tie bar. Id like to get my hands on a set of Comptech Swaybar/Tiebar combo next.

 

^^

dude, for the amount of coin you've dropped into the car lately (e.g. fixing dent) and the amount you want to put into the car (e.g. comptech sway/tie) it's not worth it to sell..

anyways, add that with any adjustable shock agx/yellow/illumina you can also get gc coilovers spec'd to that specific shock and with your own customized spring rate. this means slammed in the summer, 4x4 in the winter while keeping your ride quality to "morning coffee non-spill mode" lol...

 

I hear ya Jonn, thing is Koni Yellow's aren't that cheap. For the cost of the Koni Yellow's I could get either of the other full suspensions with some change to spare. However my ride would be pretty smooth and much lower then stock. But during the winter I'd be in trouble.

I'm leaning more towards the full coilover suspension set-up, soley for the adjustability as I will drive all year round. However my concern is the quality of the shocks that you get with them.

Anyone with the Tein Basic/SS or Omni power suspension find it bouncey? And which is better? Are you paying more for Tein cause of the name? Also how would the quality of those shocks compare to Koni Yellow?

 

Tein basic and SS is a big difference... about $1000 difference. If you really want to compare, it's Tein Basic vs. Omnipower Street/Race.

BTW, you don't have to get yellows..... AGX's or Illuminas are good for street as well... AGX's are about 1/2 the price of yellows and will still go great with ground control coilovers. The cost will run you about the same as if you were going with basics or omni's... PLUS you get the added benefit of adjustable shock rebound to go with adjustable height.

 

^ True...

Now my final question is what would you go with Tein Basic or Omni Power?

I hear the Omni Powers are very good, but are new, so still suspect in terms of quality and reliability. John Lo is selling them for $800 or $900.

I have a guy who can do the Tein Basic for $1000. Most people I know say Tein, but is that cause of the name?

 

I dunno.. 800-1000 is alot of money to spend for a non-adjustable suspension setup. In the case of Tein, I beleive you're just paying for the name... I was considering the Tein basic too but after much thought, the yellow/gc is much better for about the same price really. As far as the omni setup, I was also considering that too but again, why do that when you can get the agx/coilover adjustable setup for the same price.

Mind you, lots of guys run the non adjustable setups and have no problems at all. In fact, they love it.

 

You make a good case for both arguments man...LOL

After some research I found that the only real difference between the Koni Yellow's and KYB AGX shocks are that the Koni yellows can be adjusted with a key from under the hood. So to change dampening settings on the AGX you have to take off the strut and change the settings?

 

You don't have to take them off the car to adjust the AGX's, from what I've read and heard.

 

So what's your set-up?

 

I know AGX's you have to remove the wheel to adjust the settings?? I could be wrong.

I have a non-height adjustable (sort of) setup and I love it.

 

I just got a new set of Koni SP3 (Neuspeed version yellows) and I will be installing on stock springs until I can scratch up enough dough to get custom rate gc's.. I was gonna go H&R sport springs but I like the height adjustability.

Either way, dropped on the lowest perch, the stock springs don't look too bad really... you can definately tell it's lowered but it's not as aggressive as when I had the tires tucked.

 

AGX's are adjusted from underneath the hood with a flathead screwdriver (just like the tokico illuminas). you can adjust all 4 corners in about 30 seconds

 

So by changing the dampening on the shock you have some slight adjustability in terms of height? I didnt know that.

You definatley got me on the KYB AGX shox, now it's just deciding to go H&R or GC.

Which GC do you get? They have so many models.

 

No, with the AGX's you don't have the option of moving the spring seats higher or lower.. that's an option on the Koni's Either way, both shocks are rebound adjustable.

 

Koni Reds are a good option that has not been brought up here. They are considered to have a comparable if not higher dampening ability than the AGX's or Illumina's, and are a fair bit cheaper than Koni Yellows. Koni Reds are adjustable only when they are off the car however, but you could do some research to find out what settings would be best for your springs and ride quality requirements. I know a few guys who run Reds with H&R race springs and have not had any troubles with the shocks blowing.

Koni Yellows are almost universally considered the best off the shelf shock that you can get, and are a part of many autoX/track set-ups. They have adjustable spring perches which allows you to slightly adjust the high of the car (I am 99% sure upon installation only, I am also pretty sure Koni Reds do NOT have this option). As well, the Yellows are dampening adjustable by way of turning a **** on the shock towers. I've been told Yellows can handle upto 500-600lb rate springs, and that puts you well ahead of what you are going to find in most lower full coilover systems such as Tein SS, Basic, and others. I'm not sure on the Omni specs, but I'd wager they are in the 300-400lb range.

From what you have said, you are not in need of a track set-up, want height adjustability, and are on a bit of a budget, so I would probably not consider the Koni Yellows. The best route to go with Koni Yellows is to go with Ground Control adjustable sleeves, which come with whatever spring rate you want. A Koni Yellow/GC set-up is usually considered the best autoX/track setup you can get on a budget simply because of the custom rates of the GC and the dampening force and adjustability of the Koni's. This set-up will generally cost you around $1300+ maybe, not including install, camber kits, alignment.

In your case I would probably suggest going with the Tein Basic set-up. It is going to be a few hundred cheaper than the Koni/GC system, and it will allow you to adjust your ride height for the winter. The ride quality will be good, but not too stiff because it is a street oriented set-up with lower spring rates that are built to work with the shocks. I honestly do not think you will have much of a need for the ability to adjust dampening force (which the Basic do not have) if you only plan on street driving, and even if you do decide to try the odd autoX, this set-up will be more than adequate for some time until your driving skill improves.

On the other hand, you could go with AGX's and H&R sports, or something of that nature for an even cheaper set-up; but you will lose height adjustability. Another option is Koni Reds and Ground Controls to keep your height adjustability and probably have a superior performance set-up compared to the Basic or AGX/Sport combo, the cost is probably going to be comparable if not slightly higher, but it will require more knowledge/research on your part to get the correct rates, and then the proper settings on the Reds.

Cliff Notes: If you want good performance/good ride quality without too much costs, for your needs I think the Tein Basic is the easiest choice.

 

Great answer, thanks man.

 

i got tein ss coilovers, full energy suspension bushing set and prothane motor mount inserts. ride is pretty solid.

 

Hey everyone, I've been a guest just browsing the boards here for a while gathering up a lot of good info to put to good use when I was to get my teg. I am now finally the owner of a silver 1998 GS-R that is pretty much bone stock.

Car actually has lowering springs on it right now which has dropped the car to about a 2 finger gap pretty much all around. I don't know what springs the guy used but I'm going to find out. The car rides pretty nice but I do want to do some suspension work.

I want adjustibility and a set-up for a daily driver (including winter). After reading this thread and doing a lot of research I am pretty much going to get a Tein basic setup or Omni coilover setup. Read very good things about both but a lot of people really basic the Tein for a daily driver.

I've done some looking but don't know any shops in the GTA that carry Tein parts. Your help would be appreciated in letting me know of any. I want to keep this thread near the top, it's full of really good info.

 

Jon Lo @ www.optionjdm.com carries Omni Power Coilovers. Tein's?

 

Ya I was able to find a few shops that carry Omni power but none that carry Tein here in the GTA.

Now I'm thinking go to Koni Red's with some GC's as Ken_Masters suggested in his last post. What you guys think?