DanGPR Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Hi all, I know there are already a million coilover threads in here... Basically I'm NOT interested in slamming my car, but would like it a little lower. Looking to purchase coilovers for maximum handling improvement. I see a lot of people recommending coilovers in the £6-700 mark, has anyone actually had/been in a car with slightly more high end coilovers? I'm thinking KW V2 or Bilstein PSS9? Ohlins are the dream but too rich for me. Also looking at buying the full geo set from SPL in the USA for max adjustment of camber/toe etc. Is this going to transform my car handling wise? I don't want anything rock solid either! Just slightly stiffer, slightly lower and max corner attack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 The KW kits are great and we’ve supplied and fitted them many times over, the BC Racing ones we currently do are excellent, priced well and the quality is excellent too. We also offer the full range of correction kits, front and rear and they can be seen on our website here - http://cougarstore.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_9 If you need any further information, please do email or call us… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilp Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Kw v3's are the business and allow full adjustments to suit almost any driver. V2's are a bit more limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark@Abbey m/s Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 KW 's, BC , HSD and Meister's are all pretty good damper kits , just make the right choice of springs , if your not going to lower the car much i.e max 15mm you wont need any alignment correction kits the car will 4 wheel alignment all okay , this is what we try to say to our customers don't lower the car to much and your angles will stay in tolerance. If your going to upgrade bushes Super pro's work very well and keep the car usable on the road , changing to rose jointed/uniballed links will make the car very noisy we have found. Have a look at our facebook page your see us setting up a race 350Zed ready for testing this Friday https://www.facebook.com/AbbeyMotorsportUK Any questions ask away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeisterR Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 Depending on what you are looking for, we have the Zeta-S and Zeta-R. The Zeta-S use the standard OEM inboard springs setup, and works well as an all rounder. The Zeta-R change the rear setup to an "True Coilovers" design. This allow a bit more control in the rear as it is much easier to change springs to the rate that you want. Also give the option of removing the spring bucket for a adjustable toe arm. In most cases, the Zeta-S will do great and give the slightly more sporty ride that owners are looking for. There will be enough damping adjustments build in so you can stiffen the chassis up for those occasional track days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanGPR Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 Thanks for all your replies. I understand some of you are traders and thus are obviously going to back your products but am quite interested in the Meisters/BC racing and HSD coilovers.... Also, I know that if i lower my car 30+ mm i will need rear camber arms. Is this all I need? Does the front have _some_ camber adjustment as standard? It's just that buying all the alignment stuff could easily cost more than the coilovers themselves! Cheers, Dan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark@Abbey m/s Posted November 1, 2012 Share Posted November 1, 2012 30mm is lot on a Zed, to much if you ask me to be honest. It will destroy the roll centres the Zed runs pretty low re it arm angles as stock , we say 15/20mm max. Front cambers are adjustable stock but running around 15mm is about right add's a little camber to the front cambers to aid turn in, rear cambers to get spot on will require a camber/tracking adjuster kit thou. All the kits in question will work well just be carefully with the spring rate's thou as I have mentioned before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanGPR Posted November 2, 2012 Author Share Posted November 2, 2012 Thanks again. Is there any rough guide you can give me as to rates? I think from what I have seen around 10kg front and 8kg rear (oem rather than true coilover) is a good compromise of handling and ride comfort? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark@Abbey m/s Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 we run run 8kg front 6 kg rear on our road car upgrades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeisterR Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 One thing to add is that springs rate isn't a good indication of road comfort. As the ride characteristic are largely determined by the damper valving characteristic. For example, if you run a very soft springs and a very harsh damper valving. You will have a car that will roll (as the springs rate determine the amount of body movement you will get) but also have a very harsh ride (as the damper force will stop the chassis from moving). It is a bit of balancing act, but some people think that softer springs rate is always going to be a softer ride... I just thought I bring it up that it isn't always the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark@Abbey m/s Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) When we 1st started to play around with spring rates , I first spoke to the damper suppliers to ask the question what the minimum spring rate they thought we could run , I then spent a day on a damper dyno to ensure the dampers actually adjusted the damper level to running the dampers adjustment @ the minimum position , I have seen dampers not adjust the damper level at the minimum/maximum position before. Only give good response to adjustment around the mid position of damper adjustment. We then tried the dampers on my own 350Z to ensure the set up worked. I have had considerable involvement with development with dampers are spending 7 years in Motorsport with the like of Panoz/Lister and Porsche (running GT1 and GT1 911's) to name a few and I feel with my time on the race track I can give good feedback with a suspension set up. before getting involved with car I spent over 15 years competiting in Moto-Cross at a top level which I feel is the most intense suspension environment this is where Ohlins started off with suspension design and development of suspension dampers. Tuning a damper for the road to get good comfort and good feel is pretty tricky ,over the years I have been in the Japanese tuning scene until a few years ago hard was good in suspension but now the top end damper development has spread down into the road market dampers we are getting so very good set up's at very competitive prices. Edited November 12, 2012 by Mark@Abbey m/s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Mark, I reckon you should create a mod review magazine on your website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Great thread, appreciate the comments Mark I've got BC Racing coilovers on my MR2, the kit came with the harder springs which imho are far to harsh for UK roads. As the car is for sale I've not tried the softer kit they sell, however I do think they are well made and good value. However, a lot of other friends have KW's on GT3's and the nicest set up I've felt was in a friends ford GT, very nice on the road and ridiculously good on track So I'd personally try out KW's if I ever felt the need to try out coilovers again (at the moment the car feels great to me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark@Abbey m/s Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) KW are good , had them on my Zed for a while , The Meister kit are every good as well with the stock springs fitted. I am currently running Sportline AST on my road zed which are awesome we also run AST triple adjustable Race kit on the Team Lizard Race car that work really good. Edited November 12, 2012 by Mark@Abbey m/s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Ah I didn't know AST also did a kit for the 350z, I've only heard good things about them from M3 owners. Sounds like there is plenty of choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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