Coilovers - For road

[Smokeyjoe]

Firstly, yes I have used the search button but to no avail. There are many different threads with many different sales pitches. It would be great (with the ease of a poll) to get feedback from owners about their coilovers. These are for road use but we can assume that if I am spending X amount on some coilovers then I will be driving it hard occasionally and may even fall onto a track at some point.

 

This will be a coilovers system on the front and the separate spring and shock at the rear as per the standard setup.

 

Any ride quality handling comments will be useful, I will not just buying these coilovers for 'stance'.

 

Sorry for any makes that have been missed out, these were just the ones I came across when searching threads.

 

 

Thank you,

 

Joe

Edited July 6, 2013 by Smokeyjoe

[OllyB]

I'd be interested in the respose to this too, coilovers are likely to be my nex big mod and I've been struggling to get some real world ride quality reviews. Could you add KW and bilstien to the list?

[Ekona]

Just a note, but I can promise you that almost no owner is going to say they're unhappy with their purchase. Psychology and all that

 

At risk of derailing a promising thread, can I ask what you want the car to do that it doesn't already? It can help narrow down your choices, as one man's sporty is another man's back breaker.

 

Do you want a full coilover conversion, or just uprated versions of the stock system (which doesn't use coilovers on the rear)?

[gsexr]

Watching this thread with interest

[ZMANALEX]

Don't forget these:

 

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/72446-new-hks-hipermax-rs-coilovers-half-rrp/

 

Alex.

[peteman35]

I have he bc racing coil overs. They are brilliant.

The previous car I had I had the miesters the difference in quality to the 2 is crazy.

 

I found that the bc racing locking collars were alot Beefyer, the 32 settings of adjustment on them was completely different to the miesters. You set them a little harder and they would break your back. Little softer and they would be like a bus. The bc racing actually had full adjustment experiencing under steer turn them down a bit and cured! You can really play about with them

To get a perfect set up for your needs

 

Trying to be un biased as possible but I have tryed a few different coil overs. I took a gamble with the bc racing that really payed off. Wish I had put them on all my cars.

 

I got mine from cougar store. (Mick) he gave me a extremely competitive price and the service is the best I have experienced

Edited July 6, 2013 by peteman35

[Wasso]

Dan has a valid point tbf (not always mind you )

 

I ride the Meisters and love them. Not tracked them yet, but feel and response along with every day ride is nicely tuneable and I purchased mine second hand.

 

Darren-B could pass comment on track commentary.

 

Money no object I'd invest in the KW3.

[Arran]

My views and experience as posted in another thread

 

I went for the Dualtechs, reason being as they have rubber top mounts as opposed to pillowballs so are more compliant and comfortable, the damper is twin tune not monotube so there's a layer of protection for the piston inside especially on our roads and conditions, the inboard rear spring setup is like oem works like standard, also the rear shock towers aren't designed to have a full coilover so the load could potentially cause the towers to fail. Much like the E36 and 46 BMWs, used to have a 36 so followed the same procedure

 

Brilliant coilovers though! 14 way damping adjustable, loads of height adjusting available, spring preload adjustable aswell. Good thing about these are the design when lowered, no matter how low you go you won't bottom out as the travel always stays the same

 

you will need camber arms if you lower it, I thought I'd get away with it but clearly not you won't need front ones no matter how low you go, but rears are needed with toe bolts. Go for the Eibach ones, I did. They are the most expensive but are the best quality and come with the bolts. All will align back up perfectly when they are on

 

Toe is done by bolts on the rear which you have to elongate the holes in the chassis. The front is done by the top arms and they have more than enough adjustment to get it back to normal. Sly was saying dont bother with front ones

[Smokeyjoe]

Thanks for the replies so far. It would be great to get more traffic through here and on the poll to give us some more conclusive results. I've checked out the HSDs and for £5/600 new, they seem cheap compared. I do need to do a bit of saving first. You may see a plea for work post soon too!

[docwra]

Something Ive always mentioned about coilovers is that very few people have experience of more than 1-2 sets so its difficult to make a fair comparison - on a 200SX for instance Ive used or driven HKS, Apex, Tein, Bilstein, Driftworks, D2 and various ebay specials, as well as KYB, Eibach, Nismo shocks and springs so I feel Im pretty well qualified to make a judgement ....... on a 350 Ive only had HSD's and while they have really impressed me Im not really in a position to say whether they are "better" than BC's or even KW's

[HaydnH]

Something Ive always mentioned about coilovers is that very few people have experience of more than 1-2 sets so its difficult to make a fair comparison...

 

I wonder if we could get the likes of Abbey et al to comment? They must fit just about every make under the sun and take the car out for a quick health check... not sure if that would be enough to get a valid opinion either though.

[docwra]

Abbey have got to be as well qualified as anyone to comment on 350Z suspension........ but they are also HKS dealers

[HaydnH]

Abbey have got to be as well qualified as anyone to comment on 350Z suspension........ but they are also HKS dealers

 

That's alright, HKS aren't listed in the poll.

[GT4 Zed]

There no single answer as it depends on loads of other factors and budget!! Start from there and maybe we can guide you achieve your suspension goals.

I've used the HKS hypermax RS, KW V3 and Tein monoflex and from a quality point perspective the KW is a league above the two Japanese makes. But this is not really comparing like for like. Eg type of spring, rate, adjustability, damper design etc etc.

Would I recommend the V3 for simple road use....... No because having three way adjustability can make for difficult set up. The V1 or 2 may be adequate

My personal view would be for road use and a small budget and not wanting to swap other suspension parts I'd say go whatever you can afford and lower the car only about 20mm so you don't run into out of specs and the set the coilover to your driving need. From there tune or develop your suspension as needed.

Just choose something with simple preset adjustability for bump and rebound and most of the coilovers here will do the job.

 

[HaydnH]

There no single answer as it depends on loads of other factors and budget!! Start from there and maybe we can guide you achieve your suspension goals.

I've used the HKS hypermax RS, KW V3 and Tein monoflex and from a quality point perspective the KW is a league above the two Japanese makes. But this is not really comparing like for like. Eg type of spring, rate, adjustability, damper design etc etc.

Would I recommend the V3 for simple road use....... No because having three way adjustability can make for difficult set up. The V1 or 2 may be adequate

My personal view would be for road use and a small budget and not wanting to swap other suspension parts I'd say go whatever you can afford and lower the car only about 20mm so you don't run into out of specs and the set the coilover to your driving need. From there tune or develop your suspension as needed.

Just choose something with simple preset adjustability for bump and rebound and most of the coilovers here will do the job.

 

Good advice from Bennet... just don't let him fit it for you unless you want to have a leftover coilover.

[Arran]

Even lowering the rear 20mm will take it out of spec needing camber arms and toe bolts

[ianphampton]

Can't comment on any other manufacturer other than BC Racing as that what I had fitted. (Acknowledgement to Ekona and his psychology, too)

 

I've been very pleased with mine, the adjustment is very easy and it's nice to be able to adjust the ride to suit your driving. I have to admit to being lazy and tent to only stiffen her up when I know I'll be driving vigorously, and back again afterwards, so I probably only use 2 or 3 settings which I've refined as my 'favourites' after various trials.

[evilscorp]

Got BC also, ride adjustment can go from one extreme ti another but once you have a play its easy to find a setting you like.

Only downside is the rear springs look like they are starting to rust even tho my car doesnt go out in the wet (when I can help it). Other than that pritty good.

[Smokeyjoe]

Great feedback so far and some really good points raised by a lot of people. I think I was more making sure there was no stand out coilover that I was missing at either end of the scale (to avoid or to go for). I'm hearing a lot of positive things about the HSDs and for the money they seem good. Il check out the prices for the BC and KWs and go from there. I'm not against camber bolts and arms etc, as want to do the job properly. This will be the first car I've invested in new coilovers for, I usually stick with 2nd hand!

 

Thank you

[Smokeyjoe]

Sorry just one more.. Miester Rs are really highly spoken about for RX7s and some 200sx. Does this carry through to 350zs?

[Ekona]

Same for MX-5s too, very positive reviews.

 

FWIW, and this is coming from someone that has an interest in suspension but no real need to purchase, at the lower end I would get either the BC or Meister R dampers and springs. At the top end, the V3 would be near enough the only place I'd go to.

[MeisterR]

Well, we are here as a trader so we are able to provide info.

 

We have quite a few choice for the Z33 350Z also.

 

Entry performance with at an affordable price.

 

Zeta-S: Rubber bushed top mount, standard inboard springs rear design.

This a direct replacement that provide good all around performance on fast road and occasional track days.

 

Zeta-R: Pillowball Front top mount, true coilovers rear design.

This is design to provide better steering response, easier adjustments, and are design for owners who want more control over their suspensions.

The springs rate are conservative so the Zeta-R will still work well on fast road and will not be harsh.

 

 

Money no object: (well, to a degree).

 

We have been working on the GT1 suspension to provide for this need.

A UK engineered and hand build suspensions with 25 years worth of suspension experience.

 

The GT1 takes the Zeta-S / Zeta-R body, then add advance engineering and technology to create a suspension that will rival the like of Ohlins.

While price is higher (RRP: £1550), they are still affordable and will be one of the most advance and high performance suspension you can buy within the price bracket.

 

The GT1 are design for fast road and track use, and is a suspension that will do everything well due to the advance design of the piston that are each individually CNC machined in the UK.

 

Jerrick