What's up mostly dudes and possibly some ladies!

I just installed my Hotchkis Springs (to compliment my Hotchkis rear sway bar) that I have recieved from good ol' GSC Motorsports! Wow, they are a world of difference and they look great too! To me, there are a few factors in a spring. They are comfort/ride quality, performance, stance/aesthetic balance. I have to say, out of any spring I have felt on the EVO or any spring I have seen, these are the perfect mix.

Comfort/ride quality is better than stock. The car rides "flatter" and with less bounce so far in all conditions, low speed, high speed, bumpy or smooth. They feel very nice. There are no adverse effects in this category. They are progressive and slightly softer than stock in front and slightly stiffer in the rear. However, they don't seem to be progressive for long! It is like they were tested and retested to see where the stiffer linear rates should kick in. They work very well in this category. They are stiffer while still being much smoother than stock.

Performance so far has been better than stock. I was sort of surprised with this since everyone here always says you have to get high dollar coilovers to improve from stock. I don't know about other spring brands, but the Hotchkis ARE better performers than stock. The stock suspension is already a coilover type setup at all four corners (as opposed to a separate shock and spring in the rear like my 350Z was). Some friends of mine and I finally finished installing these at 12am last night. We got it done and we have not done springs before. Rent a coil type spring compressor and this is not really that hard. Anyways, back on topic, when we finished, we drove around in our EVOs and up a parking garage. We took the corners aggressively and I have, seriously, NO body roll, and the car just felt like it was on rails all the way around the corners. It felt GREAT! It feels more planted on the highway and on the driveway. While that is all I have really tested so far these springs really do perfom! I will keep you updated on them as I drive more and especially after I get an alignment.

Aesthetically, these are the best looking springs I have seen yet. I measured the top of the fenders to the ground and in stock form, the front is .7 inches higher than the rear. With the drop these give, the front is now .2 inches higher than the rear. This is PERFECT for that "lowered" look while not getting that terrible "raked" look found in so many other types of springs. You really have to see the pictures we took on top of the parking garage to get any idea of how good these look. I will post them up as soon as I can.

Overall, I have found no negative qualities to these springs and would highly recommend them. I have been shopping for springs for a while and have not found any that got good "feel" reviews and still looked good. When these came out, I knew I had to get them on the Evolution. Buy these springs from GSC Motorsports! They have a SUPER great price, and since I have gotten my springs from them and my Hotchkis rear sway from them, I can confidently endorse this vendor and this brand. Two thumbs up!!

Pics ASAP.

 

Can you post the spring rates and how much they drop in the front and in the back? Also do you have a pic of the car from the side so we can check it out? How about a pic of the spring?

Thanx
Chris

 

Shoot me an email at justin.hebert@auab.aorcentaf.af.mil and I'll send you a pic of the Hotchkis springs.

 

I still don't have the pics uploaded yet so be patient on me about those. Also, the advertised rates and drop are:

195/275 - progressive, the rates increase as the spring squishes.

F- 1.5 R-1.0

It looks perfect, IMO.

 

EVOTEXAS -- Great review. We will be awaiting the pictures...

 

I have concerns about the springs if you intend to use the car on track. They are no stiffer than stock, and in fact, the front are slightly softer, yet they drop the height. This means you are losing valuable stroke before you hit the bumpstops.

The rear swaybar, however, looks very nice, and I'll be picking one up soon. Hollow bars are the way to go.

Warren

 

As mentioned in my review, the springs are progressive. They are slightly softer only in the front and only for the first small amount of travel, after that they are quite a bit stiffer than stock. Also, they come with much shorter bumpstops. I have yet to hit the stop and I drive like nuts. You will not be dissatisfied with these springs, ESPECIALLY for the price GSC Motorsports sells them.

 

EVOTEXAS - are you working for GSC Motorsports? Hahaha... The reviez is almost too good... Just kidding.... As soon as you get those pictures of these springs installed please post them. I can't wait to see them...

 

Haha, no actually I work for Nissan North America. I just really want to let people know when I have a good experience with a product or vendor because there are so many companies out there that are not in it for the customer.

I have the pics ready, I just need to bring them to work to get them online. I canceled my home internet because SBC is a bastard. Don't do business with SBC!

 

GSC listed them as 195. Do you know what they go up to?

Warren

 

I do not know what the rate is when they stiffen up. It's pretty stiff though. It feels 100x better around corners. Someone would need to compress a spring down and then measure what it takes to move it an inch instead of measuring what it takes to move the very first inch. I don't have the tools to do this otherwise I would have pre-install. Sorry!

 

EVoTexas me might have to give you a job. lol thanks for the great reviews on the springs and I am happy your enjoying them. If you want me to host the picture of your car just email it to me and I will have it up asap. greg@gscmotorsports.com.

 

I finally got the pics onto my computer and they look bad since I took them at night. I will have to take some in the sunlight and I'll get them posted. Sorry it's taking so long!

 

pictures would be key! nice review....

 

Alright guys I will post a few pics. I will take some in the daylight so you can see it much better. I will probably get those up this weekend. Hopefully this is good enough until then. I apologize for the quality. It was dark AND raining. I work almost from dark morning to dark night so I have to wait until Saturday. So here are some until then:

HINT: Turn up your monitor brightness!!