Oh yes, the FunctionR, great set-up. One of our cohorts last year in autox ran them on his STI and took approximately 5 seconds per lap off his times right out of the gate. If you think that track days might turn into club racing and road racing they would certainly be the way to go. Can’t say how soon they would need to be rebuilt when using them on the street though.

With the WORKS/Zeal FunctionX set-up they will still be special order and they will be hand built. Zeal will also do all the work required, including shock dyno testing to insure that the finished product is in fact a matched set. Camber plates and pillow ball mounts will be included. Workmanship is absolutely top notch.

I posted my first impressions several weeks ago but we have lap times to back it up now. We have seen an average of 3.5 to 4 seconds per lap cut off our times. No more push (at all unless I screw up and get into a turn too fast), no more liftin’ the inside rear 6 inches off the ground in third gear corners either.

In the past month or so I’ve seen numerous Evo owners buy inexpensive coilovers only to turn around and sell them because they didn’t deliver the features needed. When it comes to tires, brakes and shocks I would rather have too much than not enough any day.

Good luck man.

 

cool.. thx for the comments.

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I was originally considering Tiens, but now have my eyes set on the Zeal V6's. I'm just waiting for the next sale they have at WORKS.

 

Jamie, how do you compare the zeals to the ohlins?

 

I think it pretty much comes down to What are you going to use the car for? Don't waste your money on a expensive suspension set up when you are not really going to track the car. You can get a pretty good suspension set and stance with less expensive suspension. I know alot of guys buying expensive sets (besides the bragging rights) and plan on tracking their cars once in awhile and seldom does. Then when they actually track the car, it's time to rebuild the struts. Buy a good set-up when you are going to track soon so you can enjoy the handling, not "planning on taking the car to the track later" scenerio. Just my advice.

 

How durable are the Zeals anyway? How often will they need to be rebuilt? I know my car will see 95% street duty. I want a lower stance, but don't want to sacrifice handling. The pillow ball upper mounts, co-axial spring hats, and inverted struts are what's selling me on the Zeals at this point.

 

I've had the Works tuned Zeal V6 with Swift springs since December and I highly recommend them. I am a street enthusiast so I can't tell you how they are on the track. However, they have been flawless for agressive multi-hour runs in the Santa Cruz mountains. The ride is very firm and neutral and stays flat in corners, yet they are more comfortable than the stock suspension. Another thing I noticed was that I am able to steer the car with one hand, even in the rough stuff, where previously I needed both hands on the steering wheel. Not sure if this is due to the coilovers or alignment specs. The only negative thing I can say is that they are a little more bouncy at <10mph in parking lots. IMO they are well worth the $$ and the service from Works is outstanding.

 

now I am leaning more towards the Function-X sets....

damn, I am so undecisive...

I drive the car about 10 minutes a day and do 2 track events a month. I have gone through so many sets of 'regular' coilovers and I love tracking the EVO so much that I want to step up to a superior suspension... even if my wallet will hurt.

maybe the Function-R's are overkill ?

maybe just go with Function-X and some hard springs (9k / 10k).....

 

Personally, I like the Ohlins. However, that is probably because I was exposed to them first and they thoroughly impressed me with the ride quality and performance. Most of the others here like the ZEALs and with good reason. The V6 offer great handling characterstics on the street and the track as well. The independent ride height adjustment is the added bonus. The Function-X do offer improved performance and adjustability over both without being overly harsh on the street.

 

I was fortunate enough to drive another evo with function xs setup on highway and WOW I was really surprised how composed the car felt. It was flat and very comfy, even more so than stock. It was night and day versus stock, actually.

The other thing that I immediately noticed was that there was significant less amount of interior vibration, virtually no vibration felt on the steering wheel. This made the evo driving experience so much more pleasant, firm, controlled and steady!

That ride convinced me of the worth of great coilover setup and I thought they were for only tracking...

 

remember, there is the ZEAL function-X and ZEAL function-XS.

these are 2 different coiovers.

 

You are right. What Spyderx rode were the Function X (there is no XS for evo 8 actually) set at full soft at that time. I should also add that the spring rates I have on these are 12/12 and the car has a welded cage and race seats, which will make the car feel even stiffer. Nevertheless the damping on these things is truly amazing as Spyderx already pointed out.

 

the zeal type-xs are available for the evo.

i had a choice back in april of last year when i got the first set of zeal type-x (spring rates are 8/12). there were 2 sets of type-xs for the evo last year when mine were ordered.

there is actually a set of used zeal type-xs in northern california right now for sale for the evo.

 

yes thats right....i was thinking of Super Function coilovers when I wrote that (there is Super FUnction R for the evo 8 but not Super Function)

 

are the function-x coilovers an improvement in ride comfort over the stock KYB's?

i understand that the Function-V6's are smoother than stock, but how about the X's?