So I would like to get some feedback on what you guys think the best coilovers would be for street / track setup. Please include your reason why you believe your choice is the best. Here is the critieria..

1. Price $2K and below
2. Used on street primarily, occasional track
3. Rebuildable
4. Adjustability 1/2 way adjustable / height adjustable
5. Must be off the shelf - no custom valving

Ones that i've considered to be w/in this category would be...

HKS Hypermax II RS
KW Variant 3
Tein SS, Flex, Monoflex
JIC FLA-A2
Lower end Cusco
....

I think this thread would be helpful for those looking for pros/cons of particular coilover setups.

Thanks,

Eugene

 

I'm biased but I would include Endura-Tech coilovers in with that list. If you need more information about them, just ask. Great street coilover and very good on the track when you do the occassional track day. Research us and see what people have to say.

Justin

 

i ran the dms 40mm and found it to be a much betyter ride than my friend's hypermax's

 

I run DMS 40's and they perform on a way better level than my friends Tein Monoflex setup and offer a better ride. Unfortunately they are pricey and exceed the dollar criteria but are well worth it. The valving is off the shelf, nothing special. They are rebuidable and are 1 way adjustable (adjusting compression and rebound) with one knob. The adjustments are very well defined and allow for an easy setup that performs very well on the street, track, and on several different types of terrain where most other coilovers would fall apart from the impact.

 

From the choices you listed, my order of preference would be as follows:

KW Variant 3

JIC FLTA2- Good features but their failure under drift abuse and the ensuing headaches those who have busted/blown them have had to deal with greatly reduces their appeal though. Many people don't have prolems however, but still report headches dealing with JIC USA. Also, US market models, although named the same, are allegedly not built to as high of standardsand quality a the JDM ones. The % of ones being destroyed on Us drift cars vs. the Japanese drift cars attests to this. Of course drifting is drifting, and breaks parts, so whatever, but the cross section of consumers I have heard the most feedback from are the drifters, and there is a general opinion among them that they break and kind of suck as units and a company in terms of service.

HKS Hipermax II RS - I could be misinformed but from what I understand, these, along with the Greddy coilovers and Apexi EXV, are basically re-marketed BC racings-level quality if not exactly the same thing. I'm sure many people don't want to believe that, or don't want you to believe that. This could be BS, but until it is proven otherwise and given HKS' tendency to charge 30% than other companies for similar performance results, I'm willing to assume it's possible.

Tein and Cusco options automatically tie and get delegated to the bottom of the list because you lumped several models together, some I would consider running if the price were a steal, and other I still would not even if they were a great deal, (i.e. I'd MAYBE consider some Teins but not the SS, and "lowe-end Cusco" is not specific enough for me) If you want the most useful feedback, please narrow down and specify these two options, or turn them into more options. Tein bampers, with the exception of the much higher-end track units are notoriously bouncy and too soft, despite the stiffer rates they are often paired with.

What it comes down to is, people who place allot of focus on the DAMPING in particular are often turned away by lower end coilovers regardless of spring rate (because you can always switch them), and personally, along with I think many others, I'd rather have a set of properly matched and optimized rate non-adjustable springs and struts than mismatched and improperly dampened and/or inconsistent with each other "affordable" coilovers.

the coilovers I would consider between $1-2k are:

PIC
KW
and yes even Stance

 

JIC FLT-A2 ftw and get the stiffest spring rate possible

 

Does anyone have any experience with ralliart coilovers?

 

My order is the same as Hokiruu:

KW
JIC
HKS/Tein/Cusco

Personally I think Im going to spring the extra few bills for the Ohlins. Figure it like this, the KW's dont come with camber plates and are sitting right at 2k. The Ohlins do, are a bit better, and are around 2700. Your going to pay around 500 more for camber plates and pillow ***** anyway. I really do like the KW V3's though, if I saw a deal on those in the 1500 range I would scoop them up.

 

I've no experience of them, but know they are made by KW, so I'm sure they will be pretty good quality.

 

I heard JIC's were crap

 

my opinion.... get a set that offers a stiffer spring rate (even if it's custom ordered) for the rear than the front, or you will have a very difficult time getting the car to oversteer, regardless of sway bar settings. The ones you listed have stiffer front springs standard, but you may be able to custom order stiffer springs, just didn't do the research to know if that's available for the models listed.

 

I have the cusco zero 2 r and i am not to happy with them I used them because i had them in my sti and they felt amazing. So I figured if aint broke dont try to fix it so I went them again and I feel I made a mistake. If I could go back I would have went with varient 3 I have heard alot of good things about them. They have more adjustment on them too such as high speed and low speed adjustment

 

Bzzztttt....they're made by Bilstein.

 

I have enjoyed my PIC TSO's but they are custom valved and lean more towards track then street. Great deal for anyone in the midwest that would prefer to be close to the builder.

 

You mean by Koni ..............