O.K. guys and gals. I know this has been covered in many posts but I have yet to see any strait answers. I need some replies of cars that have aftermarket budget coilover suspension. Nothing too cheap and nothing too expensive. Somewhere around $800-$1300. What's good? What's bad? I would like to have actual experience with this. NOT OPINIONS! I am looking into getting coilovers for my evo IX MR and need to get some ideas. Pictures will also be useful.
Thanks

 

And while we're on the subject, I'm also wondering if anyone has any opinions on using quality aftermarket springs with the stock MR Bilstein shocks vs. buying cheaper coilovers?

And if that's a viable alternative to cheap coilovers, then which springs work best with the MR Bilstein shocks?

 

Can't go wrong with Teins. The S. Techs are only like $150, and my friend had them on his EVO and they were sweet. Still rode great (if not better than stock).

 

I would go with some GTWORX or Swift springs. SmikeEvo has a good review on a similar set-up. I dont know how to give you a link, but check it good info

 

Swift or WORKS

 

I can appreciate your advice on the springs, but lets keep it to the original subject. Coilovers. I looked into springs, but I think it would be worth the money to buy coilovers for what I want. I don't want to just lower the car. I also want to increase the handling of the car. Not compromise it.

 

Save another $g and spend the $2300 on the Robispecs or something equivalent. You can spend 1/2 the money and get 1/2 way there, but you'll wish you did it right the first time, and lots of guys on this board have been through this.

The difference is dramatic. A quality set of coilovers will ride AND handle better than stock. Crappy coilovers will be noisy, fall apart on the track, and won't ride as well as stock.

Lots of vendors will tell you that you can get quality coilovers for less than $2k, but the top suspensions guys out there won't even sell you a set of $1000 coilovers because its just not worth it. A set of quality camber plates alone can run $500, so it doesn't seem reasonable to get a full set of coilovers for $1k.

If you are not planning on tracking the car, lowering springs and a set of quality shocks would fit your budget and give you a great street machine, though it wouldn't be as tunable as coilovers.

My opinion is certainly not the only one on this topic, so let the debate begin...

 

Tein Basic Damper coilovers are only around $850, but they are only ride height adjustable.

 

i am going to get swifts and nothing less

 

Honestly, it isn't beneficial to upgrade to anything less than KW v3. You are in a position to actually sell your stock shocks (MR Bilsteins) and put that cash towards the new set, so try to consider a higher budget. You can get the non-Robispec ones from several EvoM vendors and have a great deal of performance for the value. If you decide you need more performance, you can always have them revalved/resprung. Honestly, as stated earlier, you'll probably want it done right the first time. I would reccomend keeping your eyes out on the For Sale forum, deals are abundant. If you can't find anything here, I reccomend searching on socalevo.net and norcalevo.net. I found my coilovers on the EvoM For Sale forum for 1000 less than MSRP, Ohlins used for only 200 miles (couldn't have been better if they were brand new). Good luck.

 

I really disagree with that. Most people would agree that having the ability to adjust ride height, as well as dampening, would be an upgrade. The Megan Street Coilovers allow that for less than 900 bucks shipped. That is what I plan on going with in the very near future.

 

Great replies guys and gals. Keep em coming!

 

With that kind of budget, you would end up getting the cheaper end of the deal.
What is wrong with the blistens? I have them on my SE(I got Blistens from another MR) and it is great! And I go to track and I still think it's great.
I would save the money to get a better budget if you want a good coilover, or hope to find a good used ones.
Good luck

 

Honestly, if this is just a daily driver or occasional autox get the works or swift sport mach MR springs. Your stock shocks are really good on the street and either spring would compliment them with a spring rate that won't kill them. Lots of people use the Swift springs including myself. I have never seen a negative review about them ever. The only way to justify spending over 2 thousand for a good set of coilovers (and that is what you will spend for a good set) is if you track the car pretty regularly. Otherwise you are just wasting your money. The Swift will lower your car about 1.3 inches in front and .8 in the rear. The works lower a bit less than that.

 

This is a great example of how not all vendors agree on 'features' and it is wise to analyze where the products have been proven before buying. After putting three different sets of coilovers on my race and street Mitsus, ranging from cheap to all out, I've been taught a couple of key things:

1. The more you spend, the more you get. Good shocks are expensive for a reason, but if you pony up $5k, you will get a good set of shocks regardless of the manufacturer. In the mid-level, it gets a little sticky, as there is a pretty wide range of performance in the $2-$2.5k arena. I've had shocks at this level that were race ready and legit for heavily sprung race cars (Robi KWs!) and I've also paid as much for shocks that couldn't handle a 9k spring for more than a lap.

2. If the shock is designed correctly, you can adjust ride height all you need with only the spring perch. Struts designed with adjustable length are usually made in order to use one size of shock on many different vehicles. A shock should be designed with the correct length for you application from the beginning, as using a threaded length adjustment adds another mechanical fastener to the shock body, reducing the strengh of the entire unit. It should be noted that NONE of the high end shocks on the evo market have adjustable length, only adjustable spring perches, including the current shocks on both my race car, and I may have the lowest properly handling evo in the country.

3. Buy for your application. If you want to track a couple of times but have lots of other things going on, you don't need Robispec DMS-50, even if they do ride better than anything else on the street . But if you think you may do a lot more tracking in the future, don't buy anything that hasn't been race tested...you will end up spending more in the long run.

4. Who you buy from is more important than what you buy.