I've been reading up on suspension most of the night trying to figure out the next steps for my 8 and have come across a few extremely informative reviews (SmikeEvo). First let me give some background on my car. Last year I decided to do something about the wheel gap so I installed a set of Tanabe GF210s on stock shocks. I liked the drop in terms of looks, but I immediately noticed a lack in handling. Instead of the Evo's controlled drifts the evo just lost more control. Now a year later my shocks feel like they're almost blown and the ride is unbearably harsh. I was thinking of going the coil over route but doesn't seem necessary, mostly because I wont be adjusting the ride height. So I think Im going to get a set of Bilstein HDs but my question is if I should upgrade the springs as well? Thanks in advance.

 

Well, if you were not happy with the GF210s, then yes, I would swap them out at the same time. The Swifts, GTWorx, or RobiSpecs are all great choices. If you like more of an aggressive street ride, I would look that the Swift SpecRs or GTWorx - both have upgrade spring rates (wont kill your back), but you will notice the difference.

 

The Tanabe's are indeed garbage. I'm not sure why, but I compared ride height to a stock Evo and the front of my car was lowered 2.25" and the rear was lowered .25".... ????????? And the car felt like crap. I got rid of those an got RobiSpec's. The handling is right on par with Swifts I had on my last Evo and they're a bit cheaper, but I almost wish I had gone with Swifts (again) because they do look nicer.

 

I think this may have been covered before but how important is the Whiteline Geometry and Bushing Package?

Whiteline Roll Center Kit
Whiteline Bumpsteer Correction Kit
Whiteline Rear Trailing Arm Bushings
Whiteline Front Control Arm Bushings

From experience how big of a difference does this make?

 

Optional, but will help. I did not run them on my car.

 

Cool Cool, Thanks for all the feedback.