My general question is: do any of the aftermarket struts or coilovers give our cars a comfortable ride? In stock form or with aftermarket springs our cars don't have a comfortable ride; bouncing and jarring over bumps is the norm. So is there any way to give our cars an improved, comfortable ride?

How does the ride change when you go from the stock kyb's to bilsteins or hd's?

 

The bilsteins will absorb the bumps in the road better than the kyb's...and as a bonus perform better on the track. As for aftermarket coilovers, most low level (sub $1500), will ride fairly harsh in terms of absorbing bumps on the road. One of the reasons I went with My Ohlin DFV's was the fact that the valving on the Ohlins offers a very nice ride on the road and performs amazing as well. Of course, the spring rate you choose will affect your ride as well.

 

Is there a noticeable different in "comfort" between the kyb's and ohlins?

 

Yeah, a pretty significant difference actually. Im about to swap back to my winter setup (bilsteins with Gtworx springs) if you want to go for a ride, Im in portland too.

You can also see back to back from your evo or my vr4 with KYBs.

 

the MR Bilsteins/HDs will ride better than the stock KYBs. what is your budget and goals with the car? if you don't track it, but want comfort and adjustability, i'd look into Bilstein PSS9s. they're a little soft for serious track work but ride like a dream and don't break the bank (i saw a vendor sell them for $1,7xx a couple of months back)

if you want something that rides well AND are trackable, then i'd look into Ohlins, JRZ, AST and Robispec KWs. they're all $2,500 and up though.

HTH

 

My IX, on the factory Bilstein suspension, rides like a big Jaguar. It's not bouncy at all.

 

I swapped over from the stock KYB setup to a Bilstein / swift combo and it rides a lot better. I couldn't believe the difference. It was one of the best things I've done to my car.

 

MR Bilsteins are a huge improvement over the KYB's, I noticed a difference in the first 30ft of driving the car. Now I'm on Bilsteins and GTWorx, even with camber plates up front it still rides pretty good. Much softer than a full coilover and aggressive spring rates. I would highly recommend this set-up to anyone.

 

Thanks for the offer. Might have to take you up on that.

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like Bilsteins will give a noticeable improvement without breaking the bank, which is probably what I'm looking for.

 

There's lots of RR crossings in my town that see little maintenance, I'm riding on KYB's, I'm 65 years old and I think the ride is great. It is the best long distance car I've owned. Love the comfort.

 

if u think the kyb's are nice, then your missing out on the ohlins dfv. even with the stiff spring rates i have on the ohlins they are insanely comfortable and soft. but a lot say that the oem bilsteins are way better than the kyb's in terms of ride quality. so those with kyb's should really bump it up a step to feel the difference.
If your on a budget get the oem bilsteins. if ur ballin get the ohlins dfv. you WILL NOT regret it. trust me... and others that have ohlins. a world of a difference.

 

Well, everyone knocks the KYB suspension. The Evo is a rally car and I've always said that the KYB suspension is Mitsu's dirt rig. And since rally cars are not always driven on pavement it makes sense to me.

Where I live there are still plenty of secondary unpaved roads and whenever I find myself on one the car never fails to put a smile on my face. I love how the car can pivot around and still stay on the road. This is guaranteed to put a scare into any passenger. The stiff KYB's come into there own then, tuned to a different frequency that the washboard that other cars beat into these unpaved roads and the ride is smooth.