D2 is about the same as K Sport in my opinion.

 

First off, you do not change the ride height every season. Every time you do that will require a full 4 wheel alignment. Also, most coil-overs do not work well in salt, sand, snow conditions. Especially the cheap ones. You will not be able to move the adjustment perches after one winter.

Secondly, super high spring rates on a DD + NYC. Have fun with harsh ride.

You have an MR with Bilsteins. Which is a great thing. Bilstein can rebuild the struts if one is blown. I would send both fronts to them for a rebuilt. $75 each + shipping.

"Best of the worst" -- think about that. Not to be harsh. But you want to put crappy on your car? Good springs + Bilsteins will be better than the best of the crappy.

1. They are great. Get at least the fronts rebuilt (and Bilstein can custom match the valving for the springs for free). Swift or GTWorx springs are both very functional and look great (since you are after that). Durability in the winter will be hands down better. I've had an Evo from Great Lakes to Northeast on that setup with zero issues.

2. Struts do not care where they stroke from; just when they bottom out. Springs like Tein SS go way too low and are too soft. Picking a proper spring is key.

Get a set of used KYBs. Swap those in with OE springs. Send Bilsteins to Bilstein West for a rebuild with spring rate for new springs (have those in hand). Get rebuilt Bilsteins back. Install new springs with them. Get an alignment. Done. Way under $1k. Way better than "best of the worst".

 

I have been running the Megan Streets and currently have ~18K miles with no issues. Quality of the parts is good although folks will make and argument regarding shock dyno plots. They have also adjusted the spring rates to reflect what most feel is a better setup for the EVO VIII/IX.

Megan Streets

I also upgraded to the H&R bars front/rear and really like the feel of the car. If you have a DD that will see little to no track time I don't think you will be disappointed. BTW, BC and Megan are mfg by the same company.

 

Take a couple of words outta that and you're 100% correct.

I've seen coilovers that were 5 years old, from the North East, and still easy to adjust. They were cheap ones, too. They require more attention than shocks/springs, or they WILL seize up though. Once that happens... Good luck adjusting anything. I like to coat the threads in teflon or copper spray, or some hi-temp grease. If you use grease, don't just glob it on there. A thin coating is what you want. When it comes time to adjust the perches, you can wipe all the grime and dirt off easily.

smikes advice is great if you don't want adjustability, and bilsteins + quality springs will handle better, definitely. You probably won't notice on the streets though to be honest. What you will notice is the more tame spring rate, but just about every coilover can be ordered with a custom spring rate.

It comes down to what's important to you. If you're willing to sacrifice a bit of performance for adjustability, go with some budget coilovers. If you'd rather have performance over adjustability, go with the rebuilt Bilsteins and some good springs.

On the subject of raising/lowering the car and alignments, try to find a Firestone service place near you. Most of them offer Lifetime Alignments for like $150, so every time you adjust your height you can just go to Firestone. Another option is to learn how to do a string alignment and just align the car yourself.

 

He might have the unlimited alignment from Firestone. Yeah, some ppl DO buy that package, like me, who need to align their car every time they touch the suspension or replace a ball joint etc etc. Comes in handy, especially when something goes wrong. I think I took my car to get it aligned 12 times already in the last 3 years of ownership.

This is very true, especially with Megan's. I bought my car with Megan's on them and not only were they shot but it was really high in the front (like stock height in the front and the rear is a lot lower). I couldn't lower it because the locking nuts were seized. I could rotate the perch up but could not lower it because the nut was seized. Ended up going stock shocks with Swift sport springs. Now, I missed the stiffness of the springs when I had my coilovers. AutoXing with just lowering springs really took the fun out of driving how I wanted to. I used to whip out easily (without the 12 plate mod) around cones and it was fun (slow times but a lot of fun). Hopefully, I can get some cheap Fortune Auto or Pic during the summer time.

 

Have you heard of C8sport?

I'm about to remove their coilovers from my car in exchange for a stock suspension from a friend.

You're welcome to have these for pretty cheap. I was going to put them up for grabs for $450ish next week.


http://www.c8sport.com/c8sport-perfo...ver-systems/4/

 

Listen to Smike man, the OE Bilsteins with something like GTWorx/Work/Swift Spec-R springs is FAR better than anything you'll get new for less than 2k. I've had 'good' coilovers that were in the 1800-1900 range before, and they rode like crap compared to the OE stuff. I didn't know exactly how bad until I forked over the money and got Ohlins. Night and day difference.

 

D2 racing :-)

 

keep stock until your ready to spend at least a grand

 

2k for good coilovers or ~500 for good springs and sways.

 

This is my experience with coilovers: I got tein flex and I borke my back every day. Then the dampers were terrible the ride was not smooth at all. I swapped those with bc racing and i broke my back everyday again. The dampers gave a smoother ride than tein flex but still a crappy daily driver. I switched to springs and shocks and I had a smooth ride and handled the way I wanted it. I love the way you can lower a car with coilovers but the ride quality sucks. Coilovers are for the track but if you like a rough ride then go ahead get a coilover. I wish they made a comfortable coilover so I can lower my car and ride with a smile. If anyone knows of such a coilover please let me know.

 

I have AST 4100s and I think they ride better than the stock KYBs in my '03 did at 5 clicks off full stiff. Not plush, not even really comfy, but better than I was used to for six years.

 

I've ridden in several cars that very comfortable on coilovers. It's all about spring rates and valving. Generally you don't get into this area until you're in the realm that Smike is talking about. $2k+ for good coilovers. And as much as I know a lot of people will disagree... Tein isn't that great; they're mid-range. When I say good, I mean Penske/Ohlins/JRZ/Moton/Bilstein.

 

i must say i recently just put stance gr pros on my car and it is unbelievably smooth even on full stiff its not jittery or anything of the sort the spring rates are 9k front and 11k rear with a helper spring although im waiting on a alignment i will admit i dont have any real "facts" besides how my butt feels but i would definitely say they are valved very well and even passed the wifeys test on full stiff so i do believe you can have a comfortable ride on coilovers so i will say if you want the adjust-ability of a coilover but want a good ride my vote is with stance gr pro's

ill add i never ridden in a evo with stock susp as my car came with...dare i say...stock struts and tein s techs so i definitely see a large improvement

also ive called stance 4 times with a question and each time i talked to a real person without pressing any annoying prompts at all...also about 5 guys that work there regularly track and dd there evos...

disclaimer: im not saying these can hold a candle to the upper class coilovers but unless your trying to squeeze 10ths of a second off your lap time these will do for the average spirited dd and occasional track time