teethandnails

So I have been doing little bits and pieces to my Evo since I got it last March. I decided to go a little cheaper (well really cheap) on wheels and tires so I could do something about the body roll, wheel gap, and overall handling of the car. Don't get me wrong, the car handles great stock, but I felt that it could get a little better.

I pulled the trigger on Swift Spec R's about a week ago and then installed them last night. They were easy enough to install, took about 3 hours, got very messy and then the car rolled out the shop. I have driven on them about 60 miles so far. From the shop to the house, back to the shop this morning, and then I took the "long" way home.

1. Handling: There is still a tad of body roll left, but once the car gets set into the corner, it feel much crisper and more precise. I am still without a proper alignment, but the turn in seems to have gotten alot better. The car feels a little more biased towards the rear than before, even though the specs would suggest differently (the rates were still a little higher in the rear than the front on the stock springs). The car overall handles better, very pleased.

2. Ride: The EVO X doesn't ride like a cadillac, but face it, its a sports car. This being said, I didn't want to completely kill the ride, as this is my daily driver and I drive 40 miles a day on the interstate on crappy Louisiana roads. The ride is very similar to stock, just a little firmer over the rough stuff. The front end doesn't raise nearly as much as it did before under acceleration. I am driving it 70 miles tonight to Lafayette, so we shall see if my previous impressions of the ride stay the same. So far, very pleased here as well.

3. Appearance: I love the look of a slammed car, but after putting up with them for 7 years, I wasn't too interested in dragging the bottom of my car off on crap Louisiana roads. I feel the look is OEM+. It has a 2 1/2 finger gap and sits level now. I quite like the look of the car, and was able to cross some large speed bumps this morning without issue. If you didn't know these cars, you would almost say it wasn't lowered. However, I like the look and thats all that matters. Pleased x3!

Over all I am initially very pleased with the Spec R's. If you want to slam your Evo, maybe you should look elsewhere, but if you are looking for a spring set that makes your car more enjoyable to drive and livable day to day, you should really consider these springs.

Thanks to David @ hybridracing.com for giving me a great deal! These guys are primarily a Honda type shop, but David did a great job of find some mitsu parts for me! They came in very quickly and they had excellent customer service!


Sorry guys... removed the link. Here are some pics i snapped this morning. And yes.. I know my front plate is crooked, doesn't bother me.

Stock


Swift Spec R


Stock


Swift Spec R


Stock


Swift Spec R



And here are some randoms...

jestoy7

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the write-up. I'm looking for something similar to your reasons. I was thinking of goign Eibach Pros as I have one many of my previous cars. Any reason you chose these over the Eibachs?

tkromer

iTrader: (6)

Great review! To me that's all the drop you'd ever want on our cars. Much more and you're ruining handling.

eve-slow

iTrader: (68)

The spring rates.

teethandnails

+1

RevLimiter

iTrader: (6)

+2 thats why i picked Spec-Rs as well. Im just waiting til the end of Feb to put them on. cant wait, Great Review and nice pics!!

Smike

iTrader: (8)

Once you get aligned, I think you will notice more of the handling changes.

Crester

I have these springs on order... I'm glad your initial impressions are good...

Please report back after the springs settle and you get an alignment.

genrec

iTrader: (2)

Nice review.

TO SWIFT OWNERS WITH BIG MILES ON THEM WITH THE STOCK STRUTS.

How many miles, how your struts holding up? Curious how long they can before blowing on these springs. Obviously driving habits come into play, but lets say normal driving, not tracking.

ak47m203

I want to see your alignment....once done.

Gqracer

iTrader: (1)

Get new tires with stiff side wall should be able to get rid of body roll.

shallowwhits

iTrader: (1)

I have the Spec R's and they are great but over the course of a year I was still noticing some body roll and wheel hop. I installed the Whiteline Roll Center Kit and it is night and day...seriously. The body roll is almost nonexistent now and the only set up that would be better would probably include $3k coilovers instead. The Spec R's and the RCK go hand in hand very nicely so you may want to consider that route now and get it all aligned afterward. Best of all it's not expensive for the RCK.

Alpha X

iTrader: (9)

Looks much better with the drop.

Smike

iTrader: (8)

Struts do not care where they stroke from; they care if they bottom out.

That's what is good about Swifts and GTWorx. They take travel into their designs. Do not over lower the car (too low = bump stops = can bottom out).

Struts do not have mileage. They are like brake pads and wear out over time. How long? Depends on a dozen factors.

Iowa999

iTrader: (1)

If we are only talking about the intended action of the shocks (i.e., the damping of movement), then, of course, I agree. But there is another issue that I believe ought to be considered. On a strut-based end of the car, some of the lateral force goes through the upper end of the shock (i.e., it doesn't all go through the lower control arm, although most of it does). How much of this force translates to side-force inside the shock depends on both how close the top of the shock is to the upper shock mount, and how far down inside the shock the piston head is. In general, the more compressed the shock is, the less side-force occurs inside the shock, which means less stiction and less likelihood of damage. Therefore, the optimal setup has the piston head as low in the shock body as possible and the top of the shock as high as possible ... AFTER you make sure that neither bottoms out before you run out of bump travel for some other reason.

At least, the above is my current understanding. If it's wrong, please let's discuss it.

And with all that said, I again agree that, in general, the shock doesn't care and I'll here add that the issue of side-forces inside the shock is probably too "weedy" to be worth altering a working setup to fix.