I am looking for a way to improve the riding quality in my Evo x SE. I think it has Evo MR suspension. Which is better coilovers or springs? Does the coilovers increase the road noise?

 

No, Coilovers won't increase road noise per se. Meaning that it is not the coilover that transmits the noise (or at least not more than a strut/ spring).

As for ride quality, coil overs will, if they are good, improve handling and ride quality. You can adjust ride height, damping, rebound and other variables to get the car just right for your conditions, tires and driving style. All this comes at a price though. The stock setup is not bad, by any means, and as such, you need to spend a little money to get a coilover that will truly outperform in handling and ride quality. Key is to first decide what you want to accomplish/ improve, and what kind of driving do you expect, and then you can sort out whether a coilover is necessary.

Just changing the springs are great as you can get a shorter spring to lower the ride height, and stiffer (or softer) to change the general characteristic of the suspension. Inexpensive too.

 

I don't think I will do any track days or autox next year,all I want is a softer suspension that can handle the streets in Chicago without compromising the handling or being bouncy. Does the springs decrease the tires and bilestin shocks life ?

 

I do not own a EVO but from what i've been reading people go with spec r springs or gt worx, and ride quality has improved over stock. I have bc coilovers on my current car and i got tired of jacking up the car, take off the wheels, adjust height, doing this all 4 corners. Love the stance though lol.

 

My car was already lowered on GT WORX springs when I got it so don't have a stock to compare but yeah they are very comfortable.