John, you should come near year for nsxcapades!
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Best Coilovers for under a grand?
- Thread starter NetViper
- Start date
John, you should come near year for nsxcapades!
If you go too low you'll bottom out the shock. That's the problem with the setup you're talking about.
Beware of the forum group think on the KWV3... Not saying they're neither good nor bad but half the guys I know who buy this setup bought it because the "experts" at NSXprime says so... just saying...
Sometimes there are guys that don't drive the NSX near it's limits to appreciate the incremental improvement of an expensive coilover. What about the guy that simply enjoys driving it to church or the grocery store and the occassional NSX car meet? You want these guys to spend $2-3k on suspension when just getting that lowered look is priceless enough?
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I'd really like to hear more about the BC coilovers myself. Seems like a good deal for around $1k+
NSX-ADV5
Guest
I've tried Comptech coilovers,Teins RE coilovers,Teins Flex coilovers and BC Racing coilovers.The BC Racing Coilover is my best set I have tried/used yet.All the high expensive coilover kits out there is not worth it if you gonna used the car as a daily driver or more driving than normal.I paid over $1500+ for all the other coilover kit and it ride really hard and stiff.I paid way under $1000 for the BC Racing kit and ride WAY better than all the others kit.Everyone have different opinion and here is mine.If you want a smooth and comfortable ride go BC Racing coilover kit you won't be disappointment.
NSX-ADV5
Guest
PM Ravi over at Umbrella Auto Design.His user name on here is KANE.That's who hooked me up on my BC Racing Coilover over kit :smile:
So is a bilstien hd a good damper? At $428 it is a great buy, but I don't see why a $1200 ark coilover wouldn't have as good of performance as the bilstien?
Any coil-overs for under a grand will be utter shit.
Your best best for a budget setup would be Koni/Bilsteins dampers with Zanardi springs.
Your best best for a budget setup would be Koni/Bilsteins dampers with Zanardi springs.
Lots of people buy things to satisfy their need to buy something shiny out of a magazine ad or that they saw on a forum. They never track their car and think that because their car rides like it has 2x4s for dampers that it must handle AWESOME.
The bottom line is the valving on cheap coil-overs is garbage, period dot.
That said I did have them on an old car of mine before I knew any better. Replaced 3 cartridges in 15k miles because they blew out and leaked. I'll never do it again.
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I used to have that setup on my car before I got the NSX-R setup, it worked great.
Have you heard of anyone going with the V3 who wasnt happy with it? I dont recall anyone.
Its not just a performance advantage, but rather (and probably more importantly) a ride quality issue where cheap and over sprung coilovers really fall back. Then again if you only drive your car on smooth well kept roads and not rough bumpy or city roads, cheaper coilovers wont get the destructive abuse nor show their big disadvantages in ride quality. It all depends on where you live and what your roads are like as well as your intended use. After buying and driving many brands, i wont skimp out on cheap stuff anymore but thats just me.
0.02
I don't really know about the Arks but I've driven a car on the Bilsteins and to me it felt very good, although a bit firm compared to stock but very well controlled with great feedback and a good ride. I don't think you can go wrong with Bilsteins. For the money saved, you lose some height adjustability but at least you get a good damper.
Well, with product opinion you do have to know how to discern the line between "group think" and "widely proven". However, from my own pre-purchase research, the KWs seem to fall into the latter category. I scanned several other make/model-specific forums for which KW sells.
:biggrin:
Edit: I really like Bilstein HDs. They're compliant without being springy and firm up nicely when you lean on them.
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEIN-TYPE-F...SX&vxp=mtr&hash=item4ab13c0c14#ht_2656wt_1222
? decent no? Free shipping ...
? decent no? Free shipping ...
It's a decent price, not a steal. If you live out in the country where most roads are smooth, the tein is an ok choice. I had the tein for 5 months and dumped it for kw3 and never look back. The tein is just too stiff and bumpy on rough city roads.
I agree with a lot you say. Regardless if it's right or not for the street, people in the aftermarket crowd want stiff coilovers because their rides are slammed and they don't have any suspension travel to start with.
Also, back when these cheaper coilovers were new, they were not engineered well. Bad seals, no indents on dampening settings, etc. However, through reverse engineering and the fact that they HAD to improve, today's are not that bad. I mean, how hard is it to reverse engineer a shim stack
It's not nuclear physics. Also, some use premium Japanese NOK seals so features and reliability are pretty good now.I've had my KSports for three years and ~15k miles. My roads are average. I haven't had any problems with mine, and my spring rates are 10kg/mm front and 8kg/mm rear. Of course KW's are going to ride better for the street as they're on the softer side. I think that's why people that have switched to them like them. They're getting tired of the old stiff Teins or whatever since they never needed a stiff setup to begin with.
I haven't seen any dyno plots from street KW's, are there any out there to compare to other popular setups? I don't think KW holds some super patent or has an awesome design like Mr. Zuijdijk of JRZ/Moton. Otherwise, you need to do like Penske's and revalve them for different tracks as there is no perfect setup for every situation.
If you're not going to track the car, go with a soft setup that has some travel to it. KSport, Megan, D2, whatever will custom valve a cartridge for you based on any softer spring rate, and it will still be at $1k. A lot less than $2k for KW's. You don't get the stainless steel body, but that's not a problem for 99% of us that don't drive in salt.
Having said all that, the Bilsteins are what I'd go with after reading your requirements.
Dave
THMOTORSPORTS' Black Friday price is $856.8 for set of 4. This price is a complete rip-off.
Steve
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What height are you looking to get?
My experience with coilovers was that once you picked the height, you never touched them. Ideally you'd use them & get the car aligned and corner balanced, but if you don't track the car there's no real benefit. If you're looking to spend under $1000, then get a good spring/strut setup. When buying coilovers, buy once & get good/well constructed coilovers with little emphasis on the price.
I had Bilsteins struts, lower perch, stock springs on my 1991 and loved the ride on them. They just weren't low enough for me.
I currently have Bilsteins, upper perch, with Eibach Springs. Handling is overall good (not as good as the stock 1991 springs with Bilsteins); however because of the progressive rate Eibach springs there is quite a noticable initial roll when cornering.
I do love the current look and ride height though (this may be too low for you, since they're like 1.25" - 1.5" lower than stock)
Here's a picture showing the body roll on a circular skidpad
My experience with coilovers was that once you picked the height, you never touched them. Ideally you'd use them & get the car aligned and corner balanced, but if you don't track the car there's no real benefit. If you're looking to spend under $1000, then get a good spring/strut setup. When buying coilovers, buy once & get good/well constructed coilovers with little emphasis on the price.
I had Bilsteins struts, lower perch, stock springs on my 1991 and loved the ride on them. They just weren't low enough for me.
I currently have Bilsteins, upper perch, with Eibach Springs. Handling is overall good (not as good as the stock 1991 springs with Bilsteins); however because of the progressive rate Eibach springs there is quite a noticable initial roll when cornering.
I do love the current look and ride height though (this may be too low for you, since they're like 1.25" - 1.5" lower than stock)
Here's a picture showing the body roll on a circular skidpad
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Not trying to sway anyone one way or another, but thought that I'd chime in on the misconception that the KW V3 is an expensive, track specific set up.
I'm very careful about spending money on suspension because I've long realized that ride quality is entirely subjective. When I bought my car, it came lowered on RM Racing springs coupled with OEM shocks. They were OK, but I prefer not to run lowering springs on stock shocks, and I wanted less height. However, as much as I had wanted to replace them, there wasn't anything on the market at the time that seemed to suit my needs. Primarily, the drawback of most systems sacrificed ride quality for handling. Being that it wasn't going to be seeing the track all that much, I didn't like the idea of having a great handling car that I would benefit from occasionally in exchange for a rough riding car on the street where it is most of the time.
It took me a few years of searching, and I finally found something that piqued my interest in the JRZ set up. Unfortunately, being that I wasn't planning on doing any heavy tracking, I couldn't justify the cost of the JRZs and decided to hold off to see if anything else came up.
When the KWs were introduced, it appeared to me to be the best bang for the buck balance that would do what I needed.
Upon installing them, I can say that they ride nicer than my previous RM Racing/OEM set up, while handling much better on spirited driving. Best of both worlds. I've taken some tight turns through canyons, and the car handles them effortlessly; a drastic difference from my earlier shock/spring combo. On the street, it goes over highway reflector bumps without any drama.
As Billy has mentioned, the benefits of the KW V3 aren't limited to the track. It is an excellent street suspension set up as well. I really couldn't be happier because I don't have to decide if I want a more comfortable ride or if I want a better handling car; the KWs give me both.
Understandably, budget is certainly a concern; but be careful that you're not saving money now only to spend more later to make it right. Regardless of what you decide is best for you, do it once and do it right; it saves you money in the long run.
I'm very careful about spending money on suspension because I've long realized that ride quality is entirely subjective. When I bought my car, it came lowered on RM Racing springs coupled with OEM shocks. They were OK, but I prefer not to run lowering springs on stock shocks, and I wanted less height. However, as much as I had wanted to replace them, there wasn't anything on the market at the time that seemed to suit my needs. Primarily, the drawback of most systems sacrificed ride quality for handling. Being that it wasn't going to be seeing the track all that much, I didn't like the idea of having a great handling car that I would benefit from occasionally in exchange for a rough riding car on the street where it is most of the time.
It took me a few years of searching, and I finally found something that piqued my interest in the JRZ set up. Unfortunately, being that I wasn't planning on doing any heavy tracking, I couldn't justify the cost of the JRZs and decided to hold off to see if anything else came up.
When the KWs were introduced, it appeared to me to be the best bang for the buck balance that would do what I needed.
Upon installing them, I can say that they ride nicer than my previous RM Racing/OEM set up, while handling much better on spirited driving. Best of both worlds. I've taken some tight turns through canyons, and the car handles them effortlessly; a drastic difference from my earlier shock/spring combo. On the street, it goes over highway reflector bumps without any drama.
As Billy has mentioned, the benefits of the KW V3 aren't limited to the track. It is an excellent street suspension set up as well. I really couldn't be happier because I don't have to decide if I want a more comfortable ride or if I want a better handling car; the KWs give me both.
Understandably, budget is certainly a concern; but be careful that you're not saving money now only to spend more later to make it right. Regardless of what you decide is best for you, do it once and do it right; it saves you money in the long run.
Listen to the guy, it's about what the BOSS thinks.
Realistically, buy the KWV3 and tell her it's worth $999.00, shipping not included but it's christmas.
My wife can't tell how much I spent on parts (well over 10k) as they are laying around in my parents' home. Point being is that unless you guys have a joint account, she will never know. Otherwise, just open a secret account for your own shopping, life ain't no prison (relatively) and there is always a way to make it through.
First two sets are 18/19. The gray set is 17/18.
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