OK guys, here's the question: What suspension? Before You make suggestions I'll tell you what the car (S13 coupe) will be doing. I'll be autocrossing and drag racing, and 90% of the car's run-time will be street driving, so it must be comfortable. As I see it I have three options:

1. Simple - KYB AGXs and your favorite spring (Eibach/Whiteline/H&R etc)

2. Intermediate - KYB AGXs and GC coilovers, possible with camber plates

3. Full coilovers with upper pillow mounts all around (Tein/JIC/Buddy Club/whatever)

The car guy in me of course wants the coilovers, but my wallet is interested in the other options. Plus, if I spent the money for new AGX/GC/camber plates, I'm nearly to the price of a set of coils anyway. I'm not sure I need the adjustability of the coilovers; I WON'T be drifting, so I don't need super-high spring and damper rates.

I'm leaning towards a good strut/spring combo to start, learning the characteristics of the car, and moving to coilovers in a couple years or so. It makes the most sense to me as a driver with little experience other than the back roads, i.e. learning the chassis before making it insane.

Any opinions welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

struts and springs. they handle good but r not good for driftin. BUT you said you will not do any so there

 

Yea i think a real good Strut/spring combo would be good for u..since u wont be drifting i think u would do good And plus it will be easy on u on the daily driven roads..unlike coilovers

 

Anyone else? I won't be doing this for a few months, but at this point I'm leaning towards the AGX/GC combo. I like the inexpensiveness of a normal strut/spring combo, but I fear that none of them have a high enough spring rate to keep from bottoming out. We have many potholes here in the Midwest and bottoming out=high discomfort level.

More opinions, please!

 

Spring and strut with a camber plate would be fine. Find some local guys and you can alway sell them when you are done and want to move to coilovers.

You could also go for the Tein basic damper kit. Or for some silkroads which are set for the spring they are built with. There is no need to screw with the dampening when they are built for that spec.

I know you don't want to drift with the springs and shocks but you can if you feel like it. I have friends that do very well with things like eibachs (sp?) and agxs.

I would think about tires. Tires make a HUGE difference. I have a special place in my heart for victoracers even though they leave a bigger hole in my pocketbook. I ran them up front with michelins in the rear and they gripped in peanut oil and full water spray! This with them at 7/8 slick! There was on inch of blocked tread. I love those tires.

I am going to try out my azenis sport soon but everyone swears by them. I drove with them in Josh's car and they were great. They did not need to be warmed up like the victoracers.

Tires are fun to play with. Good luck!

 

Car WILL wear Azenis. I have them on my SE-R and they do in fact own.

Tell me more about Silkroads - especially where to buy.

Anyone here have experience with the Tein Basics? Especially ride quality?

 

If you want info on the Silkroads give my friend Rich Moussa a shout at www.dgtrials.com.

Here is his email: rich.m@dgtrials.com

Here is a pic of the coils:

 

ok the Silkroad Coilovers are 8 way dampining adjustable & 2 way height adjustable.


There are also Daiyamas which are non dampining adjustable but the spring rate is matched to the stroke.

 

So are the Silkroads at all a "budget" option? The Tein Basics barely are; MSRP is nearly $900 and I haven't actually seen them for sale anywhere.

Can you point me towards vendors for Silkroads and Daiyamas? I'll be researching but it would help me out. I'm also shooting an email to your friend you mentioned above.

 

That friend is also my sponsor. He is a distributor and will be able to help you out.

 

Sweet. I appreciate all your help. I've got a message in to him and am waiting for a response.

In the meantime, anyone else want to weigh in with an opinion?

 

Well, FWIW I have decided to go with the Sportline/AGX combo. I feel this is the right choice for my budget, and I also decided that it would be best for me to learn the basic handling dynamics of the car before getting really silly with the suspension. In a year or two I'll go with a coilover set, but until then I'll drive the car.