hey i was wondering wuts the difference between coilovers and shocks/springs. im not looking to purchase coilovers due to the lightness in my pockets, i jus wanted to know.

by the way does anyone know how the s techs compare wit the eibach pro kit or sportlines performance wise?

 

shocks and springs are shocks and springs. coilovers are apecial springs than have adjustable perches. basically a contraption that can raise and lower your car in your back yard.

 

Coilovers usually run higher spring rates as well.

 

ok im a noob.... but is higher spring rates better or no?

 

For most cases, yes. The only case it doesn't is regular daily driving. For Auto-X, drifting, drag and road racing higher is good...but to high isn't.

 

Don't forget, there are technically 2 types of "coilovers":

1) coilover SLEEVE type: you get one spring, a threaded collar, and spring perches for each corner of the car. These are designed to use with stock shocks, but most of the time you have to modify your stock shocks to make them work (i.e. for Ground Control, you have to actually remove the front spring seat off of the OEM shock to use their coilover sleeve kit.) Some people like these, most people see them on sale for $30 on Ebay, but 99.9% chance they suck (unless they're Ground Control, which I guess would be okay).

2) FULL coilovers: this type basically replaces your entire stock suspension. Each corner of the car gets a new shock, spring, and mounts. The advantage to these is that the springs and shocks are designed not only to bolt onto your car with no mods, but they also work together to give you better performance and adjustability. The only thing here is cost... for a decent, recognized brand name full coilover setup (from companies like Tein, Tanabe, Apex-i, HKS) you're going to spend anywhere from about $700-over $2000 for the primo units like Zeal's.

As for higher spring rates, you have to consider how you use your car. If it's a track only machine, usually the higher the better - but the high spring rate requires that your shocks (you better have aftermarket shocks if you have high rate springs!) should be valved correctly to match the spring rate. When you buy a full coilover setup, the springs and shocks are matched correctly out of the box.

Going too high of a spring rate on a daily driver can actually do damage to the rest of your car, especially if you have to deal with potholes or railroad tracks (trust me, I know!).

Finally, a lot of people like S-Techs because they're pretty good for the price. Eibach Prokits are a little stiffer, Sportlines are supposed to go a little lower (don't expect much), but both of those average around $200 a set.

For about $500 you can probably upgrade to a nice setup of S-Tech's and AG adjustable shocks. That's a favorite combo for many people here, including people I know personally.

 

its decided, imma get kyb agx paired wit s techs. thanks for yalls input homie g slices.

 

if you can swing a few more $$ I'd strongly suggest RS-R springs, but there's nothing wrong with S-Techs (RS-R's are stiffer for more spirited driving)