CharlesJ

Everything to do with suspension is in this thread! Many parts of this resource have been taken from other sources, most notably, kwkouki's post at sfldrifters. Feel free to post your experience on any aftermarket suspension system to add to the thread. Put the brand/model at the beginning of your post in bold to make it easier to read.

Contents:
Parts Diagram
Part Descriptions
Coilover Options
Spring Options
Damper Options
Sway Bar options

Parts Diagram: (number point to bushings for the part described)

2- TC(tension rod)
4- LCA(lower control arm) front
6- LCA rear
8- Forward link (traction rod)
10- Rear Upper arm
12- Toe link
14- Upright (upper)
15- Upright (lower)
16- Sub-frame (front/lower)
17- Sub-frame (rear/upper)

Part Descriptions


Coilovers Options for 240sx/silvia (bolt on applications)

Apex'i
BC Racing
Buddyclub
Cusco
D2
Endura-Tech
Greddy
HKS
JIC Magic
Kei Office
K-Sport
KTS
KW
Zeal
Megan Racing
Moton
Nismo
Silk Road
Stance
Tanabe
Tein

Buddy Club Racing Spec Damper
15 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(?) inch
Height adj. - R(?) inch

Cusco Comp-S
ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(7kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-75 ~ -50) mm
Height adj. - R(-50 ~ -20) mm

Cusco Zero 1
ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(7kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-90 ~ 0) mm
Height adj. - R(-65 ~ 0) mm

Cusco Zero2
5 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(7kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-90 ~ 0) mm
Height adj. - R(-65 ~ 0) mm

Cusco Zero2R
5 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(7kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-85 ~ 0) mm
Height adj. - R(-70 ~ 0) mm

GP Sports G-Master
32 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(?) inch
Height adj. - R(?) inch

HKS Hipermax DRAG
30 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(4kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(3kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(?) inch
Height adj. - R(?) inch

HKS Hipermax II
30 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(7kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(?) inch
Height adj. - R(?) inch

JIC FLT-A1
5 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(7kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(0.5 ~ 0.25) inch
Height adj. - R(0.5 ~ 0.25) inch

JIC FLT-A2
15 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(7kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(0.5 ~ 0.25) inch
Height adj. - R(0.5 ~ 0.25) inch

Ksport Kontrol Pro
36 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(7kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(?) inch
Height adj. - R(?) inch

KTS Coilovers
15 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(?) inch
Height adj. - R(?) inch

Megan Racing Coilover Kit
32 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(?) inch
Height adj. - R(?) inch

Silk Road RM/A8
8 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm) or (8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm) or (7kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(?) inch
Height adj. - R(?) inch

Stance
15 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm) or (9kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm) or (7kg/mm)
Height adj. - F() inch
Height adj. - R() inch

Tanabe Sustec Pro DD
4 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch
Height adj. - R(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch

Tanabe Sustec Pro SS
4 way front and 4 or 8 way rear adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch
Height adj. - R(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch

Tanabe Sustec Pro SS Type II
4 way front and 4 or 8 way rear adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch
Height adj. - R(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch

Tanabe Sustec S-OC
? way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch
Height adj. - R(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch

Tanabe Sustec S-OC Type II
? way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(8kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(6kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch
Height adj. - R(-0.5 ~ -2.5) inch

Tein Basic Damper
ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(6kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-1.0 ~ -2.5) inch
Height adj. - R(-1.1 ~ -2.9) inch

Tein Super Street
16 way adjustable (compression and rebound combined), ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(6kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-0.7 ~ -2.2) inch
Height adj. - R(-0.1 ~ -2.5) inch

Tein Super Drift
16 way adjustable (compression and rebound combined), ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(10kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(8kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-0.2 ~ -3.2) inch
Height adj. - R(-0.3 ~ -2.6) inch

Tein Type FLEX
16 way adjustable (compression and rebound combined), ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(5kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(4kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(-0.1 ~ -2.5) inch
Height adj. - R(-0.8 ~ -2.4) inch

Zeal Function B6
6 way adjustable, ride height adjustable
Spring Rate - front(6kg/mm)
Spring Rate - rear(5kg/mm)
Height adj. - F(?) inch
Height adj. - R(?) inch

Spring Options
STOCK
Spring Rate - F : 2.0kg/mm (2.2 for sport package?)
Spring Rate - R : 2.0kg/mm (2.2 for sport package?)
Ride Height - F : 0"
Ride Height - R : 0"

EIBACH PROKIT
Spring Rate - F : 1.84~1.92kg/mm
Spring Rate - R : 2.3~2.4kg/mm
Ride Height - F : -1.8" (eibach site) -1" (jnm240 test)
Ride Height - R : -1.6" (eibach site) -.75" (test)

EIBACH SPORTLINE
Spring Rate - F : 1.92~2.0kg/mm
Spring Rate - R : 2.4~2.5kg/mm
Ride Height - F : -2.2" / -1.75" (test)
Ride Height - R : -2.1" / -1.75" (test)

H & R SPORT
Spring Rate - F : 2.0~2.08kg/mm
Spring Rate - R : 2.5~2.6kg/mm
Ride Height - F : -1.3"
Ride Height - R : -1.3"

TEIN S-TECH
(progressive, TEIN only lists the maximal rate)
Spring Rate - F : 3.7
Spring Rate - R : 3.2
Ride Height - F : -1.5"
Ride Height - R : -1.2"

TEIN HIGH-TECH
Spring Rate - F: 3.3 (s13); 3.2 (s14)
Spring Rate - R: 2.9 (s13); 3.1 (s14)
Ride Height - F: -0.9" (s13); -0.7" (s14)
Ride Height - R: -0.6" (s13); -0.4" (s14)

INTRAX SPORT SPRING KIT
Spring Rate - F : (Couldn't get through to tech support)
Spring Rate - R : (Couldn't get through to tech support)
Ride Height - F : -2.25"
Ride Height - R : -2.0"

SUSPENSION TECHNIQUES
Spring Rate - F : 3
Spring Rate - R : 2.66
Ride Height - F : -1.3"
Ride Height - R : -1.3" (?)

WHITELINE CONTROL
Spring Rate - F : S13&S14 = 2.8
Spring Rate - R : S13= 2.36~3.66 S14= 1.91~3.18
Ride Height - F : -1.75"
Ride Height - R : -1.75"

TANABE GF210
Spring Rate - F : 2.9
Spring Rate - R : 2.7
Ride Height - F : -1." to -1.6"
Ride Height - R : -.6" to -1"

RS*R DOWN SPRINGS
Spring Rate - F: 3.0
SPring Rate - R: 3.0
Ride Height - F: -1.6"(s13) -1.0"(s14)
Ride Height - R: -1.2" (s13) -0.6" (s14)

RS*R RACE SPRINGS
Spring Rate - F: 5.0
Spring Rate - R: 4.5(s13) 4.2 (s14)
Ride Height - F: -1.4"
Ride Height - R: -1.2" (s13) -1.0" (s14)

MEGAN RACING LOWERING SPRINGS MR-LS-NS13 (s13):
Springrate F: 6.25kg/mm (350lbs/in)
Springrate R: 4.46kg/mm (250lbs/in)
Ride Height F: 1.75"
Ride Height R: 1.75"

MEGAN RACING LOWERING SPRINGS MR-LS-NS14 (s14):
Springrate F: 6.25kg/mm (350lbs/in)
Springrate R: 4.46kg/mm (250lbs/in)
Ride Height F: 1.75"
Ride Height R: 1.75"

ESPELIR ACTIVE SUPER DOWN -
Front - 3.0kg/mm (168.0 lb/in) ~ drops 1.9"
Rear - 2.4kg/mm (134.4 lb/in) ~ drops 1.1"

KGMM S21 SPORT -
Front - 3.2kg/mm (179.2 lb/in)
Rear - 2.6kg/mm (145 lb/in)

KGMM S21 SUPERSPORT -
Front - 4.6kg/mm (257.6 lb/in)
Rear - 3.8kg/mm (212.8 lb/in)

KGMM DR Race -
Front - 6kg/mm
Rear - 5kg/mm
Ride Height - F: 2.2"
Ride Height - R: 1.2"

5ZIGEN R-RATE -
Front - 2.4 to 5.2kg/mm (134 to 291 lb/in) ~ drops 1.3"
Rear - 1.9 to 5.0kg/mm (106 to 280 lb/in) ~ drops 1.1"

KGMM S21 RACE -
Front - 6.6kg/mm (369.6 lb/in) ~drops ?"
Rear - 5.2kg/mm (291.2 lb/in) ~ drops ?"



Damper Options
Koni
KYB GR-2
KYB AGX
Tokico blue
Tokico Illumina



Sway Bar options
S13
Stock ? (data from Japanparts.com) JDM ?
Front 24mm
Rear 16mm

Suspension Techniques (data from STRacing.com)
Front 27mm
Rear 20.6mm

Whiteline (data from PDMRacing.com)
Front 27mm
Rear 20-22mm

Cusco (data from Japanparts.com)
Front 28mm
Rear 18mm

Tanabe (data from Tanabe-usa.com)
Front 30.4mm
Rear 22mm

Progress
Front 27mm
Rear 22mm

S14
Stock (data from CourtesyParts)
Front 27.2mm
Rear 15.9mm

Whiteline Adjustables (data from PDMRacing.com)
Front 27mm
Rear 20mm (22mm available as well)

Suspension Techniques (data from STRacing.com)
Front 28.6mm
Rear 20.6mm

Cusco (data from Japanparts.com)
Front 30mm
Rear 21mm

Nismo (data from Japanparts.com)
Front 30mm
Rear 23mm

Tanabe (data from Tanabe-usa.com)
Front 30.4mm
Rear 27.5mm

Progress
Front 30mm
Rear 24mm

CharlesJ

I will make the first one:

I have experience with probably about 20 different brands/models and stick primarily to street and road course (grip), although have worked a little with more drift oriented stuff.

Recomendations:

Budget:
BC Racing BR and KTS both work well for a lower priced system with a more street bias. Damper quality prevents them from being peak performers on the track. Cool feature on the KTS is the option to buy rear Z32 lower mount for direct bolt on the Z32 alum hubs. You can choose springs rates on either of these. Many people recomend Stance as another budget option, but I have no experience with them

Mid-mid high:
For mid to high mid priced stuff for grip and street, I like the KW V3 which offeres great performance and 2 way adjustments (bound and rebound). They are one of the only realistically priced bolt on kits with more than one way adjustment. The other that I know of is the Stance 3 way. I have not tried, but I would imagine the 1 way V2 works pretty well for someone with more street oriented needs. These also offer a full droop unlike almost all japanese coilovers. This ends up working better than most of these for grip applications. You can choose your springs rates and KW will revalve the dampers accordingly for a truely custom setup. There is also a clubsport version which has stonger valving for more track oriented stuff. These systems do nto come with upper mounts.

Silk Road Section spec work quite nicely for a mid priced system for most uses. Good inverted monotube damper, solid construction, and you can choose spring rates.

High End/Race
For ultra high end track cars, Moton is king for having a bolt on application, although JRZ makes some incredible custom stuff. This stuff is for the serious racer and generally cost $4k+ and nothing can compare in terms of sheer performance and adjustability.

Other Impressions:

FLT-A2 - Nice coilovers, work well for track and street. Not worth the extra money

FLT-A1 - Actually really liked these as a street coilover, however they lack damper strength for hard track, and are a little more expensive than other equally good or better options.

Tein HE - Only liked these for drift. Harsh on the street, not setup out of the box for a good grip balance

Tein Flex - Unless you have to have the cockpit adjustability, they are just very mediocre and overpriced. The mono tube version should be the standard.

Tein Basic - Hate them...bouncy POS

Tein HA(oldschool) - Like a basic with dampening control which does make a difference as it takes away the bounce. They were cool back in 1998, but I would pass on a used set even if I were on a tiny budget. Probably all dead by now anyways

K-Sport - Bouncy, not very good. Better performance with a decent spring strut combo

Kei Office XR - Same as Silk Roads, but an extra 300

Tanabe Sustec Pro Seven - Nothing special. Work decent, decent ride, option cockpit control. Kind of expensive.

NiSmO Knight

iTrader: (1)

I guess I'll star off on this one.

**OK, so Charles beat me to it... Im still second!!! LOL***

Right now I daily on Apexi EVC Coilovers. They ride and handle great, Some of the Falken guys had fun in my car (bad idea) they like them. Wide band of dampening adjustability and you can set camber from +5 to -5. I've had no problems at all.

I have to say, but this is most likely with all other coilovers, do not set it on the soft damening end as your ride will be bouncy and being as big boned as I am, bouncy = jiggly blubber... sorry, bad image to demonstrate with...

Another coilover setup I've had experience with is the Tein HE's.
Note: Out of the box its for the hard core drifter, if you want to daily on these, unload the springs before install.
We started off Hubert's second or third year in Formula D (the Motorsport Dynamics Blue S14, for a while there it was AKA the "Burger Mobile" thanks to Conrad Gruenwald) with the HE's. They held up all these years, including a round trip to China for the inagural World Drift Series in Beijing. Only reason why Hubert took them off for the new season is because of sponsors. They held up great and he loved them. Only down side to them is that you need to buy the camber plates separately from the suspension. And if I recall correctly, you can run the electronic dampening system (EDFC???) on the HE's.

Sqwibbs

I don't drift, but I do go to the track at least twice a year (Thunderhill, Willows CA). My opinions, recommendations and thoughts are mostly geared toward increased road holding, but I don't see why they wouldn't apply to drifting as well.

IMO 90% (if not more) of the people out there should NOT be using coil overs. Adjustability is great, but it also offers you a very easy chance to screw up your handling. I see so many idiots rolling around on coilovers with their car so low that their camber is sitting at -10 and they swear up and down that the car handles way better. Of course there is no way to convince them otherwise.

Funny story time:
The last time I went to the track, I invited an acquaintance of mine (my girlfriends little sisters boyfriend). He is one of the aforementioned people with coilovers who couldn't adjust them to save his life. Boy is his CRX low... it looks sooo cool. He was in the novice group thinking he was hot **** because he was finally on the track. At this point I should mention that we where at a VCOA track day. VCOA you ask? Volvo Club Of America.

Ok, now that you've stopped laughing, he was passing early 80's and 90's station wagons left and right and he was feeling pretty fast. After hearing that I asked him if he would like to ride with me in the intermediate group (expert group is populated by dedicated race cars, Porsche Turbo's, etc). He declined because I'm “too crazy.” But I did manage to get him to ride with a friend of mine (we'll call him Volvo Driver) who drives a stock 2006 V70R (300hp,AWD). On the second lap Volvo Driver had to pull over, on the race track, because my acquaintance had started vomiting in his helmet. Despite all of his street racing “experience” he had never gone that fast before.
End of funny story.

That being said, coilovers are much better then just having lowering springs. Most lowering springs are far to soft and actually decrease the handling abilities of your car because your bouncing off the bump stops on every corner. (Tein S-Tech's... worst invention EVER).

For less then 700 shipped($645 I think), I got Nismo non-adjustable “coilovers” (really just springs and shocks) and those are probably twice as good as the Tien S-Techs that came on the car. In reality, these Nismos are probably better set up then 90% of the coilovers on the street today. With the addition of some adjustable sway-bars (Whiteline's), which are much easier to tune then coil-overs, I would bet that my car handles better 95% of the 240's out there running coil-overs.

bucket240

K-Sports: I am stuck with a set which I already sent back to the manufacturor for blown seals, not that bouncy in my opinion. They do offer custom spring rates made by Eibach. Better than spring strut combo.

zenkislider

megan racing coilovers lol for the millionth time
ive had them since january. I have had no problems with them at all, and i think they feel really good from my experiance. I think that they are definitely worth the 800 dollars they cost, good price! Im sure you dont need to here the specs and what they come with so thats it...O and i use them for drift and grip on the street..
They go pretty low, not as low as stance but low enough to be slammed, and probally lower than any of yall are planning on going..
I have no ther experiance with coilovers, other than my thwo freinds with megans on the s13s.
I have felt goldline/ eibach spring and schock combo...and cut springs LOL.

QR25DE

I've been rockin' some OLD SKOOL JICs from 80s Japan for 3 years and they're STILL GOOD!!! >.<

CharlesJ

Updated this thread as a total resource. Still adding more

battosaii930

iTrader: (2)

i have my Tein Flex i actually like them alot feels nice on the street not too harsh and it makes my car handle amazing at the track i do realize the handling isnt only the coilovers them selfs its also my alignment and my chassis reinforcements and my tires.

but for me that i drive my car everyday and go to the track about twice a month i love these coils even my g/f said its not too harsh of course i lower the dampening for the street and set it higher at the track. i will be getting EDFC soon

ryguy

iTrader: (1)

I have Stance GR Basic coilovers. I use my car mostly as a daily driver and when set on the softest setting they are literally comparable in ride quality to a shock/spring combo. Most definately not a harsh ride. When set back to the stiffest setting they are very uncomfortable but very stiff, good for autoX. Price was good to at under a grand shipped. Lots of height adjustability, I think I could literally drop the car so low the frame would be sitting on the ground. A six inch drop is definately not out of the question with these coilovers, but Stance is known for that. Considering cost, ride quality, and overall quality of the coilover I couldnt be happier.

Rnz520

I am really thinking of going with the stances

clubredsilvia

^^^ my friend has some tein flex's. I like them but they seem like they would be a lot nicer for the money that he spent on them (1200). I think that coilovers in general are overpriced and a company should take the initiative to come out with a high-quality/low price coilover. I however love cusco coilovers and JICs. I probably couldn't ever afford them, but if you ever rode in a car with JICs they are just gnarly.

Zenki_SliderS14

amen to that. the only downside is if you dont edfc

IHeartRPS13

DG-5 aka Kei Office
which includes swift springs
8kg/6kg

ryguy

iTrader: (1)

^How do you like them? I mean, even though kei office isnt around anymore, just in case somebody comes across some. You're supposed to review them, not just say whatcha have.