I need some suggestions on what coilovers to get? I don't care about comfort or how stiff the ride is, i just want the stiffest and most reliable. I'm going to start tracking my car more often now and want a good set. Anyone have any experience with the tein flex?

 

i would go kw variant III

 

Ohlins, Penske, or Moton. Those are the BEST

 

PM Polak he has an awesome deal going on right now for rX8 members, i know I did

 

Ohlins. Bring $$$.

KW V3 is a good affordable coilover.

FWIW, you don't need a coilover setup to have a decent track setup- most of us don't take advantage of the full range of adjustment that a coilover offers as would a race team making adjustments for different tracks and conditions. A good damper/spring combo works great as well.

 

Cusco or Tein flex both can be had w/electronic adjustment ( ECON & EFDC, respectively) and that DOES allow you to use the full range of adjustment on or off the track with a flick of a finger. Why have 6 or 12 or 32 way adjustable coilovers if you pretty much set it and leave it (unless you're a contortionist that likes to tune/play under your car at the track)? Kind of nulls the advantage of the adj coilover thing .

Otherwise KW looks awesome.

 

Beat them daily and keep them hungry.

 

AST 4100, check them out at ast-usa.com

 

KW Variant 3 here

 

KW V2. going on my E92, but if you track i'd say V3

 

does anyone have the tanabe sevens with teas? that looks like it has some pretty inovative stuff, as far as speed adjustable and what- not, anyone have opinions or exp with those?

 

If you want the stiffest here in America:

- TEIN Monoflex, 10kg / 7kg, monotube, compression/rebound adjustable (at the same time). Full Height adj., spring preload adj., front/rear pillow-ball mounts. EDFC compatible.

- JIC FLT-TAR Hard, 10kg / 7 kg, monotube, compression/rebound adjustable (at the same time). Full Height adj., spring preload adj., front pillow-ball mount/rear OEM mount.

Anything else on the American market is softer. Most won't allow full height adjustement (exemple: You drop the height when lowering the spring, and doing so is eating your compression travel. Full height adjustment allows to drop without touching the spring. A nice benefit is that you can preload the spring ONLY and not have a loose spring between the upper and lower spring perches.)

Here's JIC FLT-TAR Hard setup, you can clearly see the spring preload and full adjustement, and also the pillow-ball mount (front) and the need to retrofit the OEM setup at the rear. Pillow-ball mount are a solid bearing top-plate setup, unlike the OEM rubber/plastic top-plate setup, that can give a vague feeling. Many companies, including RE-Amemiya, thinks that the rear OEM mount setup is fine for serious use.



Here's the most badass non-custom system on the market, the RE Ameiya setup: 14kg / 10 kg !!!! 5125$...



Note: Typically, European-made coil-overs have better valving than the Japanese coil-overs. Japanese spring rates are usually stiffer than the Euro conterparts. Personally I prefer stiffer spring rates.

 

There is a member w/ the sevens and TEAS. Do a search for TEAS and it will pop up. My fives w/ TEAS are on the way. Should have them on soon.

 

please be sure to give us feedbacks on the TEAS...

 

No problem. I am looking forward to it.

 

So you decided against going with the KW's on polak's deal?

 

So, you want to eat your cake and have it to ....

This has to be the subject where the real essence of cluelessness lives, as seen in many of the responses. Hyped up marketing, fancy colors, a bazillion adjustment settings, and bragging about winning styling contests rather than true racing competitions does not a good coilover system make. Be prepared to spend $5000+ for a real coilover system such as JRZ, Koni, Moton, etc.

 

You gotta pay to play but for someone who doesn't see the need to spend that kind of money the KW v3's offer great bang for the buck.

 

Maybe I am clueless, but I have read every coilover & suspension thread on this board. I talked to several members through PM and talked to numerous "multi brand" dealers. I tried to take in everyones opinions & views, including yours since you obviously have WAY more experience w/ suspensions than me. (Thanks for answering my questions by the way.) You told me that you would pick the KW over the other low priced junk, but didn't explain what is considered low priced junk.

I thought I did OK chosing the Tanabes for a couple of reasons.
1. I went for over a week w/out a reply from polak on the status of the group buy, which w/out put me over what I want to spend. This also gave me another week of research.
2. Nobody I have talked to, or nothing I have read classified the Tanabes in the catagory you describe.
3. Yes, I think the controller is cool. Needed? NO, but cool.
4. Nobody explained to me what makes the KW that much better.

Now, if you interested in explaining in more detail, they have not shipped yet and I can still cancel my order. I truely do not want them if they are pieces of $hit. From my research, The KW, Tanabe fives w/ TEAS or the sevens w/out TEAS seem to be the best buy in my price range. However, I don't want to regret it either.

I do not track, but I probably will in the future. I definitely am intersted in being able to change ride height w/out affecting the suspension characteristics.

Thanks!!

 

I pm'd you with all of Mark (Polaks) info but I guess you choose not to use it. He has done us all a favor by offering such a good deal to us but he has a real life to take care of and can't always come to check the forums. If you did not get the PM I will gladly you send you his info again but by what I have read (and Dan having the KWs) they seem like the best bang for buck out of a lot of the Coil overs out on the market.

 

Which are better, KW v3 or the JIC FLT?

 

Dannobre has had both on his car ask him as he has tracked it with both sets of Coilovers. Currently he has the JICs in his garage and the KW V3s are on his car as we speak.

 

Thank you for sending me his info. I received it on 3/5. I had tried to contact him through PM & email since 2/19, but I could not find his phone number on this site or his web site. I heard back from him on 2/28, but had already ordered the Tanabes on 2/25. It's not that I chose not to use it, it was just a little too late. (So I thought.)

I found out yesterday that my order has not shipped yet (which I am not too happy about). So, as stated in my previous post, if someone can tell me why the Tanabes are pieces of $hit, or why the KW are that much better I can still cancel that order. If not, I think I have made the best choice for me w/ the info I have gathered to this point.

Thanks Again

 

Neither is the case. Both are reputable quality products. Both serve their purpose quite well.

If you listen to the fanbouys from either camp, what do you expect? "I was an idiot, I bought xyz coilover. Beat me please!" Of course not. Instead you'll hear the summation of all their research and emotional energy bundled into a few words. Something like "Everything else is trash, I'm the sharpest pencil in the bunch because I have xyz coilovers and I'm a hot ****! Bow down to my ultimate knowledge peeon!"

Relax, your decision is fine, your car will jump tall buildings, and people will swoon at the mere sight of your coilovers (if they know they'rre there!" Life is good, move on to the next improvement, dare to do what you've done. Peace man!

 

Well put. I just want a quality product that will do what it says it will. When it comes to suspension, I do not know w/ out the help of all you guys. This why I try to solicit constructive posts & comments that I truely do value and take into consideration.