Here are a few things I wish I had known about coil-overs prior to purchasing them and installing them:

1.) No matter what anyone says, your ride will get stiffer...A LOT stiffer.

2.) They will make loud noises over even the smallest of road imperfections.

3.) Every rattle your car ever had will become amplified by the power of one million.

4.) Road noise; Your tires will become much louder. Stock suspension has something (rubber bushings? idk) that quiets the songs of the tire's native lands.

5.) When lowered even slightly the steering will become affected. (obviously because the geometry is not at oem spec.) I noticed with the modest drop that the steering has become substantially heavier and less linear at all speeds.

Now in all fairness, I didn't purchase a terribly expensive kit (T1R Basics). However. From what I've recently found out from quizzing owners of more pricy kits is that they all have the same vices.

NOW with all that being said.

Do I regret them? NO

I love the improvement in handling. I love the way the car looks.
I am not a teenager anymore so I opted to keep them as high as possible(without going too high to limit shock travel) (which is still a little too low for my taste).

The ride is still bouncy and as rough as before but the rear doesn't squat down as much...that was what made it feel like my spine was being compressed to oblivion with the stock setup.

Just wanted to put this out there. Seems everyone is always raving about coil-overs and how they are "better" than lowering springs. I'm not saying either is really better or worse; just understand that they both have their limitations.

 

+1

very well said!! You didnt mention durability though

 

Anytime u alter a vehicle from OEM it is no longer gonna be the same. Its not just coilovers. Springs do the same. The spring rates are always stiffer.

 

Spring rates have to be increased well ... when we are talking about lowering springs, to prevent the shocks or whole setup from bottoming out.

 

Not all coilovers are created equal. Not all of them are significantly stiffer!!

Go read some reviews on various coilovers when shopping! Find ones that meet or exceed your needs!!

 

I literally laughed out loud at some of that on my balcony. Now my neighbors are looking at me, thanks. Even if you weren't trying to be funny.

T1R basic sitting high are probably pretty soft, so I'm surprised at this. Must be the dampers. Was thinking about getting this kit but will probably go with Bilstein now.

 

Dampers are magic when it comes to coils.

My friend is on RSR coils with no dampers and I swear they're smooth and he's lower than me. My Apex'i is shit compared to RSR,

Lastly, the size of the tires makes a difference too. I have low pros (205/40/17) and it makes the ride harsher than when I'm on 15s with 195/55 tires.

Just things I've noticed myself

 

I would imagine everyone has their own opinion of what soft, firm, and stiff are as well.

I'm not saying the T1R is a bad kit. Some have been giving it excellent reviews. I've taken rides in quite a few cars with lowering springs and a variety of coil-overs and they all have similar changes in ride characteristics.

I'm just happy I could be entertaining.

 

How does he not have any "dampers?" Are you referring to something other than the shock tubes?

Currently on my winter set. 185/65-14 so they are fairly soft. (General Altimax Arctic) Mounted on BMW Bottlecaps they are fairly light (14.8lbs) considering how beefy they are.

 

I meant adjusting the dampers. My coils are pretty harsh, but that's the setup I wanted it to be. Before, it wasn't as harsh because it wasn't "slammed" and the damper setting was just right.

Nowadays, being slammed, damper be damned soft or hard; it's just always hard.

 

After years of tuning cars this is why I don't run coil overs on the street anymore. You should add to the list they are a lot of maintenance too. Every time you make an adjustment an alignment/corner weighing needs to be done. That's a lot of work for a street car. Even though I can do my own alignments in my drive way, the loss of ride quality isn't worth it.

I have Eibach springs in my car, and my car handles fantastic with little loss of ride quality. Ok so I have more than just springs (sway-bar, braces...), but that's my point; you can still have a great handling car and the ride without going to coil-overs.

 

This x a trillion.

Your issue is cheaping out on low quality coilovers, not the entire range of coilovers.

 

I could have spent a grand more and still have all the same issues. These problems aren't exclusive to "low quality" coilovers.

 

I kind of agree with Mike. If you got some rsr or hks coils, you might change your mind

 

How do you know, have you tested this 1.6-2k coilovers? (IE KW/HKS)

 

Always wondered why hks and mugens were 2-3k. Now I know.

 

Yea, just ask thevileone lol

 

Too bad hes gone missing

 

Is he gonna be restored someday.?


Tevida Side Effects

 

I bet well see him this summer. his Flickr is still active