After driving a few days I believe I am qualified to post an impression.

Suspension setup:
Stock 2000 SE springs
Tokico Illumina struts, setting 2f/3r
No other suspension mods.
Stock 17x7 SE wheels (6-spoke, plastic cover in center) with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 235/45-17 tires.

Background:
I am looking to modify my suspension in every way WITHOUT using lowering springs, to maintain stock ride height and spring rate/stiffness. The goal of this is to experiment and work towards a "european" style feel.
My plan includes:
-Stiff struts
-Stage 1 SFCs
-Probably an RSB and FSTB

The first part of this idea is complete--Tokico Illumina 5-way adjustable struts on stock springs.

I've been running since Monday on a setting of 2f/3r, and feel so far this is very decent for everyday driving.
Tokico Illuminas are wonderful in that they smooth out harsh bumps in the road, yet maintain stiffness for softer suspension movement, such as body sway.

The decision to keep the rear struts 1 setting higher than the front is motivated by the fact that the front-end of the vehicle is typically stiffer, to promote a default bias towards understeer, which is typical of most OEM suspensions on many different cars. I have found this decision beneficial, as tightening up the rear-end moreso than the front-end has proven to produce a very "balanced" feel, where I have trouble inducing understeer and oversteer, even moving through tight curves at higher-than-normal speeds while applying throttle.

Pro: Quicker recovery from bodily sway and rocking movement caused by either driver-induced suspension movements or road-induced movements. This allows you to do some seriously spirited driving with much more confidence!

Con: Quicker recovery with road-induced movement can feel "bouncy" or "harsh" sometimes, since your body moves with the vehicle and the contour of the road may cause the vehicle to rock around a lot. Not really resolvable, just go slower! I would highly recommend going slower if one of your passengers is nauseous, and if you have any drinks in the car then you should keep their lids on tight while driving over roads that aren't very flat. This is good advice in any scenario, though.

Pro: Drastically reduced wheel hop. As long as the car is not bouncing around, I have a LOT of trouble getting those front tires to hop or squeal. I used to be able to induce wheel hop on demand.

Con: I'm not sure if this is a side-effect of the fact that the fronts are 1 setting lower than the rears, but when coming through a turn, the front-end tends to bounce a little such that I have to wait until it's stabilized before gunning the throttle in 1st gear, or else I will have a much higher probability of inducing wheel hop or squealing the tires. I'm sure this isn't really a problem, just a factor I've never had to consider until now The car does stabilize itself if I gradually ease into the throttle.

Pro: Off-the-line acceleration transitions smoother. This may be a direct effect of the tighter rear struts, since the opposite is not necessarily true (the front-end still dives a little when I brake hard). But when I hit it in 1st gear, I don't feel the rear end take a short dive first--instead, I feel a quicker transition from sitting still to smoothly accelerating forward.


The only other settings I've experimented on a short-term basis was 5f/3r. That was downright scary. Turning left onto a small highway, applying the accelerator about 1/2-travel in 2nd gear while moving through the turn, the front tires lost traction, causing me to drift into the right-hand lane on the 2-lane side rather than the left lane as I intended. Definitely some sick understeer.

I look forward to experimenting with other settings, and I am very curious how Stage 1 SFCs will affect this ride quality in every aspect. I also believe an RSB is more important with these struts, because it should stabilize the rear so that it remains flat most of the time, instead of bouncing around harder to conform to bumps/ridges in the road. One thing I'm curious about is how the addition of an RSB affects the understeer/oversteer balance, and whether the presence of an RSB warrants setting the front and rear struts to identical settings, if the rear struts at a setting of +1 over the fronts reveals too much oversteer.

Overall I am VERY happy with my purchase, and would highly recommend these struts to anybody who wants to change out their OEM struts for any reason. The configurability adds a useful dimension to suspension and handling, and the smoothing effect the Illuminas exhibit over harsh bumps/potholes/etc. is a great asset to those who complain about the SE's stock harsh ride, especially with stock wheels and low-profile tires.

 

Nice writeup.

 

Sprillis - Another great post! I can't believe you even tried 5F/3R! I've experimented with my Illumina settings, but I never went that overboard

For whatever reason, I've found the ride is significantly smoother when I match the front and rear settings. I used to run 2F/3R, but have been running 2F/2R for awhile now and I'm keeping it here. Significantly smoother and I no longer have issues with front suspension travel. It's almost as though the stiffer rear settings would overtask the front end. Just a guess.

Anyway, excellent writeup! Oh, and where are you getting the SFC's? And price??

 

Someone please experiement with the FWD drag race setting which should be full stiff compression in the rear and a stiff rebound in the front and give us feedback on it. I think this should help me attain my launch goals of a <1.9 60' with slicks.