Hi

I had posted a thread before asking which springs are good. I have hought about it some more (by the way thanks for the responses). I had thought about getting some GC coilovers for adjustability. But in thinking about it more thoroughly, I really want springs for smooth ride and good handling specifically. GCs are stiff and probably more for looks than handling. Can someone recommend good ones? Eibachs? Sptints? I will go for the GCs if they provide reasonable handling (I can give on the comfort). I like GCs for their controllability on height. How about active air shocks and springs? Those would be cool!

I ordered the KYB AGX today, it was kind of a no-brainer really for those. Now which springs?

Thanks

Nigel

 

i just ordered the progress technology springs today, it has a 1.7 front drop and a 1.5 back drop, supposed to be the ultimate combination of handling and comfort with a progressive spring rate, thats what they all say, but dont worry ill give you a very detailed report with lots of pics after the install. and i am picky, and the roads here suck, so it will be pritty accurate i think. take it easy

 

I'll drop in my opinion based on my own experience...

Coilovers really won't give you much better handling in terms of roadholding adhesion and absolute speed carried through a corner.

Remember that overall body roll stiffness doesn't necessarily mean better tire adhesion. The relative roll stiffness between the front and rear makes a difference but just making everything really stiff overall with coilovers won't do much good by itself.

My car looks kind of goofy with stock SE springs and Kosei 16x7.5" wheels and big fat 225/55/16 Bridgestone Potenza S-O3 tires at 30psi.

I got some KYB GR-2s, polyurethane rear upper mount bushings and polyurethane bushings for the mid-bar links on the front stabilizer bar (the end links and control arms are stock rubber).

Overall really simple mods... goofy looks aside, my car now feels better through the turns than it has ever been -- Even compared to when I had coilovers.

My car glides through the turns without noticeable tire scrub, really nice feel in the steering, decent weight in the steering.
I can feel through the steering that the front tires are not working nearly as hard as they did when I had coilovers. I can take a wide line on an entrance ramp at a good pace and pull the line way inside without any major drama -- Feels quite a lot like my friend's E36 M3. That pretty much is the BMW formula -- soft springs and firm struts. And the M3 has a noticeably amount of body roll too in the turns -- but it sure sticks.

I have been thinking about just going to a larger diameter 17" wheel with the same tire size just to fill out the wheel well more rather than change the springs and reduce the suspension travel.

I hear that the Cattman Gen2 coilover does something with the upper or lower mount -- maybe a different size shock body with the same internal stroke -- to lower the car about an inch and keeping the same suspension travel. Sounds interesting but I personally would like to see something to that end on an otherwise stock spring setup.

later

 

I have sprints and Agx's. I'm very happy w/ them. I love the drop of the sprints, and I also cut a coil in the rears to make the car even. I had the shocks set at 2 for the front and 4 for the rears, but wasn't too happy w/ the handling. The other day I set the fronts to 3 and rear to 6, and it handles like it's on rails Plus the ride of these isn't that stiff. It might be b/c I'm young, but sometimes I wish the car was stiffer.