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Coilover Comparison Thread

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  #1  
Old 03-28-2008, 02:09 AM
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Coilover Comparison Thread

Name..........................................Drop F/R.........................................Spring Rate F/R......................~Price
Tein BASIC Coilovers......................-1.9/-1.5............................................... ......4/6...............................891.00
Skunk2 Pro-C Coilovers......................................... ..........................................8/6...............................1389.00
K Sport Kontrol Pro Coilovers......................................... .................................................. .....................910.00
Nex GT Coilovers......................................... .................................................. .6/6...............................699.00
Nex SS Coiovers.......................................... .................................................. 6/6...............................640.00
ARK Coilover DT-P................................................. .................................................. ...........................1397.00
GD3 D2 Coilovers......................................... .................................................. .....................................840.00
Megan Racing Coilovers......................................... .........................................8/10...............................895.00
T1R B-Max 52 Coilovers......................................... .................................................. ..........................1349.00
Endura-Tech Coilovers................. ...-2.5/-1.8............................................... ...5.0/2.9...........................899.00
Killer Bee Coilovers..........................-1.8/-2.0............................................... ....7/6...............................900.00





This is just some information I found, I know there are probably more coilovers out there. Feel free to add more info/categories and I will update this post.

Hopefully it will help those of us looking for a set of coilovers assess our options.
 

Last edited by methodbasic; 07-31-2008 at 10:25 PM.
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Old 03-28-2008, 05:17 AM
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i dont think the tein basic goes that low. i think its 1.9 front and 1.5 rear
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 05:56 AM
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Great idea for a new thread. I have been interested in possibly getting some eventually but i dont know enough about them or each brand specifically to make any type of educated decision. Hopefully we can get some reviews in here as well cause that would really help out.
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 10:20 AM
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lol i love how the important spec is max drop and not spring rate, show what really matters to people on this forum. Everything is cheap crap that will blow in a matter of a year, besides the Skunk2,and T1R. The skunk2 setup has very soft poorly biased spring rates so i wouldnt even consider those on top of the fact skunk2 is :-/ quality. T1R is the only set i would go with out of the bunch you just posted. Im going with Buddyclub N+, KW also makes a good quality suspension for the fit. Everything else is the same thing with a different brand name on them. :-/
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 10:26 AM
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Originally Posted by SHG_Mike
lol i love how the important spec is max drop and not spring rate, show what really matters to people on this forum. Everything is cheap crap that will blow in a matter of a year, besides the Skunk2,and T1R. The skunk2 setup has very soft poorly biased spring rates so i wouldnt even consider those on top of the fact skunk2 is :-/ quality. T1R is the only set i would go with out of the bunch you just posted. Im going with Buddyclub N+, KW also makes a good quality suspension for the fit. Everything else is the same thing with a different brand name on them. :-/
Buddyclub makes coilovers for the USDM Fit? Or are you talking about the modding the JDM ones?
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 10:32 AM
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I agree with SHG_Mike, the spring rates of the coilovers should be included in the list, and perhaps the range of lowering as opposed to just the max drop?
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 11:48 AM
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Originally Posted by SHG_Mike
lol i love how the important spec is max drop and not spring rate, show what really matters to people on this forum. Everything is cheap crap that will blow in a matter of a year, besides the Skunk2,and T1R. The skunk2 setup has very soft poorly biased spring rates so i wouldnt even consider those on top of the fact skunk2 is :-/ quality. T1R is the only set i would go with out of the bunch you just posted. Im going with Buddyclub N+, KW also makes a good quality suspension for the fit. Everything else is the same thing with a different brand name on them. :-/
quite a statement you made there.

so im going to be manxman... show me durability test results that can
back up such profoundly bold statement.

i would like to see it.
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 12:08 PM
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Originally Posted by kenchan
quite a statement you made there.

so im going to be manxman... show me durability test results that can
back up such profoundly bold statement.


i would like to see it.
Agreed. Otherwise the statement is just opinion and/or hasty generalization.
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 01:36 PM
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spring rate on the skunk 2 is 10 and 12 i believe. and megan is 8 and 10. and my megan coilovers are stiff as hell

also these are the megan coilovers lowered all the way down front and back. im on 16's with a 205-40 tire. if it were a 205-45 tire i could easily tuck the tires
 

Last edited by redrumm; 03-28-2008 at 01:43 PM.
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Old 03-28-2008, 02:21 PM
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Originally Posted by redrumm
i dont think the tein basic goes that low. i think its 1.9 front and 1.5 rear
i didnt think so either, but here's where i got it from: Honda Fit Tein Dampening Systems
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 02:28 PM
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Originally Posted by redrumm
spring rate on the skunk 2 is 10 and 12 i believe. and megan is 8 and 10. and my megan coilovers are stiff as hell
what are the units for your spring rates? I found the spring rates for the Tein Basics are 224/336.

Updated first post with recommendations.
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 05:04 PM
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spring rates for the EnduraTech's are 5.0F/2.9R.

you'd think you would understeer, but you dont. my front inner tire
lifts up reminding me that it's an open diff before anything else.
very dynamically balanced perfect for street use, imho.
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by methodbasic
what are the units for your spring rates? I found the spring rates for the Tein Basics are 224/336.

Updated first post with recommendations.
8kg Front and 10kg Rear.32 Levels of Adjustable Damper. i believe you also have the option of upgrading the spring rate to a stiffer/softer one
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by methodbasic
i didnt think so either, but here's where i got it from: Honda Fit Tein Dampening Systems
it says different on the tein site.
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 06:39 PM
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Originally Posted by redrumm
it says different on the tein site.
yep found it thanks!
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 08:52 PM
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Originally Posted by redrumm
spring rate on the skunk 2 is 10 and 12 i believe. and megan is 8 and 10. and my megan coilovers are stiff as hell
Originally Posted by skunk2tony
Great news guys... I was just updated that the Spring rates for the GD3 Honda fit will be 8kg front and 6kg rear springs.


quite a statement you made there.

so im going to be manxman... show me durability test results that can
back up such profoundly bold statement.


Well to start off I have had first had experience with tein (while not the same manufacturer as the korean coilovers) have been blow out with in a year. AND D2's lasted 8k miles

D2 ksport endratech killer bee are all cheap ricer friendly coilovers for people who just want a drop to look cool and bounce around. what kind of shock dynoing or track testing do you think they did when they can produce these and sell them to the public for under 800 bucks. Even if they last 400 years who want to roll on poorly valved shocks with soft mushy front biased springs that will make you handle worse then factory suspension. Not my car or money so buy that stuff if you want

80% of the people that read this will buy anyone of these coilovers and then goto a shop to align the car back to "factory" specs haha
 

Last edited by SHG_Mike; 03-28-2008 at 09:37 PM.
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Old 03-28-2008, 09:37 PM
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Originally Posted by SHG_Mike
Well to start off I have had first had experience with tein (while not the same manufacturer as the korean coilovers) have been blow out with in a year. AND D2's lasted 8k miles

D2 ksport endratech killer bee are all cheap ricer friendly coilovers for people who just want a drop to look cool and bounce around. what kind of shock dynoing or track testing do you think they did when they can produce these and sell them to the public for under 800 bucks. Even if they last 400 years who want to roll on poorly valved shocks with soft mushy front biased springs that will make you handle worse then factory suspension. Not my car or money so buy that stuff if you want
so you're saying you've tried EnduraTechs for the Fit? funny
cause there's only 2 in existance in the USA (well, at least that i know
of) and RiftsWRX and I are the only ones that have them. be both have
been modding (heavily modding especially for RiftsWRX) cars the over
many years and we both agree that these are super smooth for street use.
i dont know where you got to try these and BOUNCE AROUND like you put it.

generalization is not the way you want to go with suspension tuning,
especially if you lack experience or experimentation. it just makes you
sound ignorant. these are actually more than 800 not that price
directly relates to product quality each time, but majority of these
c/o's, you get wat you pay for.
 
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Old 03-28-2008, 11:17 PM
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I believe that the skunk2 pro-c's are 8F/6R.
 
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Old 03-29-2008, 02:16 AM
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then i did over generalize thats my mistake. i have not heard of the company however i ask, what kind of shock dyno or track testing did they do . Suspension tuning is about personalization which is why it annoys me that koni's or some other performance adj shock is not out for the fit along with custom rates. Best i can do is buy a damper that i no is solid and have tested on my cars and buy rates after i run the car a few time. This is not the first car ive built for auto x. Ive built a 98 and a 04 civic hatch both of which have been set up and driven on track a long with many other cars and friends around me who do that same, one of which being the fastest FWD car in the US in SCCA Solo competion.

My basic point was, the US market does not take the fit seriously as far as performance goes unfortunately. MOST of these kits are just coilovers to buyers can say they have coilovers and dont not help performance one bit. Most of which will blow the valving in a year or so. So why buy coilovers in the first place when all you wanted was the lower ride and oem shock that will last at least this long. Again who here is going to corner weight and align there car not to oem spec? very few. So for people new to it they should not buy these kits thinking they will get good or the best performance out of them because they wont. just stick with springs and save your money.

Sorry if i over generalized but i will admit im still very new to the "fit" scene . so when a group of options mostly included cheap crap kits i KNOW are bad i assumed the one i did not know in the same price range was the same story, if not then good for them and im sure people will be happy with them. But for the most part they are a waste of money. Price and drop distance should not what people looking for performance should be concerned with, shock valving and rates should be most important
 
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Old 03-29-2008, 07:37 AM
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i see your point....for street i was pretty skeptical running c/o's as well
on my FitS. ive run TEIN coilovers on previous cars and they were
great for canyon carving (i use to live in LA) but also came with
compromises in noise and dd drivability. my FitS is a dd, so didn't want
to associate with noise and a rough riding car.

if you check out one of my earlier posts i mentioned that i too thought
coilover setups are a waste on a street driven car, just get some
lowering springs yada yada. in most instances it is true if we
generalize. but my lowering spring + swaybar setup was good, but
not great and was looking for an upgrade. you see, i already tried
it.

here are some of the key reasons why i invested in the EnduraTechs.
im going to write ciburri-style (loooong).

1. spring rates are soft on the enduratechs for dd drivability. these
are tuned for street use. linear rate springs, dampers matched to the
springs, height adjustability is done with the actual c/o thread into
the lower bracket, not the preload seats as you might find on other
lower-end units.

2. i was quite happy with the DF210's they rode nice on most
roads, but they rode rough over larger bumps and dips. the
progressive rate also softened the initial roll.

3. to tighten up the initial roll, i got a rear progress swaybar. it fixed the
initial roll and provided much flatter cornering, but the dynamics of the
car was altered quite a bit and it did not feel natural to me. im sure
for racers they will accept that unnatural feel for the improvement
of keeping the front tires on the pavement while cornering tight turns.

4. i read it is a pita to switch out the front swaybar and also not much
offerings available. i was hoping to dial out the unnatural feel by
adding a thicker front sway.

5. there isn't much of an offering for standalone adjustable dampers. by
the time i spend more, i could just buy coilovers meant for street driving
and give it a shot.

6. my torsion has preload (rear did not sit evenly out of the box). with
coilovers i was able to dial that out completely.

7. given the many great reviews we've seen about enduratechs in the
subaru forums im confident these made in japan units are as high quality
inside as they are on the outside. the units come with warranty and
justin over there is a very reasonable guy to work with in case you need
his assistance... this gives buyers confidence.

anyway, as you guys have already read, my c/o's provide the
smoothness i was looking for at a great looking ride height. im also
not running a rear swaybar because with the linear rate springs the
car is nimble and very connected to the steering inputs/feedback.
the torsion does enough for me. car is very dynamically balanced.

i would definitely not generalize the enduratechs with just another
coilover set from asia.

Originally Posted by SHG_Mike
then i did over generalize thats my mistake. i have not heard of the company however i ask, what kind of shock dyno or track testing did they do . Suspension tuning is about personalization which is why it annoys me that koni's or some other performance adj shock is not out for the fit along with custom rates. Best i can do is buy a damper that i no is solid and have tested on my cars and buy rates after i run the car a few time. This is not the first car ive built for auto x. Ive built a 98 and a 04 civic hatch both of which have been set up and driven on track a long with many other cars and friends around me who do that same, one of which being the fastest FWD car in the US in SCCA Solo competion.

My basic point was, the US market does not take the fit seriously as far as performance goes unfortunately. MOST of these kits are just coilovers to buyers can say they have coilovers and dont not help performance one bit. Most of which will blow the valving in a year or so. So why buy coilovers in the first place when all you wanted was the lower ride and oem shock that will last at least this long. Again who here is going to corner weight and align there car not to oem spec? very few. So for people new to it they should not buy these kits thinking they will get good or the best performance out of them because they wont. just stick with springs and save your money.

Sorry if i over generalized but i will admit im still very new to the "fit" scene . so when a group of options mostly included cheap crap kits i KNOW are bad i assumed the one i did not know in the same price range was the same story, if not then good for them and im sure people will be happy with them. But for the most part they are a waste of money. Price and drop distance should not what people looking for performance should be concerned with, shock valving and rates should be most important
 


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