Coilovers or Standard Suspension with lowering springs

[Shyam]

Ahead of pay day, I am planning to purchase some MiesterR Coilovers. However I have read that some people have gone down the route of buying standard suspension with teIn/RSR lowering springs.

Anyone had any experience with either and would you say the extra investment in coilovers is worth the difference in handling setup?

Thanks

[akyakapotter]

All depends what you want from the car.? imo id go with coilovers 100% better than shock and spring set up.

cheers nick

[Shyam]

Well right now, I don't feel safe putting my foot down even on the smallest of bends. The handling is shocking. It's a standard set up with standard springs atm, and the oil has pretty much leaked completely out of the rear shocks making it, in short, a death trap lol. A pot hole can send the car in a whole new direction lol.

I do plan to build for more power so coilovers will future proof, but the costs of having coilovers will probably delay that haha. Damping and Height adjustments are definitely a big bonus.

Thanks for the encouragement mate, I will probably have them ordered end of this week. MiesterR have discontinued the zeta pros and have released new line called zeta crd+. I hope they live up to expectations...

Edited May 30, 2017 by Shyam

[akyakapotter]

I have BC Racing Coilovers had them on 3/4 years now spot on coilover may be another to look at

Cheers nick.

[Shyam]

Thanks Nick, will taker a closer look. I've read many people say that BC coilovers are too stiff? I'd like coilovers that are abit more road/speed bump friendly which can be adjusted for track use. Maybe you could shed some light on the BC's?

Thanks

[akyakapotter]

love my BC's i had softer springs put on mine for that reason as i used to use the car daily with a 3y old never had any issues ( cant rember what the spring rates were to long ago now) You will never get a ride like stock having coilovers as they will always be stiffer imo wont Be much if any difference between the bc an meister stiffness. its all down to personal prefference.

cheers nick

[morgey]

I run Bc's got mine 5 odd years ago and have 6f/4r springs and do find it a tad hard on the road but i dont mind as its not my daily drive and its more suitable for when i decide to go on track. If it was a daily id opt for 5f/3r springs.

When i priced up decent shocks (kyb ultra Sr) plus new top mounts then my choice of spring i was within £50 of a set of coilovers with fix damping and no camber adjustment.

[Shyam]

Ah right, so BC offer softer springs upon request? I had no idea mate, Is there much more excess to be paid on top for that service.. Yes, I'd definitely expect them to be alot stffer than shocks. But I'd like them to still be usable and not make the car rattle relentlessly and not have to jump up in my seat over speed bumps. I will still need to take my Mum grocery shopping and she gives me enough headache about my driving as it is.. also, I read somewhere that Miester R's are rebranded BC's but not too sure how much truth there is to that. Would have thought they are totally different as they have very different reviews( both have good reviews but for different needs ). Anyways Nick, thanks for your advice buddy, you've been very helpful (y) .

Edited May 30, 2017 by Shyam

[Shyam]

I run Bc's got mine 5 odd years ago and have 6f/4r springs and do find it a tad hard on the road but i dont mind as its not my daily drive and its more suitable for when i decide to go on track. If it was a daily id opt for 5f/3r springs.

When i priced up decent shocks (kyb ultra Sr) plus new top mounts then my choice of spring i was within £50 of a set of coilovers with fix damping and no camber adjustment.

Morgey, thanks for sharing some figures with us. Are 6f/4r standard springs that come with BC's? Or are they slightly softer? 5f/3r does sound more appealing, I'm guessing they're the softest on offer?

When you put it like that, it's probably not worth considering shocks with lowering springs then

Edited May 30, 2017 by Shyam

[Starlet__SR]

I'm the opposite. As good as coilovers are. I'd not push the stock suspension far enough on the roads to warrant coilovers. Shocks and springs are far more robust for every day use.

[morgey]

6/4 were the stock option when i bought mine. However they did allow you to spec different springs for free when i got mine. Not sure if thats still the case or not.

If you're not sure i would see if you could go out for a ride in a car with coilovers. Changing the damping settings does make a noticable difference too but the spring is always the limiting factor

[Shyam]

I've driven my friends Glanza which has BC coilovers. They were on the car when he bought them so he doesn't know which springs they are. The back of his car is stripped so this may have made it seem worse than it was but it felt too stiff. He also has rear OEM strut brace and rear anti roll bar so that would have also contributed to the stiffness. I will add that they were great on good roads with no bumps or pot holes, the terrain feedback is excellent. But I just felt they were too stiff for roads where you have to be civilized...

I'd really like to go out for a ride in a Glanza with MiesterR's to see the difference really but don't personally know anyone else around me.

Starlet_SR, thanks for the input buddy. I know what you mean. I usually drive sensibly but I give it some welly on country roads where there are loads of bends and dips. I was wondering if shocks with lowering springs would suffice or if I should go with coilovers. As Morgey says though, if it's £50 quid within a coilover set up, may aswel go with coilovers ey? I had chopped springs and standard shocks on my mk2 fiesta and then replaced them with SPAX PSX coilovers. The difference was worlds apart!

Edited May 30, 2017 by Shyam

[daniel_g]

Highly rate crd+

And no, they are not rebranded BCs haha.

[Shyam]

Highly rate crd+

And no, they are not rebranded BCs haha.

Have you got them installed on yours Daniel?? Haha I was like 90% sure it was some mad rumor.

[Starlet__SR]

I've driven my friends Glanza which has BC coilovers. They were on the car when he bought them so he doesn't know which springs they are. The back of his car is stripped so this may have made it seem worse than it was but it felt too stiff. He also has rear OEM strut brace and rear anti roll bar so that would have also contributed to the stiffness. I will add that they were great on good roads with no bumps or pot holes, the terrain feedback is excellent. But I just felt they were too stiff for roads where you have to be civilized...

I'd really like to go out for a ride in a Glanza with MiesterR's to see the difference really but don't personally know anyone else around me.

Starlet_SR, thanks for the input buddy. I know what you mean. I usually drive sensibly but I give it some welly on country roads where there are loads of bends and dips. I was wondering if shocks with lowering springs would suffice or if I should go with coilovers. As Morgey says though, if it's £50 quid within a coilover set up, may aswel go with coilovers ey? I had chopped springs and standard shocks on my mk2 fiesta and then replaced them with SPAX PSX coilovers. The difference was worlds apart!

It's cost me around £420 all in for brand new kyb gas shocks, new kyb top mounts and tein s tech springs. For me it's more than adequate for daily use and throwing round the local back roads. Granted. I've. It got the adjustment that coilovers give. But I know I've got a robust setup that I can now forget about for a good few years.

[morgey]

Id imagine that was on stock supplied springs, I've only been in a civic on meisters but that was on par with my car for stiffness but not a fair comparison haha.

Id price up shocks and springs vs coils. My price was on my corolla but parts prices are very similar, but the bcs on my corolla are 100x smoother than on my starlet. Most people dont even realise its on coilovers haha. But the corolla is on 6/4s and so is my starlet which is why i think the starlet would be better on 5/3s as its a few 100kgs lighter

[Shyam]

It's cost me around £420 all in for brand new kyb gas shocks, new kyb top mounts and tein s tech springs. For me it's more than adequate for daily use and throwing round the local back roads. Granted. I've. It got the adjustment that coilovers give. But I know I've got a robust setup that I can now forget about for a good few years.

Starlet_SR, you've definitely given me something to think about. £420 is considerably less than the £820 I'm looking at for MiesterR coilovers!

Id imagine that was on stock supplied springs, I've only been in a civic on meisters but that was on par with my car for stiffness but not a fair comparison haha.

Id price up shocks and springs vs coils. My price was on my corolla but parts prices are very similar, but the bcs on my corolla are 100x smoother than on my starlet. Most people dont even realise its on coilovers haha. But the corolla is on 6/4s and so is my starlet which is why i think the starlet would be better on 5/3s as its a few 100kgs lighter

Morgey... yes mate, the civic is stiff af stock, I can only imagine how much stiffer it would be on coilovers! Definitely going to look further into the different springs offered by BC, I'm guessing you'd have to order direct for those options...

[Ollieh17]

personally think coilover is the best option. You can fine tune coilovers and get them pretty dam close to ride like lowering springs and shocks. But you cant easily change lowering springs and shocks to have the adjustments coilovers have. If you want comfortable with road manners starlet is the wrong car

[Shyam]

personally think coilover is the best option. You can fine tune coilovers and get them pretty dam close to ride like lowering springs and shocks. But you cant easily change lowering springs and shocks to have the adjustments coilovers have. If you want comfortable with road manners starlet is the wrong car

haha, thanks Ollieh17. I reckon I'm going to go with coilovers too.. I don't mind it being a little bit stiff but I just don't want it to be so stiff that it starts making loud knocking noises every time I go over a small bump etc..

[Starlet__SR]

Look at it this way, by the time you've bought the coilovers, had them fitted and setup, you're gonna be looking at well over £900. Can you really justify that for a car which has to deal with our potholed roads? And lets be honest, are you really gonna keep faffing round altering the ride height and damping all the time?

[Shyam]

Starlet_SR, I know what you getting at mate. I'm going to be fitting them myself so will save a few quid then. I don't want to buy standard shocks and lowering springs all around and then the handling to still be as horrendous as before with the only result making it a little bit lower.

[Ollieh17]

Look at it this way, by the time you've bought the coilovers, had them fitted and setup, you're gonna be looking at well over £900. Can you really justify that for a car which has to deal with our potholed roads? And lets be honest, are you really gonna keep faffing round altering the ride height and damping all the time?

Yes

[akyakapotter]

Im forever playing with my dampning. more so when i have a cheeky track session at a car show.

cheers nick

[5T4R7ET N/A]

if you have good road where you live then i would go with a good sert of coilovers

but if you live in a area like mine, speed humps everywhere, dropped man hole cover and drainage grills go with a springs and shocks.

to get a good setup is never going to be cheap.

I have had tien coilovers when i first got my car, and it was terrible. the ride was shocking and if i hit a bump whilst cornering it sent the car all over the place.

I decided to go with koni adjustable shocks and apexi springs (35mm) with tien adjustable top mounts.

This on softer side but then I spent the rest of the money on anti lift kit and polybushing the whole suspension

the ride is very good with enough cornering ability to keep up with most things on the road.

the most important component that will help make this all work is a good set of tyres. nankang ns2r (medium) get my vote

[Shyam]

5T4R7ET N/A... You live in Luton so I can only imagine what you go through, can't be good mate haha.

I live on the outskirts of Leicestershire so the roads are pretty good around here. Theres always gonna be some speed bumps where ever you go though and that's where I want some flexibility. I don't want a rock hard set up that will make loud knocking noises whenever I do go over bumps but id still like them to be firm enough for it to hug the road and for driving feedback.

I'm also planning to fit anti-lift kit, anti-roll bars and powerflex bushes all around when I get the chance pal, I'm running on Federal RSR's tyres and they do make a huge difference, you notice it alot with lightweight cars..

Edited May 31, 2017 by Shyam