Coilovers or springs?
#12
I don't know. Need the money for your sense of humour treatment?
Probably not tired, with the lack of use, but still OEM and so not as good as they could be. Obviously if you're not going to drive the car then there's little point spending money on the driving experience, but I think a lot of people that go for springs end up being a little disappointed by not lowering as much or in the way they want. I made the buying springs first mistake with another car, and felt neither the handling nor looks were what I wanted so ended up with coilovers a year later. With the S I didn't bother even thinking about springs. But each to their own.
Probably not tired, with the lack of use, but still OEM and so not as good as they could be. Obviously if you're not going to drive the car then there's little point spending money on the driving experience, but I think a lot of people that go for springs end up being a little disappointed by not lowering as much or in the way they want. I made the buying springs first mistake with another car, and felt neither the handling nor looks were what I wanted so ended up with coilovers a year later. With the S I didn't bother even thinking about springs. But each to their own.
#13
I went for skunk2 springs on mine and am more than happy with the results. If the dampers give up I'll go for coilovers but for now the springs are spot on. Springs cost £180 ish from hond-r
#14
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My car came with eibach springs when i bought it, i then put some Meister R coilovers on and oh my it made a difference. The 30mm lowering the Eibach's offered were nowhere near enough. I also found that you could adjust the damping rates so that the suspension felt just as soft as the springs only option.
No ride softness compromised here. All in all i would go coilovers every time it is definitely worth the money
No ride softness compromised here. All in all i would go coilovers every time it is definitely worth the money
#15
Registered User
#16
Thread Starter
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
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About 29,000 miles. Outwardly they look in very good condition as the car rarely sees rain and is garaged and covered when not in use.
#17
Registered User
Such a subjective question.
Most of the replies in this thread are saying springs are not the best way to go as they don't lower the car enough; the OP stated he only wanted to lower 15mm. It has already been touched upon, but those buying all fresh new coil-overs wanted a bigger drop than 25 / 30mm and are effectively getting new springs and dampers compared to what they were running and we don’t know what mileage their OEM stuff was.
OP - It all depends on how much you want to spend / how low / how firm you want it.
If I were in your shoes I'd do the following (and again, totally subjective and some will disagree) – I’d get some springs. Mainly because a minimum of £600 for coil-overs is a big outlay given your low annual mileage, your shocks arepretty fresh in terms of mileage and your desire to only low it a little bit.You haven’t mentioned how firm you want the car, but springs can help firm up the feel depending on which you go for. Adjustable shocks some may argue are abetter method, but it’s all about the application. Where and how do you drive it. For weekend B road blasts, many models of coil-overs could be too firm and you’ll bounce around the road and end up losing overall traction and grip (assuming undulations and pot holes will be in the mix!!)
If you only want a small drop (15mm won't be very noticeable) then the UK Spec Teins are a good bet. For a 25mm drop, look at the US Spec Teins. Swift Specs Rs are firmer and offer 30mm drop. There are also Eibach, Spax, Apex and Espelir to consider; and more. Prices vary a lot as do spring rates and drops – you’re really going to have to do the research and make up your own mind.
Hopefully my non-expert opinion gives you some food for thought anyways.
Most of the replies in this thread are saying springs are not the best way to go as they don't lower the car enough; the OP stated he only wanted to lower 15mm. It has already been touched upon, but those buying all fresh new coil-overs wanted a bigger drop than 25 / 30mm and are effectively getting new springs and dampers compared to what they were running and we don’t know what mileage their OEM stuff was.
OP - It all depends on how much you want to spend / how low / how firm you want it.
If I were in your shoes I'd do the following (and again, totally subjective and some will disagree) – I’d get some springs. Mainly because a minimum of £600 for coil-overs is a big outlay given your low annual mileage, your shocks arepretty fresh in terms of mileage and your desire to only low it a little bit.You haven’t mentioned how firm you want the car, but springs can help firm up the feel depending on which you go for. Adjustable shocks some may argue are abetter method, but it’s all about the application. Where and how do you drive it. For weekend B road blasts, many models of coil-overs could be too firm and you’ll bounce around the road and end up losing overall traction and grip (assuming undulations and pot holes will be in the mix!!)
If you only want a small drop (15mm won't be very noticeable) then the UK Spec Teins are a good bet. For a 25mm drop, look at the US Spec Teins. Swift Specs Rs are firmer and offer 30mm drop. There are also Eibach, Spax, Apex and Espelir to consider; and more. Prices vary a lot as do spring rates and drops – you’re really going to have to do the research and make up your own mind.
Hopefully my non-expert opinion gives you some food for thought anyways.
#18
Thread Starter
Such a subjective question.
Most of the replies in this thread are saying springs are not the best way to go as they don't lower the car enough; the OP stated he only wanted to lower 15mm. It has already been touched upon, but those buying all fresh new coil-overs wanted a bigger drop than 25 / 30mm and are effectively getting new springs and dampers compared to what they were running and we don’t know what mileage their OEM stuff was.
OP - It all depends on how much you want to spend / how low / how firm you want it.
If I were in your shoes I'd do the following (and again, totally subjective and some will disagree) – I’d get some springs. Mainly because a minimum of £600 for coil-overs is a big outlay given your low annual mileage, your shocks arepretty fresh in terms of mileage and your desire to only low it a little bit.You haven’t mentioned how firm you want the car, but springs can help firm up the feel depending on which you go for. Adjustable shocks some may argue are abetter method, but it’s all about the application. Where and how do you drive it. For weekend B road blasts, many models of coil-overs could be too firm and you’ll bounce around the road and end up losing overall traction and grip (assuming undulations and pot holes will be in the mix!!)
If you only want a small drop (15mm won't be very noticeable) then the UK Spec Teins are a good bet. For a 25mm drop, look at the US Spec Teins. Swift Specs Rs are firmer and offer 30mm drop. There are also Eibach, Spax, Apex and Espelir to consider; and more. Prices vary a lot as do spring rates and drops – you’re really going to have to do the research and make up your own mind.
Hopefully my non-expert opinion gives you some food for thought anyways.
Most of the replies in this thread are saying springs are not the best way to go as they don't lower the car enough; the OP stated he only wanted to lower 15mm. It has already been touched upon, but those buying all fresh new coil-overs wanted a bigger drop than 25 / 30mm and are effectively getting new springs and dampers compared to what they were running and we don’t know what mileage their OEM stuff was.
OP - It all depends on how much you want to spend / how low / how firm you want it.
If I were in your shoes I'd do the following (and again, totally subjective and some will disagree) – I’d get some springs. Mainly because a minimum of £600 for coil-overs is a big outlay given your low annual mileage, your shocks arepretty fresh in terms of mileage and your desire to only low it a little bit.You haven’t mentioned how firm you want the car, but springs can help firm up the feel depending on which you go for. Adjustable shocks some may argue are abetter method, but it’s all about the application. Where and how do you drive it. For weekend B road blasts, many models of coil-overs could be too firm and you’ll bounce around the road and end up losing overall traction and grip (assuming undulations and pot holes will be in the mix!!)
If you only want a small drop (15mm won't be very noticeable) then the UK Spec Teins are a good bet. For a 25mm drop, look at the US Spec Teins. Swift Specs Rs are firmer and offer 30mm drop. There are also Eibach, Spax, Apex and Espelir to consider; and more. Prices vary a lot as do spring rates and drops – you’re really going to have to do the research and make up your own mind.
Hopefully my non-expert opinion gives you some food for thought anyways.
Thanks Rhauri
This is the kind of thing I was hoping for when I posted but I guess people with coilovers will recommend those and people with springs will recommend those lol.
Basically I spent all of this weekend either in front of or behind Fatbloke who has his lowered (he thought about 15mm but I think more like 25mm) and loved the look of the car. In one of my pics on the Cannonball thread my car from the front (although raised slightly) looks just too high. As far as the type of driving I do, you're right it's mainly A and B roads, like the roads at the weekend in Wales, so not looking for anything too stiff. I'm very happy with the way the car handles right now so would be looking for something about the same level of stiffness.
It's not really a cost thing as with most of us on here, I'll buy what I want for the car if I think it will improve it in my eyes but justifying the difference between the cost of springs and coilovers when I personally won't see the equivalent in benefits is the point of asking the question here.
Thanks again. (anymore with first hand experience/arguements for springs?)
#19
My car came with coilovers on and I have to say they are much more comfortable than I thought they would be, however I would be quite happy with either standard suspension or just lowering springs.