coilovers - need input on jic, tein, and ksport

[hari-bhari]

after long sonsideration, i am debating between 4 options. just to let you guys know, im currently on tokico/tein but my tokicos blew out so i need a replacement bad. here are my options:

1) eibach / tokico
2) ksport coilovers
3) tein ss coilovers (are there any other options?)
4) jic coilovers

what do i need to know in addition if going with the coilovers? does installation cost about the same as a spring/strut combo or would it be more or less? also i know coilovers are adjustable in terms of height and damping (is that stiffness). i dont really care for too much stiffness, my main reason for going with coilovers would be for reliability. i dont want to run the risk of ever blowing my struts again and going through all this again. but are the coilovers so stiff that it's going to make my ride harsh, or is it still comfortable? and do coilovers last around 100k like an average strut would, or more or less? any tips would be appreciated.

[that1mexguy]

IF you have the money, I'd say go for coilovers. I cannot tell you what it's like to have them but some of my friends that have them state they have better handle and a more comfortable ride. IF I had the money I'd get them, specially when I can get them for cheaper... but this is something that will have to wait for me.

http://www.solaraguy.org/viewtopic.php?t=33006

[hari-bhari]

MORE comfortable ride? i thought it would give u better handling by being stiffer, making it a LESS comfortable ride? am i missing something?

[ThatVietGuy]

The good thing about coilovers is that if it start to "go bad", just take them in to a shop and have them rebuilt.

Coilover reliabiliy, I think, is up to how you drive and where you drive. If you drive around nice, even roads and you really like to take the bends, then go for it.

But if you drive around in crappy roads and tend to really use your car to haul things (I think you stated that you do in another thread), then I would just settle for the spring/strut combo. It's cheaper in the sense that having coilovers redone costs just as much as, if not more, than getting new struts.

[that1mexguy]

MORE comfortable ride? i thought it would give u better handling by being stiffer, making it a LESS comfortable ride? am i missing something?

it depends on the setting, coilovers are adjustable.

[DaTwUnKrAziEpInOy]

you can setup the coilovers for a comfortable ride. Also yes you can adjust the coilovers for better handling. It'll be totally to your preference.

[bri_n_m]

i just took out my tein/tokicos this past weekend and put in tein ss coilovers.

hard to explain...but being one system they feel more blanaced in that the struts and springs complement each other rather than working as two different parts. because of that they do feel smoother.

but in terms of ride, they do ride stiffer. I don't know what the softest setting is since i set mines from the start at what tein said (10 clicks from hard) and set it harder from there. I do feel more bumps in the road now....if you see it, you will feel it. I like it, don't know if my passengers do.

i would think the reliability issue depends on riding conditions and how low you set them. i left no wheel gap and set them slight stiffer....i don't expect the struts to last very long in my situation. what made your tokicos blow in the first place? i can't really comment on reliability of teins vs. tokicos...but if you think about it. you could replace your tokicos twice with install for the price you pay for coilovers. i got my coilovers for 1200 shipped to Hawaii. thats about 3 sets of tokicos....just a thought. If you're happy with the way your car is lowered and how it rides, i say get new struts and save your money for other things.

what i do like is the build quality and the ability to set height and stiffness, something that i really hated about springs. i can finally get a even ride height and not worry that a sound system would throw off the drop height.

as for installation...i have no idea. i installed them myself. i can tell you that is was much easier to do than the original tein/tokicos since you won't need to compress the springs when installing.

sorry i blabberd on....bored at work.

[hari-bhari]

dont be sorry, thats VERY helpful information cuz that's the exact setup i might be transferring from and to. i guess if u dont factor in labor and what-not, it would be a better deal for the struts, but for me, labor is 300-400 each time so id rather go with the more reliable setup and not keep them too stiff or anything. im going to simmer on this for a little bit, thanks for the really helpful information. btw, how long did u take u to install the coilovers, and how long would u think a newbie would need?

[ThatVietGuy]

Took me 8 hours, but that was with a lot of messing around

I think it should be around 5 to 7 hours: 5 hours if you're experienced; 7 if you kind of know what you're doing

[hari-bhari]

did you follow the same instructions as for the spring/strut installation that was posted with pictures?

[ThatVietGuy]

The only instructions I used were how to get the rear paneling out.

Everything else was pretty obvious (only because I've done suspension on other cars before)

[hari-bhari]

anyone have any more input on tein, jic, or ksport coilovers? i think someone here has jic but i cant figure out which model we would use and how much it would cost. i know ksport has 1 yr warranty, what about tein and jic?

[ThatVietGuy]

The only JIC available right now for our cars are FLT-A1 (~$1600) or FLT-A2 (~$1900)

[ThatVietGuy]

BTW, if you're not going to buy coilovers for the stiffness, it's pretty pointless, IMO.

[xavier]

The idea of full coilovers is having an adjustable spring strut combo that are engineered to work together perfectly. The cheap sleeve type coilovers are just that...cheap. They offers a degree of height adjustment but dont even com close to the ride quality of full co's.

The three companies you mention all do extensive R&D to make a great product, you really cant go wrong with either. Here are my highlights:

Tein: Great Company and proven product. Price is kinda steep but adjustability and quality is there.
Adjustment comes by the shock body having threads to move the spring perch up and down. The lower you go, the more you pre-load the springs though. Also has rebound adjustment. This is for ride comfort/stiffness.

JIC: dont know much about them other than they are great. Ive heard that they are less of a street co and more of a track co. Basically, they are stiffer than the competition.

Ksport: People have great things to say about the products and their design is truly unique. Adjustability comes from a threaded shock body that allows the spring perch to move up and down, the lower you go...the more pre-load on the spring. Their uniqueness comes from the lower shock body mount. The full length of the shock body is threaded and the lower mount is also threaded allowing hight adjustability to achieved without pre-loading the springs. ALso has rebound adjustability and upper camber adjustability.

Really, it comes down to price and perspective.