New Shocks
09-26-2011, 02:24 PM
#3
Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tampa, FL; Lake Jackson (Atlanta), GA
Posts: 1,902
You say you want to upgrade but that means a lot of different things.
Are you going to track the car? Daily driver? Spirited weekend curve chaser? Autocross? Drag? Top speed interstate? Scrape the lines off the road low?
FWIW, more info yields better answers.
Are you going to track the car? Daily driver? Spirited weekend curve chaser? Autocross? Drag? Top speed interstate? Scrape the lines off the road low?
FWIW, more info yields better answers.
09-26-2011, 03:57 PM
#5
Red To Go
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Canton, MI
Posts: 2,600
comfortable to drive almost everyday mostly.
09-26-2011, 04:01 PM
#6
Red To Go
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Canton, MI
Posts: 2,600
and is this is what your talking about Raceland kit? and that price for all the way around the car? Are they any good? because im drooling over them
09-26-2011, 07:35 PM
#7
MFz Regular
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Queensland AU
Posts: 63
Do you know what shocks and springs you have on the car now? Is it stock to your knowledge? Just checking as from your photo there it does look maybe lower than stock so may already have some other components.
The KYB GR2 you first mentioned would be an excellent stock shock replacement and a good match for stock springs, but would not behave very well if you were to use them in a lowered setup, they're just not built to work with a short stroke or higher spring rates, so keep that in mind with your choice.
A shock choice on its own may not be that beneficial without some planning towards matching it with springs.
I am a bit of a believer that it is worth saving to put more expense into the suspension components for a better outcome, I feel you definitely get what you pay for.
I'm probably digressing a bit but...
I haven't experienced a super budget coilover like the Racelands before, but would really like to just to get an idea about them. Coilovers that cheap haven't really been tried by any of the Aussie guys I know of but there's a fair few users of coilovers around the $1000 price point, incuding myself, which is still pretty budget.
For the price point I think ~$1000 toys are a decent way to go, given that (in my opinion) nearly all spring/shock combinations need also bumpstop kits, like those from FatCat Motorsports, to work best... and when you factor that in, you could easily spend $1000 or more for springs, shocks and bumpstops. With proper planning that spring/shock/bumpstop combination could work extremely well, but you probably won't have any adjustability and that does add a lot of flexibility with the coilovers.
I would also say that while my $1000 coilovers are pretty good, first impressions would tell me that after giving the Tein Monoflexes a spin this weekend in the other car, I think there's a large difference again in performance in the Tein's favour... so you do get something for that extra expense I feel.
Back to the matter at hand though... I'd recommend waiting til you can change both shocks and springs (if you have plans to change them as well at some point) but if you do need to change shocks now, rather than the GR2 I would consider instead the KYG AGX, which are adjustable and will respond well to lowering as well as behave well at stock... or get Bilstein's because its a monotube, quite bulletproof and will work with just about any spring choice you'd like to run with.
I don't mean to presume that you haven't read a lot about suspension stuff already so I apologise if this is old news to you
I highly recommend reading everything you can and using the calculators on FatCat Motorsports site, even if you don't prefer to purchase from him, the information and tools there are extremely useful in helping you to decide what will work best for you.
The KYB GR2 you first mentioned would be an excellent stock shock replacement and a good match for stock springs, but would not behave very well if you were to use them in a lowered setup, they're just not built to work with a short stroke or higher spring rates, so keep that in mind with your choice.
A shock choice on its own may not be that beneficial without some planning towards matching it with springs.
I am a bit of a believer that it is worth saving to put more expense into the suspension components for a better outcome, I feel you definitely get what you pay for.
I'm probably digressing a bit but...
I haven't experienced a super budget coilover like the Racelands before, but would really like to just to get an idea about them. Coilovers that cheap haven't really been tried by any of the Aussie guys I know of but there's a fair few users of coilovers around the $1000 price point, incuding myself, which is still pretty budget.
For the price point I think ~$1000 toys are a decent way to go, given that (in my opinion) nearly all spring/shock combinations need also bumpstop kits, like those from FatCat Motorsports, to work best... and when you factor that in, you could easily spend $1000 or more for springs, shocks and bumpstops. With proper planning that spring/shock/bumpstop combination could work extremely well, but you probably won't have any adjustability and that does add a lot of flexibility with the coilovers.
I would also say that while my $1000 coilovers are pretty good, first impressions would tell me that after giving the Tein Monoflexes a spin this weekend in the other car, I think there's a large difference again in performance in the Tein's favour... so you do get something for that extra expense I feel.
Back to the matter at hand though... I'd recommend waiting til you can change both shocks and springs (if you have plans to change them as well at some point) but if you do need to change shocks now, rather than the GR2 I would consider instead the KYG AGX, which are adjustable and will respond well to lowering as well as behave well at stock... or get Bilstein's because its a monotube, quite bulletproof and will work with just about any spring choice you'd like to run with.
I don't mean to presume that you haven't read a lot about suspension stuff already so I apologise if this is old news to you
I highly recommend reading everything you can and using the calculators on FatCat Motorsports site, even if you don't prefer to purchase from him, the information and tools there are extremely useful in helping you to decide what will work best for you.
09-26-2011, 08:58 PM
#9
BAMFr
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 1,787
I am going to share a secret. I know Brain won't be too excited over this, but I know a place that sells Koni sports for about $100 less than any miata vendor...behold:
http://protegegarage.com/704-product-704.html
Fear not the odd picture, I contacted Ken about the part numbers and they matched up. If you don't believe me, send him a message and he will confirm the part numbers.
http://protegegarage.com/704-product-704.html
Fear not the odd picture, I contacted Ken about the part numbers and they matched up. If you don't believe me, send him a message and he will confirm the part numbers.