I am desperately trying to decide on a set of coilovers for my STI. I drive the car about 3K miles a month, but I don't mind a very firm ride.

Next year I'll be running either STU or ESP on the local and hopefully regional level. I'm an experienced driver with 2 3 day racing schools under my belt, as well as years of autox experience.

The prices range from about $1600 for the Teins, to $2600 with camber plates for the KW's.,and the 2R's in between.

I like the priceo f the teins, but I'm afraid the trade off will be a rough ride when compared to the other chioces. The 2R's are right between the two price wise, but the spring rates are the lowest of the three (7k/5k I believe), and I'm afraid that maybe I'll get the least autox performance of them all.

The KW's seem to have the best trade off between daily driving and autox performance, plus come with great technical support from FT, which of course comes at a price.

I'd love to hear what everyones experience with these 3 are, or any other I should consider.

Oh, and I'll be adding front and rear cobb bars at the very least, to compliment the coils.

Thanks

Don't feel limited to (7k/5k) rates for the 2R's. You can specify something more appropriate when you order. I read a good review of the cusco's, but can't seem to find it right now.

For next season, I'm considering Cusco 2R, Tein RA's & Zeal V6's. The Zeals are on the more expensive side, but they also allow rear camber adjustment.

I would recommend asking the vendors/manufacturers for shock dyno graphs to get anidea of the valving characteristics of the units you mention. I personally run the Tein Flex on my '04 STi, and feel they got it just about right. I'll probably change the valving a little both front and rear to suit my needs before spring, but i still think they are a good package off the shelf. Also, you can drop the spring rates on the Tein to something like 8K/6K if you're looking for something softer.

Chris H.

I would recommend asking the vendors/manufacturers for shock dyno graphs to get anidea of the valving characteristics of the units you mention. I personally run the Tein Flex on my '04 STi, and feel they got it just about right. I'll probably change the valving a little both front and rear to suit my needs before spring, but i still think they are a good package off the shelf. Also, you can drop the spring rates on the Tein to something like 8K/6K if you're looking for something softer.

Chris H.

how would you characterize the ride of your teins on the street? Is the softest setting appropriate for the street? What are the streets like where you live?

Thanks

I have heard good things from other National-calibre autocross drivers about the KW race systems, but not the street packages. Courtney Cormier likes the setup in R West's Mini very much, and he almost talked me into going that route with my STi. They took out the version 3 street setup and replaced it with the 2-way Race, and apparently it was a world of difference. I haven't experienced their street setups myself, but IMO the race system is the only one I'd consider for motorsport use.

Joel

Did Courtney say specifically what the differences the race setup made to the street? FT is suggestion the street because I put alot of miles on the car and it has a warranty, and the race does not. Also, did Courtney increase the spring rate on the race setup, and could that have accounted for the difference? FT is suggestion custom spring rates even with the street setup.

Thanks

When looking at dyno charts for a shock, what am I looking for to determine if a shock/spring set up is what I might be looking for?
How do I interpret the info?
D

When I inquired about KW race vs. street, the differences were the warranty vs. beefier valves et. al. for the race version. Probably best to just ask a vendor tho.

Did Courtney say specifically what the differences the race setup made to the street? FT is suggestion the street because I put alot of miles on the car and it has a warranty, and the race does not. Also, did Courtney increase the spring rate on the race setup, and could that have accounted for the difference? FT is suggestion custom spring rates even with the street setup.

Thanks

I was speaking to Courtney about an autocross-specific car, so I didn't get to that level of detail about street use. I would suspect that they are louder, with firmer top mounts, but I doubt that they would be damaged by lighter duty street use.

Spend $3K on a beater, then you can buy whatever suspension you want :)

36K miles a year is a LOT..

Spend $3K on a beater, then you can buy whatever suspension you want :)

36K miles a year is a LOT..


Yep, its alot, but I get $.40.5 a mile reimbursed. Its enough that I can buy a new car every 18 months...I just can't get myself to drive another car when the STI is sitting in the driveway

Check with Progress Group. I am not 100% sure if they have the application, but if they do, their product is less expensive than what you have mentioned above, quality is great, and the valving is just about limitless for any spring rates. I have been using and developing their coil-overs for a year now on the WRX and they have been great with revalving and performance input. The ride on the street is not bad either (300/450lbs/in). Not a pillow, but not bouncy. Give it a look. BTW, I have been daily driving the car about 20K a year. Progressauto.com

You should check out Racecomp Engineering (http://www.racecompengineering.com). Myles offers a bunch of different coilovers and different price points and he races too (and owns an STI) so he has vast knowledge of coilovers and what's good and not.

Just my 2 cents here, I wouldn't buy something just because of the price point. If you're serious enough to want to make a go at the regional level you should put the money into a nice setup.

Also, I like the Zeals because of the inverted cartridge option but that's just me.

Hi guys...

Here is my little review on the Cusco Zero 2Rs on my STi...

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=640470

Since that review, I've only gotten to autox the car 1 time and it was in pouring rain. All I gotta say is RE070s are horrible in heavy rain. It was almost like driving on ice.

Other than that, the car wasn't all that bad. Not to mention, I had to drive 2+ hours to get to the event and my back didn't hurt from the stiff ride. Cuscos are definitely nice units. I did get these from Myles at RaceCompEngineering. He is awesome to work with. Give him a call.

Later,

Jason
8 STU