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Old 07-25-2017, 12:45 PM   #1
Mr_Happy
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Default GD AST 5100 Coilover Review


Disclaimers: These comparisons are between these coilovers and a 140k mile old stock suspension setup. I have never had another car with coilovers. Please excuse crap cell phone pics.
Car: 2005 STI
Relevant mods: Superpro pitch stop mount, Cusco engine/trans mounts, Kartboy endlinks front/rear, Whiteline Com-C front top hats, Group N rear top hats, Superpro roll center correction kit

I purchased these coilovers from Geoff at Cygnus Performance after discussing with him for roughly 2.5 - 3 hours collectively on which setup would be best for my needs. My needs? A sturdier DD for spirited driving and some track/drag events, but the main focus was on DD duty. I cannot tell you the value and trust I have placed in Geoff over the 5 years of owning my car, and he continues to reinforce my choice to purchase parts through him and seek his advice. I have not been steered in the wrong direction once, and the advice is always extremely honest.

Now, onto the result: A setup of a 6k front spring rate and a 5k rear spring rate. Why did I choose these spring rates? I wanted to have a less stiff ride (while still being more stiff than stock) because of the car mainly being a daily driver. The lead time on the coilovers was roughly 4 weeks, and came to my door from AST/Mann's facility in Holland.


Packing is great, and comes with all the adjustment tools necessary.

Install: Not at all bad, save for the slightly confusing thing (to me at least) that when there is no weight on the rear shock/spring like when the car is on a lift, the spring can be moved around with minimal effort by hand. This was a bit worrying during install, but was not at all problematic when the car was off the lift. The only other surprising thing was how low the rears needed to be to even come close to stock rear ride height. Again, not problematic, just something to note. Something I've decided I like is that these are also inverted coilovers. What this means is that the damping adjusters are on the bottom, by the wheels, instead of at the top hat.


Initial impressions: Precursor- I have never owned a car with coilovers on it before, so take this for what it's worth to you. The car is lowered a lot more in the front than stock (not slammed), and minimally lowered in the back to maintain a lesser likelihood of scraping during DD. The coilovers seemed to add virtually no noise or NVH over what the car already had (keep in mind my drivetrain mods for this comment) and there was NO added noise or clunking when going over bumps of any sort. FANTASTIC! Even without sway bars, body roll has been greatly reduced. When hitting larger bumps in the road, the car seems to absorb the bumps MUCH better, and the car is not jerking one way or the other in terms of steering track.

I live up on twisting roads, and they are not smooth in any regard. However, when testing my new coilovers, I found that the monotube design and larger piston length allowed the car to glide through the turns at higher speeds while handling all of the bumps along the way with no trouble. It was nearly as if the road were completely flat (save for the obvious bumps you feel in the car). For me, the 6k/5k spring rates were absolutely perfect for what I was looking for. The ride is not harsh in any way IMO, and it still performs exceptionally when cornering. As for front/rear damping setting, I have the front set at 4 clicks from softest, and the rears set at 4 clicks from softest. I may play with these a bit as the days go on, but I'm happy with where they're at currently.


After being advised to let the coilovers settle for ~500 miles, I went in for an alignment (no corner balancing due to lesser track duty) and went about 1/2" lower in the front and 1/4" lower in the rear. The car drivers even better after the alignment (as one would guess) and I couldn't be happier with it. A huge thank you to Geoff at Cygnus Performance for the suggestion, and taking the time to work through details for me with this setup. I cannot recommend him or these coilovers enough.




Cliff notes: Coilovers handle really well in all conditions at my chosen spring rates- would highly recommend them to anyone. Amazing quality, great comfort, and precise adjustability.
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Old 12-28-2017, 10:24 AM   #2
zackers
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good read! Have been back and forth with Cygnus on coilover options for my VA chassis. Originally had my mind set on ohlins but now I'm not so sure haha
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Old 12-28-2017, 02:09 PM   #3
onefasazn
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1998 Bright blue GM4

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Good stuff. These can be sent back to Mann Engineering for rebuild and/or revalving as well. Pretty much the last set of dampers you will need to buy, as they can evolve along with the driver's skill.
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Old 12-28-2017, 02:18 PM   #4
mitch808
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Quote:
Originally Posted by onefasazn View Post
Good stuff. These can be sent back to Mann Engineering for rebuild and/or revalving as well. Pretty much the last set of dampers you will need to buy, as they can evolve along with the driver's skill.
I had AST rebuild my whiteline G4 coilovers, and it's ain't cheap. One would hope that you really do not need to rebuild anything for a number of years. But hey, you're only young once! Now I just buy matched strut/spring combos.
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Old 12-28-2017, 04:50 PM   #5
Mike_Feal
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I'm wondering what the cost is of replacement housing bushings and inserts when the time comes. Hopefully that's a loooong way down the road though.

*edit* Was there a specific time/mileage they gave for when to regrease them?
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Old 12-28-2017, 08:38 PM   #6
Mr_Happy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike_Feal View Post
I'm wondering what the cost is of replacement housing bushings and inserts when the time comes. Hopefully that's a loooong way down the road though.

*edit* Was there a specific time/mileage they gave for when to regrease them?
They don't necessarily need to be regreased so much as rebuilt altogether. I'd be happy if I got ~30k miles or so out of them before a rebuild situation came up. That's not to say they'd be fully blown at 30k or so miles, but they may be worn at that point. Obviously driving style and types of roads being driven on play a large role in longevity.
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Old 12-29-2017, 11:00 AM   #7
Vancouver98STi
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V4 GF8 White

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr_Happy View Post

I'd be happy if I got ~30k miles or so out of them before a rebuild situation came up. That's not to say they'd be fully blown at 30k or so miles, but they may be worn at that point.
I suspect these coilovers aren't inexpensive. I'd be choked if I had to turn around in 30k miles and rebuild them... which no doubt isn't cheap to do.
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Old 12-29-2017, 07:20 PM   #8
onefasazn
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1998 Bright blue GM4

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Quote:
Originally Posted by mitch808 View Post
I had AST rebuild my whiteline G4 coilovers, and it's ain't cheap. One would hope that you really do not need to rebuild anything for a number of years. But hey, you're only young once! Now I just buy matched strut/spring combos.
I had a set done at Mann, and it was quite reasonable. Rebuild for all four was about $850 or so. Not bad for 8 years of use.
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Old 12-30-2017, 03:58 AM   #9
Vancouver98STi
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Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by onefasazn View Post

Rebuild for all four was about $850 or so. Not bad for 8 years of use.
And what did they cost you initially? I'm sitting down.
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Old 12-31-2017, 12:30 PM   #10
mitch808
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Quote:
Originally Posted by onefasazn View Post
I had a set done at Mann, and it was quite reasonable. Rebuild for all four was about $850 or so. Not bad for 8 years of use.


AST did mine directly, I did ask Mann to do it but they had to order some hard parts, so I just went to the source.

Shipping there about a hundred bucks. It's a heavy box.
My car down for two weeks
Over a grand for the rebuild and shipping to get back.

I think I was in over $1200+ at that point and there are great alternatives from Feal, KW, AND more when getting to that price range.
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Old 01-02-2018, 06:27 PM   #11
Mike_Feal
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2JZ 620HP/595TQ

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Quote:
Originally Posted by mitch808 View Post
AST did mine directly, I did ask Mann to do it but they had to order some hard parts, so I just went to the source.

Shipping there about a hundred bucks. It's a heavy box.
My car down for two weeks
Over a grand for the rebuild and shipping to get back.

I think I was in over $1200+ at that point and there are great alternatives from Feal, KW, AND more when getting to that price range.
Was your invoice itemized? What I'm really curious about is the wear of the housing bushings in particular; If they needed to replace one or both bushings and if so which corners(front/rear) were the worst. I've had some EXPENSIVE ($12k+) Ohlins rally coilovers come in that need the top bushings in the fronts replaced after very low mileage (bearing in mind that was Rally usage).
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Old 01-18-2018, 03:03 PM   #12
zackers
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Did you happen to order them with the DDP Piston upgrade?
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