I'm trying to upgrade the handling of my car. My definition of handling in this sense: the ability to drive my car down a curvy, often bumpy mountain road without feeling like my back end is about to fly out of control, and without traction control kicking in on every turn. I rarely take my car to a road track, and have stopped going to autocrosses. I don't really care about the "look" of a drop, but don't mind it. Since I don't run on smooth roads, having a super stiff suspension does NOT help my handling since the car will be jittery...

Anyway, I feel that Tein Basic coilovers would provide the best bang for the buck for me. With my previous cars (and as most people here have done), I have always added strut tower braces and sway bars before messing with springs/shocks. Am I simply wasting my money getting the coilovers w/o the STB and sways? Keeping my goals above in mind, would my money be better spent initially going for the STB and sways first?

Thanks!

 

I would try sways first. They help a lot and cost less than coilovers.

 

Yeah, I guess I'm concerned about getting Front/Rear sway bars and then feeling like they're not enough, where maybe coilovers would make me happy?

F/R sway bars seem to run around $500

Tein Basics would be $820, but rear camber kits are expensive? I haven't looked around that much, but they appear to be around $400!?!?

Anyone else have experience w/ coilovers w/o sway bars/STB?

 

your prices are way off.
F/R sway bars go for around $300, tein basics $750, and spc rear camber kit with toe bolts is <$200.

go with sway bars first and then some springs if you don't want to spend cash on coilovers. don't get the rear camber kits until you get an alignment and confirm that you need them. i'd invest in the front camber kit first.

 

$300 total for F/R sway bars? or each?
I did find one site that seems to be selling F&R Stillen bars for $300, but others (Nismo, H&R, Eibach, etc.) on that site, and other sites show around $280-$325 for the front sway bar and $180-$250 for the rear.

Thought maybe the F&R for $300 might be a typo...


Re: camber kits: Are you saying you found that you needed the front camber kit before the rear?

 

I'm not sure how you decided on the TEIN Basics, but if one of your main concerns is "bumpiness", then those may not be the coilovers you are looking for. The springrates are significantly higher than stock, which results in a significantly harsher ride from most people's reviews. A set of adjustable coilovers would probably be a much better investment, but at a higher pricepoint. Another option is to run adjustable dampers such as tokiko d-specs with the stock springs so you can adjust the dampening level to your desired stiffness, while maintaing a ride feel similar to stock. If you aren't after the drop, and ride quality is a concern, then sways and adjustable dampers would be a better option than nonadjustable coilovers IMO.

 

Well, I've had a few lowered cars before, and I don't mind a harsh ride from a comfort point of view. What I want is control and confidence-inspiring handling over bumps.

Maybe this is the best way for me to describe it: Every time I drive my sister's BMW 330 w/ sport package, I wish my car could handle like that. It handles great on flat roads, but on bumpy ones, it still somehow has a strong grip on the road, and when it's sliding, it's a controlled slide. And, the ride is not any harsher than my 6MT w/ 18" wheels.

Though I don't care about the look of a drop, I do enjoy the feel of sitting a bit lower and flatter. However, these are secondary concerns to wanting it to feel like a 3 series w/ sport package. BTW, before anyone tells me to go buy a bimmer, I currently 1) don't want to spend the money; 2) don't want to deal w/ the electrical problems my sisters' car has; and 3) love navigation units w/o iDrive.


Re: adjustable dampers... it's something I've thought about. Any thoughts on whether stiffer dampers w/ soft springs would cause any problems?

 

bumpiness in turns that has that feeling of losing control is usually characteristic of an overly stiff springrate combined with underdampened shock. There have been many reviews of the basics which point to the basics being underdamped, so I don't think they are the right setup for you. Lowering will also increase the tendency for bumpsteer which doesn't really have a correction at this point. The way the BMW handles over bumps is probably more inherent to the design than anything, something infiniti has yet to perfect. I really think swaybars and adjustable dampers would be your best bet, and if you are really interested in coilovers to solve the issues you are talking about, you'll need to invest in significantly more, probably in the $1500 range to get the type of balanced handling you are looking for. Possibly use a set of slightly progressive springs to help absorb some of the bumpiness in the turns.

 

I forgot to say, if you are looking to keep the stock-like ride you should look into the Tein CS coilovers. The Basic are quite a bit more stiff over the oem spring/struts.