^ Because most of these cheap coilovers on the market do not offer the levels of dampening and traction a cheap set of struts offer.

The somewhat decent coilovers start at $2000+, and the dampening and adjustment on those still suck. The truly good coilovers start at about $4000+ and offer separate rebound adjustment.

And no, Tein's struts suck too. Especially if you've ever felt the quality of the ride and performance of an older set of Teins from when they were a Japanese company inside and out, compared to the Taiwan and maybe even China made products they offer from their US headquarters now. OK, I hear the CS line-up is pretty good, but from experience on several cars, anything else from them sucks. They do make great springs if they can get the spring rates right though...

You really only think the springs and struts were meant to work together, but do you really know the amount of R&D these companies actually put into these things these days? There's a reason why most auto X veterans prefer Konis or Tokicos over coilovers...

Reasons to avoid coilovers: They are uncomfortable, they take away too much sway simply by being too stiff (which is a very bad thing for handling), and they don't offer as much traction compared to other set-ups that can offer a more comfortable ride at the same time. Just remember: your chassis can never be too stiff, but your suspension can. While your car may feel like it can turn better, it doesn't mean it's getting through the turn faster.

Ultimately, if you want coilovers and aren't going to be spending too much, you might as well go with BC Racing since they are the biggest manufacturer and manufactures most of the big name brands you all know of. But that still doesn't make their suspensions the best choice for the cost.

 

Koni's are better then all oem shocks. HOWEVER, in addition to having rebound only tuning, the other thing that makes them a better choice for track work also means they do not ride as well as D-specs. As you adjust rebound stiffer on Koni's, they add more low speed piston control, helps with performance, but ride quality is on a equal downward spiral.

For a car that won't be used that often and will only see the track perhaps a couple of times a year, Koni's are simply not worth cost.

Koni's have their place, but with Tokico's existing, unless you have specific reason to need rebound only tuning, I would not purchase them. D-specs would be a great cost effective upgrade under the circumstances. But since the coupe has a legit sports suspension, I could see holding onto the oem shocks too.

 

^^thanks for the explanation dofu, interesting view you have on the subject.

 

Spring rate should be set first, then the rest of the suspension comes afterwards. Totally agree that a lot of coilovers sold, use too much spring stiffness. Comfortable coilovers product do exist, Pss10, HKS III, Tein CST and KW Variant 2.

Having tested the following rate combo's

375/375 on Koni sports
358/375 on Koni sports and oem shocks
358/427 on Koni sports
370/392 on Ohlins PCV (testing 70mm to 65mm adaptor on the front springs)
370/425 on Bilstein Pss9 (best ride, but valving and progressive rear spring = not the best performance choice)
448/342 on koni sports
448/427 on Koni sports and Truechoice Phase IV
560/427 on Koni sports and Truechoice Phase IV and revalved Bilstein Pss9
560/450 on revalve Bilstein Pss9
560/500 on Koni sports and revalved Bilstein Pss9
650/427 on Truechoice Phase IV
560/392 on Ohlins PCV (current setup)

The closer to oem setups rode better, but didn't deliver overall. My favorite was the 448/427 Koni setup and the best grip IMO was the 560/427 Truechoice setup, but neither rode that well, especially the Truechoice. 500lbs in the rear was almost too much as was the 650lbs front setup.

 

thanks alot guys for the info

Gsedan35: do you think its worth saving up for a comfortable coilover system? even though it won't be used a lot at a track

 

do you know any other spring that will lower as much as the 350z gf210 and spring rate is stiffer?

 

No, under your circumstances I don't see it. Your GF210 350Z springs aren't that much stiffer then oem in the front and actually softer then oem in the rear, meaning your oem sport shocks are fine. If you were to spend any money I could see D-spec shocks before a coilover system.

 

thanks a lot buddy, i decided when the oem shock gives out, ill buy the D-spec

 

will it affect a lot though if it's a bit softer in the rear? I think it's 7.2kg for the oem spring and the gf210 is 6.7 if i remember correctly

 

i'm guessing when i upgrade the sway bar it will help a bit more for handling

 

yes it will

Deciding on which struts to get/or coilovers really depends on what you want out of your car. Do you just want some struts to match your springs, do you want some track oriented struts, or do you want coilovers so you can adjust your height to exactly what you want?

 

I'm running the combo of aftermarket sways and D-specs on OEM '04 coupe springs (314/342 spring rates) and I have to say it's a really good combo. The softer rear springs really help with ride compliance, and the D-specs and sway bar combo reduce the body roll and slow the weight transfer considerably, making this a much better handling car than stock. Obviously I haven't lower the car as I have a steep driveway to consider, but I'm extremely happy with this combo for my driving needs.

 

well i'm not looking specifically for struts, my main question was if its worth changing them, since i hardly go to the track with the car.

 

^ If you've dropped your car while using stock struts, they aren't going to last more than a year anyways.

For $500, the D-Specs is an awesome suspension, but although they are about an inch shorter, I would suggest Z D-Specs for the 9 point adjustment as opposed to the 7 point adjustment on the G D-Specs.

 

^^ Damn Dofu, I wish I had thought of that!