For those with experience, I am purely interested in the Cusco Zero 2 performance benefits vs. the stock coupe sport suspension. I inquire because my mechanic, a very sharp guy, tells me they only marginally improve performance over stock and aren't worth the cost. Rather, he advises either doing nothing (saving the money) or getting wider, lightweight forged 18" wheels to run on the stock suspension. Either way, we're talking about $2-3k, a not insignificant amount of money...

I have an '06 coupe 6MT with 19" Rays, a Hotchkis rear sway bar, a Richie front strut brace, Stillen f/r chassis tie braces, lightweight Exedy flywheel and clutch, Nissan 4.08 final drive gears, and a Quaife ATB LSD. My car has 67k miles and I'm still running the stock suspension. The handling balance is very neutral and at lower speeds the Quaife LSD lets me steer with the throttle if the front end begins to lose bite (even with the traction control enabled, which is nice).

On the track or under hard driving, the car's weak point is clearly the suspension. There's far too much body roll, the weight transfer could be better, and the steering becomes vague and soft at the limit.

I'm not concerned about appearance or ride height, just performance. For those who track their coupes and have run higher-end coilover setups, what are your thoughts here? Is/was it worth the cost of purchase and professional tuning vs. staying with the stock coupe sport suspension?

Thanks in advance.

 

I think your mechanic needs to do his homework on proper coilover suspension before making asumptions. Does he understand that you're going for track performance? If you consider 2-3k dollars to be "not a significant amount of money" then buy a nice true coilover setup and the lightweight wheels your mechanic suggested.

 

Thanks... there's a double negative in there - "we're talking about $2-3k, a not insignificant amount of money..."

 

sorry, didnt catch the double negative. Just thought you were a baller with money to burn. Ha

 

Can't speak for the cuscos themselves. But a coilover setup is definitely going to improve handling. The way the car reacts upon entering a corner as well as exiting as has to do with your shock and spring set up. Oem is setup for comfort not all out performance. If I were you i would get the front sway bar and build a custom setup. Grab some adjustable bilsteins that you can dial in and dorm swift springs. You'll notice the differnece immediately. Koni had a write up on how to set up a "base map" for your rebound and dampening. Once your good there just keep running laps and turning those ***** till it feels perfect.

 

Yes, aftermarket struts and springs are a good (and less expensive) compromise. I had Konis and aggressive springs on my old WRX and they felt awesome in corners and at the limit, but they were rough for daily driving.