Hey guys, I am planning to change my OEM suspensions to sumthing sportier..
I am plannin to track my car once a while...
Any suggestions?
Thanks...

 

Does your 05 have oem 19's?

 

a simple strut and spring combo is good enough and if you dont want to fiddle with settings too much. If I were to pick a combo, biltstein struts (lifetime warranty ROCKS!!!!) and Swift springs. Bilstein because their known for making quality self adjusting shocks with performance in mind, again...lifetime warranty is always a plus! Swift springs (because I'm anti-Tein ) Tein is a good brand, it's just that everybody has'm...and IMO, their products are better than Tein's in terms of quality and function. Like the old saying, quality vs quantity.

 

Do not, run Billstein H.D. shocks with any spring that is stiffer then oem, not unless you arrange to have the shocks shipped back to Bilstein for revalving. The shock does not have the ability to deal with springs that are stiffer then oem.

While the Bilstein shock is a mono tube design, it's has no value for use with anything other then oem springs unless it is revalved, which thankfully Bilstein still has the cheapest revalve rates in the industy at $65 per shock. If you get the shocks, make arrangement's with your selling dealer to have the shocks shipped directly to Bilstein after you've had a conversation with Jack French at Bilstein. Tell him what the spring rates are that you plan to use and he will recommend rebound and compression rates for the revalve.

For use with any aftermarket lowering spirng, Tokico D-specs are a superior choice vs the Bilstein's since they have the valving range to cover all known Z33* and V35/CPV35 aftermarket springs (*except Nismo T2 springs). Koni's would also be a better choice for the same reason's, but they do not have the double adjustablity that the D-specs have which will make the D-specs a better choice for some.

 

Once again, does your 05 coupe have oem 19's, we need to know so we can have a baseline starting point to give you the best possible answer, otherwise any answer will be less accurate.

 

I've had no problems with using bilstein shocks with aftermarket springs. My previous car, an 86 GN/T-Type was equiped with them and having "cargo" springs in th rear. It was an over all improvement over the old monroe shocks it had. But that's apples and oranges, I guess. Bilsteins are a hell of a lot better than the OEM shocks. If you're going to advise someone not to use bilsteins with different springs, might as well suggest the same for the stock shocks. You make a good point about valve adjusting per the spring rate, I didnt think I wouldve needed it on my t-type, It probabaly wouldve made some improvements if I had.

D-Specs are good too. The Tokico site says that the D-spec shocks have variable rate damping (compression and rebound damping). That's all too similar to the bilsteins less the manual adjustments. The only thing left to adjust is high speed - low speed damping; the hard - soft settings. I only implemented "simple" less the guesswork. Bilstein shocks would be a step above oem. Something like D-Spec or Koni Adjustable shocks could be considered a step above bilsteins. To avoid having a revalve, maybe telling bilstein the type of spring being used when you're ordering.

 

I am a big fan of Tein. "Everybody has them" because they have great build quality and a good ride/handling compromise. Depending on your price point they have a lot of options. I have a full set of basic dampers for sale for $550 shipped.