Upgrading my coilovers, what are the choices?

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Mar 31, 2018 | 10:38 AM
  #1  
Hi, I'm looking into upgrading my coilovers on my Subaru gc8, the car is manly a fast road/ track day car and I am also going to be going to the nurburgring. I am currently running bc's but feel as these have been on the car a very long time that an upgrade is due.

what coilovers would people recommend? At the moment I am debating on whether to save up a little more, bite the bullet and go for the nitron r1 coilovers, has anyone had any first hand experience with them?
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Mar 31, 2018 | 05:06 PM
  #2  
playing devils advokate why change what you have bc are a good coilover , if they are getting to the end of there life that’s different , which bc ones as there a quite a few
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Mar 31, 2018 | 08:19 PM
  #3  
All depends on budget n what power and other handling mods you have. If the bc’s are still ok why change them.
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Mar 31, 2018 | 09:42 PM
  #4  
my car (hawk sti) has just had a full set of teins fitted and set up by chevron motorsport along with front and rear anti roll bars and it has totally transformed the car. its only a fast road car but I have so much confidence in it now.
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Apr 1, 2018 | 10:46 AM
  #5  
A good coilover test for me is, the rebound return damping, I have a road near that has them rumble strips (about 6 of them very close to each other) entering or exiting a dangerous road.
That for me is a good test of how good suspension is and know it's going to be a good car at handling as if your wheels don't meet the ground quickly and smoothly then forget driving on B roads at full pace.
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Apr 1, 2018 | 11:44 AM
  #6  
I have BC RAs (I think) on my Bug STI & MeisterR GT1s on my JDM STI. The GT1s are fantastic. Very very capable in my opinion. The BCs are pretty harsh & crashy. At higher speeds the GT1s actually get better on poor roads in an impressive way. Direction change at speed is very good and confidence inspiring . I personally think for the money they really are some of the best about. I’ve read lots of reviews on them from various sources and agree with the positives of them. Of course there are compromises over high end/quality OEM set ups but there always will be no matter what coilovers you buy and how much you spend. I would recommend GT1s a lot. If there is enough interest it may be worth speaking to MeisterR (Edwin more likely than not) and see if a group buy could be arranged. Can only say no!
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Apr 1, 2018 | 04:19 PM
  #7  
The reason I am looking into changing them is when I bought the car off a friend around 3years ago I know he bought the coilovers second hand with little information, so I know next to nothing about them plus in the past year the car has over gone some dramaic changes with power, handling braking from where it was and I feel the only weak point are the coilovers, which ever set I decide to go for the car will be setup by Simon at chevron who has already done a fair bit of work on my car and recommended that my car would benefit the most from a good set of dampers
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Apr 1, 2018 | 04:35 PM
  #8  
Demon tweeks currently got Bilstein coilovers acroos the range on offer.
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Apr 1, 2018 | 09:47 PM
  #9  
I’m pretty sure Simon can point you in the right direction👍🏻
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Apr 2, 2018 | 11:01 AM
  #10  
Does anyone or has anyone used bilstein b16 coilovers for mainly track?
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Apr 2, 2018 | 08:10 PM
  #11  
i;ve just had tein flex z installed in my hawk and they are great for fast road.
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Apr 2, 2018 | 09:15 PM
  #12  
MeisterR all the way........
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Apr 3, 2018 | 07:32 PM
  #13  
I have had a set of BC ER series dampers on mine, they lasted about 5 years. Any worn damper will feel crap and a new one will feel better IMHO.

I now have a set of ZR fitted, and other than finding somewhere to attach the front left gas bottle, they feel amazing. With the springs stiffer than I had before they are just really smooth and compliant.

They came with 10/8 and I might have unofficially fittted 8/6, ahem, but most importantly, I ordered them +40mm longer. I should have asked for +60mm. The big difference to other coilovers or stock length ones is you can sit at O.E> ride height and benefit from the geometry advantages of not dropping the car and suffering with the roll centre issues.

I am currently on 5 clicks from full soft on the rebound and full off on high and low speed compression. I'm still experiementing and as they feel better on 8/6 than the first run with 6/5 I might go back to 10/8 just to see.

Very impressed, but they are pricey and nothing like the basic BC coil units.
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Apr 3, 2018 | 10:33 PM
  #14  
AST, OHLINS or Bilsteins.
Do it properly, once.
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Apr 4, 2018 | 12:13 AM
  #15  
Quote: AST, OHLINS or Bilsteins.
Do it properly, once.
if once ExeTc
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Apr 4, 2018 | 01:33 AM
  #16  
Whiteline 3 way competition coilovers
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Apr 4, 2018 | 10:19 AM
  #17  
OP, do you have a budget in mind? Probably best to try narrow down the field a bit. Somebody suggesting a set item that comes in at £800 for example, then another at 2k for example won’t help you all that much. Would completely agree with “do it right first time” etc but your budget for first may not be the same as someone else’s one stop shop. I would seriously consider the GT1s but that’s nothing more than an opinion. Look at the warranty & guarantee they give you with them. Very very few people offer that.
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Apr 4, 2018 | 11:42 AM
  #18  
Quote: if once ExeTc
Forgot them.
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Apr 5, 2018 | 12:35 PM
  #19  


Happy to answer any questions that you have. Drop me a message.

https://www.scoobynet.com/trader-ann...tem-1-way.html


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Apr 5, 2018 | 06:53 PM
  #20  
Can't believe nobody's mentioned KW's!

But yeah I agree on the GT1 with the warranty for life, tells something about the product and I was nearly going to buy some as B.A.D are big in the game. But ended up with KW Clubsports
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Apr 6, 2018 | 09:30 AM
  #21  
I think the decision has been made and I am going to go with chevrons modified bilstein b16 coilovers with adjustable top mounts.
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Apr 6, 2018 | 10:18 AM
  #22  
Quote: I think the decision has been made and I am going to go with chevrons modified bilstein b16 coilovers with adjustable top mounts.
How much fitted?
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Apr 6, 2018 | 01:00 PM
  #23  
Quote: Can't believe nobody's mentioned KW's!

But yeah I agree on the GT1 with the warranty for life, tells something about the product and I was nearly going to buy some as B.A.D are big in the game. But ended up with KW Clubsports
how many zero's though? lol

The biggest thing is budget, £100. £2000, £3000
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