ok guys, I am in a big dilemma here.

I been wanting to lower my car badly and been searching around suspension section of the forum for couple of days. I know many of you guys recommend coilovers but I think it's an overkill just for street driving.

So my decisions are either between, gf210 springs or get coils and rear camber kit.

any gf210 owners regret getting this springs and thought that they should have went with coilovers?(reason beside height adjustment)

If you guys dont think gf210 isn't the "best" lowering springs, which one do you recommend? I personally think tein s-tech doesn't lower to my expectations and eibach sportline lowers too much.

I have 235/40/18 and 275/40/18 tires. I just want to get rid of wheel gap. let me know if you guys can help me out

thanks in advance.

sam

 

I was going to go with the Eibach Pro-Kit but the shop sold out and had only Sportlines in stock. I'm glad this happened cause the pro-kit just wouldn't have been enough and I love the look of the Sportlines. It's not harsh on the road at all. I was running this set up with stock wheels with similar tire sizes and had no issues and eliminated the gap.

The thing to keep in mind it is recommended that you upgrade your shocks as well. Tockico D-Specs are a great option and can be had used for fairly cheap on these forums. You will also need a rear camber kit.

If you're going to do it make sure you nail it in one shot as you are going to have to pay 2x for install if you ever need to get the shocks replaced.

 

thank you for the feedback.

I was looking into eibach sportline as well, but I think the drop is too much. it says it will drop 1.5 inch(i believe) but I heard they drop about 2 inches. I would not want to drop 2 inches with these tires and my v2 body kit in the front. If i didnt have any body kit then I would definitely went with eibach sports. I would probably have to fender roll with this spring.

how highly do you guys recommend shocks for these springs for these springs?(especially gf210's) I would be just driving this car as DD and dont mind the rough ride.

 

eventually the shocks will wear out from the added stress from the drop. you'll need to upgrade shocks eventually.

 

i have gf210s and they are great...if your not looking for adjustability then go for it...im upgrading to coilovers in the next month for track use but for daily driving gf210s are good

 

I have the GF210's and IMO they have the best drop out of all springs. It depends on what you want to do with the car really. I plan on tracking it later on and I kind of regret getting springs because of the inadjustability, but for DD it's GREAT. About the shock issue... In all honesty, stock shocks will last for quite a while before you have to switch them out. I've put about 2~3k miles on them and they are still running great, not too stiff or uncomfortable for DD either. If you'll be doing the labor work yourself, I'd say it's best to run the stock shocks until they wear out, then switch to the Tokico's because it really depends on your luck with the GF's. Some people can last forever with stock shocks, and I haven't heard someone that had to switch them out right away (aside from the regular people saying anything over 1" will need aftermarket shocks).

 

Replacing OEM springs without the shocks is ghetto. Soon enough people will start cutting their Z's OEM springs to get the "drop"; wait, they already do.

 

I have GF210 as well. I kept the stock shocks for about 3 months, they were fine except when you hit big bumps at speed like on the highway, the car would bounce all over the place. My car is just a dd as well so didn't want to spend a lot on shocks before just buying coilovers. I installed Tociko HP blue's this week and the ride is nice, a bit stiffer and all bounce is gone. They are non adjustable but can be had new for $300. There was someone selling a set new for $200 in the calsifieds today too.

Camber kits seem to bet hit or miss based on your car. I needed a rear kit like many other do with the 1.2" drop, but I need a front kit to ans one side is at -1.6 and the other is at -3.2. Bout the SPC rear the same time as the springs and just got SPL front arms that I am installing tomorrow.

 

I have an 05 and my shocks/springs(OEM) has about 40,000 miles. so how fast do these stock shocks wear out with GF's?

I dont know much about shocks, so if they wear out, do i have a bouncy ride or possible "bottom out" as people said previously?

 

how long have you had them on for? how did the shocks hold up?

 

man is that -3.2 camber from GF210? is that usual?

 

I was doing some more search and is this correct?

It's not so much the drop that wears out the shocks as it is the increase in spring rates.

as a 05 coupe, my oem spring rates are

front : 314 lbs
rear : 427 lbs

GF 210

front : 335
rear : 375

NF 210

front : 313
rear : 352

Eibach pro-kit

front : 296-384
rear : 316-421


If the aftermarket spring rates are higher than it cause premature wear on shocks.
what is aftermarket springs rates are lower than OEM springs? what happens?

 

both the drop and the rate contribute to premature strut failure. You also stand a far great chance of hitting the bump stops because you are limiting the travel your shock has.

no one can tell you how long they will last with any lowered spring. At 50k miles, you're basically due for replacements anyway, even on stock springs, unless all you do is flat, highway driving

 

wow. i just can't decide.

 

My last decision, which one would you recommend with 04.5+ revised spring rate (I have 05 coupe)

front : 314 lbs
rear : 427 lbs

I narrowed it down to NF210 or GF210. I read some articles on NF210 is close to oem spring rates and no more stiffer than 5% but GF210 is up to 30%. It seems like If I go with GF210, my shocks will wear out a lot faster due to 30% stiffness compared to OEM than the 5% which is NF210.

any inputs?

thanks

 

where are you getting 30% stiffness from? You already posted the spring rates. GF front are a bit stiffer (7%), NF front are the same, and both are softer out back (NF about 20% softer, GF about 14%). At 50k miles, you should be doing new shocks as well, but that's just my opinion. Beyond that, I don't think anyone can say that a GF, or NF, or any other spring is going to make your struts last longer/not as long as another spring. I think you're overthinking these...it's a set of $200 springs. Neither one is going to set the world on fire as far as handling goes, so it comes down to what you want as far as a drop. The lower you make the car on stock shocks, the shorter they will last - there is no way around that. Doing shocks and springs, given the miles on your car, at one time, is much less expensive in the long run than doing them separately, as they both require the same install time, and both will require a new alignment. In terms of ride quality, tires have as big an influence on overall ride quality as anything else in the suspension, so make sure that is part of your equation as well when reading reviews posted by others.

 

^^ very good info.
I did think about all the things you have mentioned above but I was encouraging myself, what if i get lucky and get another 20k juice out of my stock shocks on aftermarket springs.

any street driving coilover recommendations? i dont think i will go with tein basics. I heard many many complaints about them having different springs rates on each springs or blah blah.. I was recently looking at stance gr+ that was on sale in classified. if i am gonna have to get shocks then might as well go with coils which has better resale value and quarentees my desired stance/ride.

thanks

 

that's the thing - you very well may get that much life still out of the factory struts, but it all comes down to the type of driving you do, road conditions, and sometimes just plain luck

Cheap coilovers are cheap coilovers - they all are going to have compromises to them. A coilover that lets you slam the car to the ground is not going to ride like stock. By the same token, the coilovers that are among the better riding units out there (Bilstein, KW/Eibach and then some higher end units), don't always allow for the same levels of lowering that other units out there do. So it all comes down again to your priorities and budget.

What I like in terms of street friendly coilovers?

Favorites: KW V1 (if you can live without dampening adjustment) or V2, or their Eibach equivalents (same units); Bilstein's (PSS if you can live without dampening adjustment, or the PSS10 if you need/want the ability to adjust dampening). These units remain very comfortable even when running very stiff sidewall-ed tires.

What I'd run if budget were the primary factor? BC's. At their lower dampening adjustment settings, they remain civil and they have a ton of height adjustment to them. Do they ride as nicely as the Bilstein or KW? No, not quite - but they still behave well overall and won't pull your kidney's out till you set them at the upper levels of the stiffness range. But, if given the chance budget wise to step up a bit, I'd prefer to run the Bilstein or KW/Eibach on my own car.

 

z1, thank you for your great explanation.
Now, all i have to do is just decide myself.
thank you everyone.

 

With 40k on your shocks you def want to replace them if dropping. If one blows you risk damage to your car or worse, yourself should you be driving fast enough. Think of your suspension as one of those important things that you don't want fail on you while driving fast. Kinda like brakes.

Spending a little more now and doing it right the 1st time could potentially save you a lot more down the road.