Okay since nobody seemed to be able to answer this question in the last thread and seemed to be arguing the whole time about cosmetic vs performance goals let me establish my purpose here. All suggestions I ask for, I request that they are performance oriented, I care little for the cosmetic pros and cons. I want my car to do better on the track and obviously I've been to the track enough times to know what I need for my car. I want to start off with coilovers and then adjust for 6 months before getting tires and wheels then of course fully adjustable sway bars and LSD... ANYWAYS: what brand coilovers for $1500<< and any thoughts in Enkei POF1's with Federal RS-R tires? Please only comment if you have track experience I don't care for all that stance and hellaflush crap. I'm on a budget so don't be naming crazy prices, all I want is suggestions on what brands are best bang for buck and functional. I believe I have been to the track enough to start experimenting with the suspension now I have a good feel for my cars flaws and weight transfer/ traction/ braking limits
Thanks

 

Oh and I plan on going from 18" wheels to 17x8.5 or 17x9 and running 265 rear 255 front to save money on tires

 

Wheels... Doesn't matter that much as long as you get the right specs.
Lots of people have RPF1's with track tires for sale... I'd look into that.

For coilovers... if you want a good one... you're going to need to be able to invest some serious $$$.

And have you taken the time to consider camber kits, bushings etc?

There are tons of threads on the topic so have a good search.

Cheers

 

The common setup would be 17x9 or wider front and rear with 275/40-17 front and rear. I highly suggest this as a great starting point.

Your stock suspension doesn't hold you back as much as you believe. I also suggest saving your pennies and getting $1800 together. This will get you a TrueChoice Koni Phase 2 setup. You will want spring rates of around 600 to 650 front and rear.

 

Going off your old post, i will post this here as well. You have a budget and no coilover around 1500 is going to give you the performance you desire or can handle. Start with swaybars, they wil greatly reduce your body roll and you will feel more confident in corners, than change your suspension bushings, three most common are compression arm, LCA, and Rear diff, this will enhance your steering and feel of the car. After a couple months on this setup move to better shocks and springs.


1. Swaybars, look for adjustability at least 3 way
2. Bushings preferably polyurethane because you will be DDing.
3. Better Shocks w/ adjustability, Tokico D-Spec, Koni Yellows, Revalved Bilstein HDs
4. Better Springs.

Once you can take the car thru the limits of this setup, move onto coilovers. I guarantee you wont be able to pull the car to the limits of this, especially with good tires, unless you track the car all the time and this will be the best setup for your budget.

If you feel like you need to go the route your going start with a large budget:

1800-2k for coilovers
1000 for solid bushings
1000 for good tires
500-600 for swaybars
1000 for chassis stiffening (GTSpec braces, etc.)

BUT this will make your car a ridiculous beast on and off the track, only if you can afford it, you got to pay to play with the Z.

 

I would increase your shock budget, stuart. Also, I would sacrifice your allotted chassis bracing budget towards said shocks. My car pulls much higher sustained and transitional g's than probably anyone on this site, and I don't have any additional bracing.

 

Agreed.
Found most track oriented coilovers to start from 2k and up.
Another budget option that I've heard of is feal coilovers.
They use swift springs and they can customize the valving and spring rates to what you want.

 

Absolutely agree, I just figured OP would do some shopping for his coilovers, maybe look for a used set or move up. I was just throwing out ideas for what a budget that big would entail, especially the bracing, I have only seen it used on two cars and those cars felt great, but it was most likely the suspension setup they had for those tracks. My budget for our last track car me and my dad built was about 10k we spent

4k for coilovers
1500 for solid bushings
1500 for good tires
1000 for swaybars
and some other misc items like different springs with different rates, replacement bushings, etc. Dad has a 08 corvette. its about the same pricing to upgrade the suspension on a Z, i just lowered the numbers a bit because we dont have the Corvette tax lol