A handy write up, they sure look better than OEM

 

Thanks!

 

One of the best bang for the buck quality coilover setup here. Looks like a great combo.

Thanks for sharing, Zswickliffe!

 

Not a problem!

 

I tried the Bilstein shocks with the Eibach Pro progressive springs (spring rates in LBS initial/final front 296/384 initial/final rear 316/421). Initially I thought the springs were very good. But after 3.5 weeks the ride wasn't as smooth while driving the city streets and on the highways as I was expecting. The ride was a little jittery on the highway. When the roads were relatively smooth, the ride was great. I also noticed the steering was less responsive. Turn in was slower. Not good! I liked the lower ride and stance of the car, but I wasn't happy with the overall ride and less responsive steering. At times the ride was smooth, then harsh. It seemed as though there was never a gradual shift as the springs stiffened up from their lower spring rates to the upper rates. It seemed as though there was a sudden step change. It just wasn't smooth. The springs lower the car by 1 inch front and rear.

I then switched out the Eibach springs for a set of RSR Ti2000 linear springs. These springs lower the car by .6 inches on the front and rear. The spring rates are 345 for the front and 417 for the rear. I found the RSR springs to be a great match with the Bilstein shocks. The ride is fantastic - firm ride and well controlled when rolling over wavy and/or rough roads. No jittery ride. The car takes the turns extremely well. The quick steering response returned! Maybe the improved steering came back because I switched back to linear springs? Note, for both setups I have the SPC adjustable upper control arms in the front and in the rear SPC toe bolts, and SPL adjustable lower link.

 

Just goes to show you that spring choice is everything! The eibachs just weren't well matched for the damping on the bilsteins. Glad to see you got a combo that works for you! Next time try swift and write a review comparing the two


Sidenote: the Z33 chassis is VERY height sensitive. Dropping much more than 1.3-1.4" ruins the suspension geometry and requires you to pretty much replace everything to get back to where you need to be (and I'm not talking about alignment, I'm talking about the way the arms move)

 

I was really glad to read your review / comments about the swift springs. I had the RSR's on hand, so that is the reason I tried them. From your comments, I see that the Swift springs also work extremely well. Yea, it would be fun to compare the two. But I really think the Bilstein shocks are overlooked. Like you said, it takes the guess work / experimentation out of the question vs. using adjustable shocks. Thanks again for posting your success with Bilstein and Swift springs. It provided me the hope and incentive to find a great shock / spring match. I pulled the Eibachs's out the day I saw your posting! If you ever attend ZDAYZ, we could meet up there and compaer the setups.

 

I was at zdayz last year and will be this year! See you there!

 

OK, Z-ya at ZDAYZ. I'll be with the Ohio ZROC group.

 

nice... would be an alternative for those looking at bilstein PSS or kw v1/eibach prostreet coilovers. the coilovers give you height adjust-ability, but also include a widely progressive rear spring.

 

Yeah the PSS9 coilovers are awesome from what I hear but for anyone looking for performance and not in need of damping adjustability, they're overkill.

And besides, I'll say this again - the Z33 chassis is extremely sensitive to ride-height. If you lower the car much more than 1.4" the roll center lowers too much, increasing the roll couple to a point where you need to alter much more of the suspension before handling is manageable. AKA: it performs worse than stock unless you're changing just about everything anyway... Here's a quote from a great handling guide

"The huge roll couple created by over-lowering will require an overly stiff suspension to control body movement. And when your suspension is too stiff it won’t absorb road irregularities effectively, which will make it harder to keep the tires in contact with the ground and you can’t drive fast if your tires aren't on the ground. This is called tire shock by us engineers."

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticl...ll-Center.aspx

 

Bump! Anyone want me to maybe set up a group buy or anything like that?

 

This picture does a good job showing the drop.

 

The wheels are a great match!

 

More pics!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032104446/http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032104446/]IMG_8443[/url, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032101336/http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032101336/]IMG_8441[/url, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032088726/http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032088726/]IMG_8409[/url, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032010804/http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032010804/]IMG_8382[/url, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032120773/http://www.flickr.com/photos/zswphotography/10032120773/]IMG_8359[/url, on Flickr

 

[QUOTE=zswickliffe;10243910]More pics!

Great shots!

 

Thanks!

 

Bump from the dead... thanks for the review. I saw you didn't change the FUCA; I'm guessing you kept the stock rear camber adjustment too. What were your alignment specs after the drop? Were they within factory ranges?

 

I didn't change the front but I did change the rear. Running SPC adjustable links. At stock camber arms the camber was at about -1.8 degrees after drop.

Front were in factory specs though. Front toe was off if I recall but it was very close.

 

Looks great, Im considering the bilsteins or tokico D-specs and havent decided. I know the blistein is one of the best shocks out there.
Is there any other springs that would match the blisteins well that would give me a little more of a drop without revalving? I think the d-specs drops 1.0 in the front and 1.5 in the rear.

Would you consider this a mild or aggressive upgrade? I want the best performance possible for <$1200 and i dont care about ride quality whatsoever. I noticed in the reviews people say it "rides great", but does that mean its a "milder" setup than im looking for?