zBear

iTrader: (12)

I’ve been on the forums for several months now and it’s been a pain in the *** to find the perfect suspension. There are so many suspension reviews on the forums, but most of the time the only suspension that is compared is the stock suspension. This really doesn’t help much since they have nothing else to compare it to.


I’m going to be comparing four of the most popular setups out there:

These which I’ve personally driven in and own:
Tanabe GF210 Springs with Stock 08 Shocks
KW Variant 3 Coilovers
Zeal Function X Coilovers 16kg F/14kg R

Other setups my friend A.H has had:
Tanabe GF210 Springs with Tokico D-Specs


Other Suspension Mods
Hotchkis Sways - New version with 4 holes
Front Setting: 2nd hole from Stiff
Rear Setting: 2nd hole from Stiff

SPC Rear Camber arms
SPC Toe Bolts


Tanabe GF210 Springs with Stock 08 Shocks
The Tanabe GF210 Springs were my first mod. There are endless threads about these and everyone raves about them so I had to try them out. I had them on my car for less than 300 miles and I had to find something better.

They DO provide better handling and feel more gripper IF you are on driving on a smooth surface. But once you hit bumps and dips in the road, the car bounces all over the place. I had to be especially careful when taking large bank turns on elevated freeway passes where the expansion joints are not always level. If I was taking the bank turn too hard, the Z would “hop” and “jiggle” after hitting a bump halfway through the curve.

I probably drive my Z harder than most people, so maybe I’m the only person seeing this. For those of you who don’t drive it like you stole it, you might not be seeing these issues and the Tanabe GF210 Springs would work great for your application.


Tanabe GF210 Springs with Tokico D-Specs
I don’t have a personal review since I had not personally driven on this setup, but I wanted to throw it in since it one of more popular setups.

From talking with A.H, his response was that this setup was slightly stiffer than stock setup, but didn’t provide that much better handling. He has also recently upgraded from this setup to the KW Variant 3. A.H is really cool so if you need more details about this setup, just contact him and he’ll be more than happy to help you out.


KW Variant 3 Coilovers
Simply put, these are the best Daily Driver/Street Coilovers you can buy. I’ve driven A.H’s car with this setup and it is Silky Smooth with awesome handling. By Silky Smooth, I mean this setup is Euro-Quality, Lincoln Town Car, Baby Butt’s smooth. I thought I our stock Z setup was smooth, but it is no way comparable to the ride and comfort of these KW Variant 3s.

I had a chance to do a couple of canyon runs on this setup and the car was solid in turns with no excessive sway or bounciness. It was like cutting down the side of a mountain doing S-curves on a snowboard; smooth and precise with solid feel of the road.

These coilovers are perfect for city streets. Because of their progressive dampening, they cushioned everything from small crevice cracks to major pot holes without lifting your *** off your seat. The progressive setup of V3 didn’t hinder performance much and it’s because of this progressive setup which makes them the best choice for uneven city streets.

If I had to go with the best DD/Street setup, the KW Variant 3 would be my choice.


Zeal Function X Coilovers 16kg F/14kf R
Welcome to the God of Gods of coilovers. If you want uber-performance like no other, this is the setup for you. I went through several setups before settling on this setup.

The ride quality is firm and stiff which gives you a great feel for the road. Some may consider the ride quality too stiff, but unless you are driving on bad roads all the time, it really doesn’t bother me. If you happen to be going over train tracks, large dips, or large bumps at excessive speeds, then your *** will get lifted off your seat from the stiff suspension. It’s just something you have to live with if you’re driving this type of suspension on city streets.

With the Zeals, the car now feels like it’s on rails. Just point the steering wheel where you want the car to go and it’s locked. The car is level and flat with almost no body roll. Steering is heavy and tight with no wallowing feeling like I had with stock or the jiggly feeling I had with the Tanabe GF210. Lane changes are precise and exact even under heavy acceleration. Heavy braking is more solid now where stock was too mushy and GF210 where just unstable.

On my way home there is a 2-3 mile straight away where I like to “test” my car every now and then. This freeway segment is by no means level and there are small undulations and roughness in the pavement. With the stock suspension, I pushed 120-130mph, but the car felt “light” and “floaty”. It’s doable, but I wouldn’t do everyday. With the Tanabe GF210, I barely pushed 120mph and I was scared ****. The car felt so unstable because of the small variations in the payment. I had to make quick small corrections with the steering wheel and the car felt like it could veer off in any direction at any time. With the Zeals, I pushed 145mph the other night and it was rock solid and I’m sure there is room for more. There’s performance for you.

Overall, the car is a blast to drive now. The car actually feels faster with the Zeals, possibly because all the mushiness and bounciness is all but gone. Canyon runs are fun except for the uneven pavement of the roads where I live. The car is level with almost no body roll depending on how hard you’re taking a corner. Even on nasty city streets with the stiff suspension, handling is still awesome, but the ride quality sucks.


In Short:
Tanabe GF210 Springs: If you want a nice drop, but forget about handling.
Tanabe GF210 Springs with Tokico D-Specs: Slightly better handling than stock, but you’re already in coilover pricing territory, especially for a used set.
KW Variant 3 Coilovers: Best Daily Driver/Street Coilover. Silky smooth ride quality with awesome handling.
Zeal Function X Coilovers 16kg F/14kg R: Best uber-performance coilover. Stiff firm ride that will sometimes lift your *** off your seat, but God-like handling.

enuff4life

iTrader: (9)

how about Tanabe GF210 w/ Tokico HP blues? Similar to D-specs combination?

I might run another 20k miles w/ GF210/Tokico HP and then change to KW in the future...

zBear

iTrader: (12)

I don't have any personal experience with the Tokico HP Blues, but I remember reading somewhere that they are a direct replacement with our stock suspension, but with a slightly stiffer ride quality.

If you don't drive your car hard, you should be fine with non-adjustable shocks. The ride quality will be a lot softer and comfortable, but you will lose some handling. But if you're lead foot, you're probably better off going with an adjustable shock, either with the Tokico D Specs or Koni Yellow Sport. That way you can increase the dampening a little and get rid of the "bouncing" effect which you get from an underdampened shock matched with a stiffer spring.

datboijon

iTrader: (4)

Question for the OP.
do u have any other suspension mods like sways or is the shock/spring or coilover the only change u have made to the suspension???

Boba

iTrader: (21)

Wow, and I thought GF210 were known for their superb "gripping"... Just recently, I've began to feel the jiggle on roads that barely have bumps... Even on smooth freeway doing 75 mph, the car feels like it's floating every now and then, and felt like it wanted to go left and right. I thought the alignment was off, or perhaps my brand new tires needed re-balancing... But it was not the case.

Just a heads up to people who's looking to get GF210's... It's got a sweet drop, better grip compared to stock, but on bumpy roads, it's gonna be super rough, and i mean SUPER.

zBear

iTrader: (12)

I have the following suspension mods:

Other Suspension Mods
Hotchkis Sways - New version with 4 holes
Front Setting: 2nd hole from Stiff
Rear Setting: 2nd hole from Stiff

SPC Rear Camber arms
SPC Toe Bolts

The SPC Camber Kit was needed because the Tanabe GF210 or any major drop will throw your alignment out of whack.

The front has a little more camber from the drop, but the extra camber is better for cornering so I just left it there.

First post edited:

A.H

iTrader: (20)

Great write up OP. Looks like someone did their hw

Enjoy those sexy zeals

-Arsh

zBear

iTrader: (12)

Thanks Arsh.

The only thing I'm missing is now is the smoothness of your KW V3 and 318.2WHP.

fart_canon

iTrader: (20)

which shocks do you have? This whole review comes with no surprise to me. It is just like anything else in this ****ing world; great things don't come cheap. Just look at the price difference from the bottom up. I guess it is safe to say that GF210 with D-Specs are decent mod for someone on a limited budget. You won't get all the bells and whistles like the higher end products but at least it will be better than stock.....

Boba

iTrader: (21)

I am on stock shocks. Don't get me wrong, the car feels closer to the roads with the GF210 than it did with stock springs. Handling seems the same though... I've taken my car to the mountains before switching to GF210's and FK452 tires. Now I'm kind of afraid to do that since the car feels like it's going to lose control at just 75 mph :S

fart_canon

iTrader: (20)

wow! I'm so glad I'm reading this today. I was supposed to do my suspension this weekend. I had planned on getting the GF210 and D-Specs., but since this seem not be the best set up, I'm thinking of looking for another solution. However I'm not inclided to the coilovers for the simple fact that I will never track my Z and I truly believe coilovers unfold to their fullest when used for tracking....

zBear

iTrader: (12)

Not true. Coilovers like the KW Variant 3 are perfect for street use and the dampening rate can be stiffened up for track use. The ride quality of the KW V3 are super luxurious. They are smoother than most BMWs and Mercedes Benz and provide much better handling to boot.

Other coilovers like Stance and BR which can be a little on the stiff side may be too harsh of a ride for the street and do work better on the track. But my Zeals at 16kg/14kg are even stiffer so it depends on what you are going to do with your car and what you are willing to trade off to get it. Trade off comfort vs handling.

The Tanabe GF210/Tokico D Spec is not a bad combination. It's great for someone looking for a nice drop and who doesn't want to drop a large budget into their suspension.

fart_canon

iTrader: (20)

now you really got me thinking about these! I dont mind paying 2k for these but I hope the performance isn't that lost over the ride quality. I'm sure this set up would be a whole lot better than what I was aiming for: GF210 and D-Specs...what are your thoughts?

zBear

iTrader: (12)

If you have the budget, I would definitely go with the KW Variant 3. They will kick the Tanabe GF210/Tokico D Spec combination any day.

Boba

iTrader: (21)

If you don't track your car, I really don't think there is a need for true coilover setups, especially investing in one like KW or Zeal. For springs, you could look at the NF210 as advertised for a more comfortable ride, but their drop is lower. Really, I think GF210 is fine for daily street drive, and about the freeway jiggle, you'll get used to it. I will take my car to the mountains one day and see how this setup works as regards to handling.

Thermal1

iTrader: (23)

Im rollin on Bilstein coilovers and I love them. I have them set in the middle of their dampening range for DD and i barely noticed any drop in ride quality (But a nice drop in height if you want ). The car is smooth and feels great! I would recommend them to anyone.

warmmilk

iTrader: (5)

that stretch of road you were talking about, how fast were you comfortable up to with the KW V3's?

also, how much time did you spend adjusting them to get them how you like them (A.H can chime in on this one also, and anybody with KW's for that matter)

JETPILOT

iTrader: (51)

ZEAL Super Function > ZEAL Funtion X.

zBear

iTrader: (12)

I never had a chance to take the KW V3 on the same stretch of road so I can't give you a definite answer on that. I did get get a couple of high speed accelerations on and off the freeway off ramp and and they definitely handled flat and smooth with limited body roll.

Anyone else take their KW V3 up to 120mph+ and feel good about it?

zBear

iTrader: (12)

+1

These are probably sickest coilovers made for the Z. Hands down, I don't think there is anything better you can get. Maybe it's time for an upgrade.

How did these work out for you?