Coilover questions

crazynick505

crazynick505

Member
G'day guys,

I am looking to lower my '97 CE because it sits fairly high at the moment.

I have read around and found that most people recommend getting coilovers over lowering springs. I don't really want to be spending a fortune as I don't plan on doing much performance wise to the car, it'd just be for looks. So question #1: Is there a set of coilovers out there that don't cost too much and are fairly reliable for a daily driver?

I have replaced the dead rear shocks once in my car previously as it would almost always scrape at the back/middle when going over the triangular speedbumps at Chermside with my mates in the car. I am a bit worried that lowering the car will make it do this again. So question #2: If I lower my car with coilovers, will I be able to tackle these speedbumps without a problem?


I am assuming lowering springs will probably make the car bottom out more than coilovers would in my situation (my friends are heavy) so if I can get coilovers for cheap-ish then kewl. And again, I'm not really after performance, more so comfort and looks. Any help is much appreciated, thanks!



Nick.
 
If your going to replace shocks and springs, the difference between a good set of those and a set of coilovers would be about $250-300. I looked into it a fair bit before I got my coils.
I was going to go with a decent set up I've used on a few of my previous cars, but the parts alone were about $950, my coils were less than $1200, so only about $250 more, but in return I've now got adjustable front camber, shock dampener adjustment and most importantly height adjustment anytime I want. Unlike the other set up which offers none of that.
There's also the fact I was able to tackle the install myself with ease, if I had of gone shock and spring, I would of needed to buy a spring compressor to put it all together, coils were already pre assembled. WIN!

Once you get coils, you'll wonder why you never did it sooner ;)
 
Would there be similar prices for a 93 CC coupe?

I've only looked on eBay and some can be had for about $900.
I would like adjustable hight as while I want to lower it a bit I don't want or need it down too much.

How much of a performance increase can I expect, aka less body role?
I currently run 15" wheels with 195/50 and don't plan upgrading them any time soon.
 
If you are worreid about scraping on speed bumps then coilovers are good because you can adjust them to the height you want. I live on the northside too and my car scrapes with coilovers on the top of chermside no matter what angle i hit them at. I just always park down the bottom. I could raise my car a few centre metres but it wouldnt look as cool and i cant be stuffed doing it.

I bought my coils from Justjap.com. they are BC golds and are $1200 delivered. When i replaced them, my current shocks were dead so it was going to cost me around $700 to get a good set of shocks and springs that were nice and low too. Hens (a supplier on auslancer) sells Yellow speed coilovers for $1000 and many people here say they are good. Hens can be very tricky to get a hold of though so it was just easier for me to go with the BC coilovers.

I wouldnt trust ebay coilovers that are no names brands. Some other people on here got them and they just wernt as good and regretted it later.
 
Apart from having the rear shocks replaced about 10 years ago my 93 coupe is original and I guess will cost a similar amount to get a standard set up replacement of the shocks and springs all round plus fitting, unless we have a work shop day ;).

So it would probably be good spending a few more $$$ to get coilovers, I just need to start saving up. I'm looking at about a $1000 budget to do the job.
 
replacing shocks and installing new ones is easy! do it yourself or find someone to help rather than pay someone
 
Coils are better as they have damper adjustment. It can be adjusted to the right damper where it is still comfortable and not bouncy. The softest setting on coils should still be stiff enough to make it through a bump without scraping. With lowering springs and shocks, you'll get a very bumpy ride unless you get a set of good shocks that are meant to go with lowered springs to compensate for the shorter spring ratio. Using normal shocks on lowrred springs will probably kill your shocks pretty quick. In the end the price range as mentioned by Arc should be around the same as getting coils.
 
Yeah that's what I thought and most workshops will only work within the spec of the car, hate to think what the dealer would charge to replace the springs/shocks with standard ones.

Coilovers sound like the best option and only cost a little more than after market standard set up.

Edited - just called the dealer, they can't get the front springs anymore! Shocks are $625 EACH!!!, on the rear the springs are $137 each and the shocks are $280 each. That's over $2000 and you still need the front springs!

I'd rather spend half that on good Coilovers, they must be crazy to think anyone would spend $2k on genuine suspension parts for a 20 year old Lancer barely worth that!
 
lancer1993 said:
Apart from having the rear shocks replaced about 10 years ago my 93 coupe is original and I guess will cost a similar amount to get a standard set up replacement of the shocks and springs all round plus fitting, unless we have a work shop day ;).

So it would probably be good spending a few more $$$ to get coilovers, I just need to start saving up. I'm looking at about a $1000 budget to do the job.
Click to expand...

Man coil over installs are a piece of piss. Hardest part is getting the ride height you want haha. But i think its like 5 bolts each strut for the front and maybe the same for the rear.
Its fairly self explanitory on how to install them once you look at the oem stuff in there already. It does help having people tho :p
 
:lol: were playing tag on these 2 threads...

Yeah I've done some work in the past so I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but yes help might be needed and a place to do the work. When the time comes.
 
Lol seems like ur located at queensland where people like to lend a helping hand. I reckon u'll be fine.
 
Thanks for the replies,

Yeh, I can definitely see coilovers are the way to go. Maybe I do just need to avoid the top side of chermside haha :lol: Is there any set I can get that'll be in the 600-700 range though? I read something about GAB branded coilovers (the posts are a bit old though, so I don't know if they still exist) that apparently cost around 500-600. If i'm going to run into problems with cheap coilovers though I guess I can't avoid spending 1000, I just thought there may be a cheaper set that are more for everyday driving and not so much racing.
 
I wouldnt recommend gab as IIRC a member bought the basic setup which is non adamper adjustable. Just height adjustable and one of his coils broke or something like that. So he had to get them replaced. But i guess this could happen to any coils. Liom the Chef had problems with his bc coils as well but the difference between the two is that bc had warranty and replaced the broken bits for him. I doubt you'll get the same support from GAB. Try Hensperformance or other mitsi performance companies like lltracing. *to the mods. Im not advertising. Just giving him some options. If this is inappropriate feel free to edit and delete.
 
yeah probs looking at a minimum of $1000 for a good set. Theres a few other brisbane northsiders which could help you install too if you dont feel comfortable doing it yourself.
 
Willy.T said:
I wouldnt recommend gab as IIRC a member bought the basic setup which is non adamper adjustable. Just height adjustable and one of his coils broke or something like that. So he had to get them replaced. But i guess this could happen to any coils. Liom the Chef had problems with his bc coils as well but the difference between the two is that bc had warranty and replaced the broken bits for him. I doubt you'll get the same support from GAB. Try Hensperformance or other mitsi performance companies like lltracing. *to the mods. Im not advertising. Just giving him some options. If this is inappropriate feel free to edit and delete.
Click to expand...

Just to add to Liam's BC issue... I'm pretty sure he had to pay for the part because it wasn't installed by a professional, so watch out for that loophole. Liam might wanna confirm but I'm pretty sure that's what happened.
 
rad000 said:
Willy.T said:
I wouldnt recommend gab as IIRC a member bought the basic setup which is non adamper adjustable. Just height adjustable and one of his coils broke or something like that. So he had to get them replaced. But i guess this could happen to any coils. Liom the Chef had problems with his bc coils as well but the difference between the two is that bc had warranty and replaced the broken bits for him. I doubt you'll get the same support from GAB. Try Hensperformance or other mitsi performance companies like lltracing. *to the mods. Im not advertising. Just giving him some options. If this is inappropriate feel free to edit and delete.
Click to expand...

Just to add to Liam's BC issue... I'm pretty sure he had to pay for the part because it wasn't installed by a professional, so watch out for that loophole. Liam might wanna confirm but I'm pretty sure that's what happened.
Click to expand...

not entirely true, justjap were basically just rude and said they didn't believe me in how it happened, bc racing weren't willing to log it under warranty unless they had the item as well, and considering the lower leg of the coilover had half of it missing that supposedly wasn't enough, the other part is out there on the road somewhere.

If i was backed by a professional installer I would have had more luck though
 
By pro do you mean any trained mechanic or someone trained for the part?

Guess we need to save a few dollars before getting them done, I'm looking at a cat-back first.
 
lancer1993 said:
By pro do you mean any trained mechanic or someone trained for the part?

Guess we need to save a few dollars before getting them done, I'm looking at a cat-back first.
Click to expand...

i wouldnt place too much stock in warranty is all my point was, really just someone backed by some sort of establishment willing to go into bat for you. I thought justjap would do that for me, and I was wrong,
quality for bc's for the cc, ce, ch is good imo. cj v2's I personally think have an issue that would prevent me using them, but I'd fairly confidently go with them for prior gens.
 
The ABC recently had a show dealing with consumer rights "The Checkout", it was entertaining and informative. So I wouldn't be worried about warranty as you should be covered either way if the part is faulty and you can prove you were not using it in an incorrect manner. Like trying to drive on 2 wheels, breaking the suspension.
 
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