Since you all are pretty good at cutting through the b.s., I'd like your help/input on my choices. Driving composition will be mostly street driving with every possible PGP Lapping Day/Lap Attack I can attend (weekends and some afternoons). Maybe some auto-x's but with the seat time offered by PGP it's easy to pass it up.

I'm looking at Bilstein PSS or PSS9 or Koni Yellows with some kind of spring. With these choices you can see I'm looking to spend 1400 or less. Cheaper the better. I'm confused on what kind of top hat to use as there is talk that the stock top hats may not suffice? Also with the Koni's should I just use the stock spring? Not looking to revalve anything as that is a whole other kind of can of worms I don't need to get into yet.

Thoughts?

 

As you know, I got BC N+ recently and they have been serving me very well! I'd say its more comfortable than stocks.

BTW, mine came with top hats..

- Sung

 

Buddy clubs are great. I also recently bought and installed the brand new Megan EZ Streets and love them. And for 680$ shipped i couldn't really go wrong. Especially since im not in the 1% of s2000 owners that really need a 2000+$ suspension.

 

Never tried the Buddy Club n+. I wanted something more substantial so opted for the Race spec version. These are a great option for your price range. There is at least a half a dozen of us running these locally. Not sure how many miles they have on them but ive got about 100k on mine. They have been flawless with the exception of a damping knob on one of the coilovers is getting difficult to adjust. But I can say I've been very happy with them from the perspective of overall performance at speed and daily street driving use. They have exceeded my expectations. Of course with any coilover, the settings & related set up will dictate the other half of your ride experience. But really you cant go wrong with either of the pss9 or Koni options. I know the Pss9's will be softer more suitable for street comfort over all out performance, not sure about those koni's, but are a good quality option.

10k spring rates f/r to me ...with my driving habits, seems right about on par with compromising comfort with proper car management at the limit with my set up and traction level. And in my opinion perfectly suitable for anyone wanting to run R comps.

 

Trying to not pick it since I've read some things against it. Maybe I will. The Bilstein should be having a 20 % sale at autopartswarehouse on black Friday.

 

Can't go wrong with the Bilstein PSS9 for your purposes. Just turn up the damping all the way on the track. They actually can be revalved very easily IIRC cuz the internals are the same as higher end Bilstein shocks.

I'll plug the KW V3's as they are double-adjustable and very comfortable, as well as being able to accept up to 700 lb/in springs if you decide to go crazy with tracking, or you can leave the 500 lb/in springs in place and they are plenty capable.

 

+1 for KW V3s, though at your preferred price point, it will have a used set.

I run the KW V3s w/ base config spring rates.

 

I have some Apex N1's that are coming off my car here soon. For a JDM coilover they are pretty decent. You can ride/drive the car before they come off if you want. They should be off of the car in a couple weeks

 

I'm not sure who said that, but that is definitely not true. If it's in regards to durability, the stock top hats hold up just fine. I can't think of any advantages that aftermarket top hats would offer unless it was more suspension travel (I don't think the Buddy Clubs do) or they come pre-assembeled; then you don't have to deal with the hassle of swapping over your stock ones.

I'm on KW V3's and have been overall fairly happy with them. I've read that they can only handle 600 lbs though - Brad do you remember where you heard that they can handle 700 lbs? I might want to swap springs if that's the case. These are a little out of your price range @ $1700, but they are a nice coilover that allow both rebound and compression to be adjusted. Compression adjustments are a PITA though because you have to get under the car

Honestly, it sounds like any of the more popular OTS coilovers will suit your needs. They all do just about the same thing. I actually like the Buddy Clubs because you can move the entire shock body up and down without losing any suspension travel. Several companies do offer this, though. 'Lig' has a set and it sounds like they've been working out pretty well for him based on his PGP lap times.

 

Yep that is another selling point with these. Wouldn't think of having it any other way. Ride height, susp stroke as well as pre load should all be independently adjustable without influencing each other.

And yeah the Buddy Clubs are pre assembled with their own top hats. You can choose pillow ball mounts or standard. Pillow ball FTW