Apex1.0

$1200 is a tough price point to improve on the OEM suspension. The factory KYBs are that good. I have spent plenty of time on my Koni/GC combo to know what they can and cant do compared to OEM. First I will say there are compromises, you give a little and get a little. Ultimately I would say they solve more problems then they cause so they were worth $1200 to me. I wanted some ride height control (preload), stiffer springs for tracking and adjustable damping to fine tune. The Konis actually have a working functional adjuster, and damping changes can be significant. You can get them to work with a range of spring rates.

I have gone faster with my Koni setup then the OEM suspension. However the delayed response of the Konis is noticeable compared to the sharpness of the OEM shocks. OEM shocks feel sharp but are actually too linear in my opinion and tend to get loose over rough pavement. Pick your poison...

There is a reason I am eyeing up Ohlins like many others.

B serious

I would assume Konis would make the car easier to drive.

I thought the stock shocks were made by Showa? I swear I've seen Showa stamped/written on the body somewhere.

dc2-2-ap1

Showa makes the factory shocks, not KYB

dc2-2-ap1

To the comment of Bilstein PSS, they are great daily/comfort coilovers, but not great for track.

B serious

My buddy on stock PSS9's is pretty effing quick. Not sure how the PSS is valved. But...comfortable doesn't mean slow.

The PSS9's are well damped...and while the Öhlins have room to support more mods, they're not inherantly going to make a stock S2000 any faster than one on PSS9's.

Car Analogy

That is a good point. The op is looking for track. I wouldn't necessarily call pss 'comfort', the springs are stiffer than stock. But they are certainly aimed at street performance, not so much track. But for $1,200, their aren't a lot of quality choices.

Used CR would be better than most other choices in this range. Koni with the right springs are probably the only new choice.

mojo_jojo77777

I'm currently running Koni/ GC with 550lb springs front and back. For price point, I think they are good enough for now and I do love them.

Apex1.0

My bad, they are showas. Not sure how I forgot that.

sillyboybmxer

These! Snag them fast
https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/113...#entry24049820

Apex1.0

Someone made a point above about good damping being good damping. As I responded above damping can be tuned for specific surfaces but there are clearly some fundamentals that apply to all high performance shock tuning. Certain companies understand these fundamentals when setting up their valving profile. IMO Bilstein is one of these companies. The Bilstein PSS has good valving and is a great replacement for OEM shocks. The big issue is they are not a great street/track shock due to the soft spring rates. However besides Ohlins, the other shock I would try is PSS with 450/400 springs. If there was enough damping control, it may be good enough for some track work. Otherwise I would re-valve for 550/500 or so.

I just can't get behind the PSS9 adjuster. Id it won't deliver consistent changes on a shock dyno I would rather have no adjuster. At $1200 its:

Koni/GC
PSS
CR/GC