bgoetz

I think PSS are too soft for what he is after. Custom valving allows him to take two inexpensive setups and have them valved for stiffer springs, which will result in a stiff yet streetable setup for only a couple hundred $ more than the PSS. The new vs used thing is irrelevant as once revalved they are essentially a new shock only valved better. Not sure about the PSS9s, but my yellows only have 10k on them and need rebuilt because they leak around the adjusters on two, so technically they are not blown. The leaking is my fault because I was careless with the wrench!

lovegroova

Koni supply dampers to the Force India Formula 1 team, so certainly participate in top tier motorsports, more here: https://www.koni.com/About/KONI-s-racing-history/

I loved the PSS9s on my old S2000, I ran them as standard and worked superbly well on the road (I ran 6 clicks out of 9 from the stiffest setting - the roads in the UK are terrible) and were adequate for the odd track day where the stiffer settings were an improvement over the road settings.

nicostatus

I own the HKS Hipermax IV GT. When I was shopping for coilovers, I researched heavily and it came down to these or the Ohlins. I have taken my car to the track and I plan to some more in the future, but 95% of the time my car is daily driven on public roads. I definitely had the budget, but at the end of the day I couldn't justify paying the price premium for the Ohlins vs the HKS for the type of driving I do. When these wear out, Ohlins are next, so that I can compare the real world differences between the two. It's hard to go just off of opinions, since everyone's tastes differ.

As far as my satisfaction with the HKS coils goes.. I Love them and they perform great for my needs. The drop out of the box is perfect in the rear (2 finger gap from top of tire to fender), but it sits higher in the front. I lowered my front to one finger gap because I like a little rake. Out of box stiffness is set right in the middle and it rides "softer" than stock, but the body roll is not increased if that makes sense. I stiffened mine up to 20 clicks out of 30 and this is the perfect amount for street driving, for me at least. Body roll is reduced by a great amount and it helps you really feel confident in pushing the car through corners, while still maintaining a decent amount of ride comfort.

If all you are looking to do is to slightly improve the vehicles dynamics over stock and to slightly lower it, I recommend these 100%. Hope this helps! Here's a pic of one of them installed.