Hi S2K! Need your expert advice here. Please vote in the poll if you have experience on these set-ups!

My rear shocks are gone and I'm looking to upgrade soon. Here's what's important (and not important to me):
* Ride height adjustability is not important, not looking to go slammed
* Damper tuning is not important, car will most likely not see the track
* Ability to rebuild/re-valve the shocks is not important, car will most likely not see the track
* Drive-ability and RIDE COMFORT are the most important to me, I want this to ride like OEM or better

If you vote, please state why in the comments! Shock dyno graphs and data-driven discussion is highly encouraged. thanks all!

 

I didn't vote, but if you don't want any of the functionality of a coilover, then why not replace with stock parts?

 

I've ridden in two s2000's with coilovers that had really nice ride quality along with great handling traits, they were Bilstein PSS and KW v1.

I just bought a set of Bilstein PSS but I haven't been able to drive the car yet or get the height dialed in, just finishing up the installation. You can get Bilstein PSS for $1079 and free shipping from Tirerack BTW, a lot less than what you list them for in your poll.

The adjustable shock version of the Bilstein and KW's increase the price a fair bit. I didn't feel that I needed the adjustable shocks as I will only driving on the street. It's kind of nice relying on shock experts to set the shock performance of the coilovers rather than having someone like me using the "pin the tail on the donkey" method of setting shock compression and rebound.

 

'scribin, since I'm in the same boat.

JFUSION, go drive and write a review I'm interested.

 

Well I got my wheel spacers installed today and I was able to drop the car on the ground. Going by my initial setting points the fronts still need to be lowered a bit more (rears are 25.5 inches from the ground, the fronts are 26 inches). I just took the car around the block for a short drive to settle the springs and the ride felt great. The ride is very smooth, and handling is improved. No bounciness or bone jarring ride. It is a bit stiffer than my oem ride, but I had ap2 suspension on all four corners of my ap1, but the ride is very controlled and compfy, it soaks up the bumps nicely.

My rear has dropped about 1 inch, it could go down lower by about .4 inches max. with the available adjustment spread remaining. I think that I will keep it at the current setting on the rears. My fronts need to drop another .75 inches, there is probably 1.25 inches of adjustment left in it if needed.

No complaints on this suspension. I don't think you can get a really slammed ride on this coilover setup if someone was looking to do that. I'm in my mid 40"s so I just want a mild drop with improved handling while retaining a comfy ride. I think this serves me well.

 

The kw v3 inox coilovers are pretty damn awesome. They can be tuned to ride better than stock in terms of comfort and settling over daily driven road imperfections.

Yes they are pricey but they have a lifetime warranty. There are 2 guys selling them on the market place right now.

The adjustment range in ride height is really only about 1.5" to stay with in the working limits set forth by kw.

You could also have ground control build some very nice koni coilovers for you that are tuned match to your desired spring rate.

If you want comfort just make sure to use the factory top hats as opposed to pillow ball and that the spring rates and shock dampening are matched.


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the kwV3 are 2000$ if you live in the states i guess

 

thanks for the feedback!

 

Hmm you might also be a candidate for the spoon shows shocks from nengun:

http://www.nengun.com/spoon/damper-kit-fix-type

I'd probably just pair this with a set of swift spec r springs


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I've completed the second round of height adjustment on the Bilstein PSS coilovers. The fronts are dropped just over 3/4 inches compared to stock, the rears have dropped 1 inch. The car is sitting pretty much level, which makes sense because the rears are typically 1/4 inch higher than the fronts in stock form. I took it for a longer ride today including some on-ramps and exit ramps. I didn't go too crazy as my toe settings are off right now as I changed the front tie rod ends while I had the suspension apart. Overall the car seems to corner more flat, with better handling, and very composed. The suspension feels a bit stiffer over small bumps, but nothing that would bother me, no bounciness and it handles dips in the road really well. No funny noises. I'd have to say this is pretty much what I expected and in line with what others have reported on these coilovers.

Remaining drop potential on the rear coilovers is 10mm or just about .4 inches, the front coilovers have about 18 mm or 3/4 inches left of adjustment lower. So total drop potential on these seems to be about 1.5 inches front and rear if that is important to anyone.