Hey guys, I've ready just about every thread I could find and I still can't really make up my mind.

I am looking to do a suspension upgrade to my 05 which currently has 92k on it.

I've already put CR front and rear sway bars on it.

I've thought about shelling out the $ for the KW V3's but I don't track the car.

I tossed around the idea of putting on the GC coilover kit with Koni adjustables, but I don't want to end up doing something that'll make my handling worse then stock. This will run me $1200.

Lastly and lately I've been considering swapping out for CR coilovers. I woulld probably try and buy used to save some $, I figure I can get this setup for less than $800.

Ride quality is important to me as most of the time I use it for a cruiser vehicle (I live in FL so there aren't many good roads). I take a yearly trip to the dragon 11 hrs each way. But I also want the car to handle well once I'm at the dragon.

Lowering really isn't important to me, though if I did lower it I wouldn't go anymore than probably .75"

I would love to hear some opinions, especially from anyone who has any of these setups.

 

Considering saving up a little more and getting a new set of Bilstein PSS9's? Probably around $1200-1300?

The reviews over all had been good.

 

That certainly looks like a promising option. How do they stack up against my other options?

 

The bilsteins get great reviews for a daily driver and spirited canyon runs so you cant go wrong. I run the fortune auto 500 (also great reviews), these give you the ability to adjust compression (or is it rebound) where as the bilsteins dont. Both setups are similar in price around $1200, and both use digressive struts. People tend to talk a lot about spring rates and name brands but fail to talk of the strut itself which is most likely more important because this is the part that costs the most and will affect the ride quality and performance. Spend some time reading about the 3 strut types - progressive, digressive and linear - so you get a better understanding of how each will affect overall ride and performance.

 

Ive got the bilstein pss (non adjustable) and I think theyre just fine since i wanted an already preset suspension that I didnt want to fiddle around with. You will not find a more plush coilover when it comes to the street. The pss9 on the other hand lets you adjust the damping of the coilover but the adjuster itself is not so great, its basically either full soft for the street or full stiff for the track but in the end does not really adjust the low speed characteristics that you want for optimal handling. THe spring rates for the bilsteins are 345/285 lb/in which are similar to the CR spring rates. The fortune autos as mentioned earlier are another popular variant, if I had to keep my budget under 1200$ I would either go with the bilsteins, fortune auto 500's, or a koni yellow/ground control spring combo. What you want is a good quality damper.

 

Ok so it looks like the most bang for my buck is going to be either the Bilsteins PSS9 or the Fortune Auto 500's.

I know I get a good quality damper with the GC's but I like the added adjustability with the BS or the FA's.

What spring rate would I need to get on the FA's to be similar to the PSS9 or equivilant to the CR?

 

I did a little more reading and it seems that the highest you can go is 1.5" lower than stock on the FA's, is that correct?

Why do the swift springs make such a big difference?

 

Dont worry about the spring rates, your not racing so the 9k/9k that fortune auto brings is just fine. I dont think you can get custom spring rates with the bilsteins. The GC's are springs not dampers.

The Fortune at full height is maybe .25 lower (it maybe .15) than stock, but I think you can get lower than 2" drop. I'm around 1.50" in drop right now and could easily drop to 2"

 

As others have mentioned, fortunes seem to have a good reputation if you want cheaper-side adjustable. PSS9 have been getting fantastic reviews since I first started looking at this board but they are definitely street and spirited driving coilovers and some have said they dont go low enough. I ended up getting KWV3 because I found a good deal but it was a close call between them and PSS9s.

 

Not tracking it, don't really care about lowering it, want good ride for cruise mode => I'd keep it like you have it now. Stock dampers are quite good, and you've got CR sways to limit body roll a bit more, why spend the money? The urge to mod can be strong, but for your usage I think you're pretty well set up, leave it as is and enjoy it, I say...