Suspension recommendations

[bluedemon]

hi guys, it's been a while since i last came into this forum. its about time for my car to have some parts repaired and replaced.

i am looking for an alternative to the tom's advox coilovers. mine has kaputed. sent for servicing but leaked again after a year. planning to visit trial tuning this week.

so i am asking for my friends recommendations and preferences based on experience. normal driving and wangan balik kampung sessions :)

[6UE5t]

How much was those Advox and how long have you used them?
Sorry for asking back instead of answering your question as I don't have much experienced yet with different suspension brands, and I'm actually thinking to upgrade for my Mark X.

[bluedemon]

the advox was on my car when i bought it, around 5 years ago.
i have not found the exact tom's tuned version, but the similar trd advox i saw at Tom's bangsar selling for rm9k for the set. that is why i'm looking for an alternative.

[Greytezza]

I would recommend you D2 http://www.d2racingsport.com

Me and few guys have changed our shocks to D2 and so far only good reviews received. The D2 street system have 36 damping adjustment, ride height adjustable option that does not compress the coil spring and it uses 6061 aluminium for the body.

Go check it out at Trial and William can provide a better explanation to you on the D2.

[iexit]

My best experience is with OHLINS & BILSTEINS both not fully adjustable (can't afford a fully adj set :P), jap brand which was good for me was Cusco. I'm on the HKS Hypermax 3 now, so far so good... but stay away form Tein if you can. My 2 cents

[green]

Originally Posted by bluedemon

hi guys, it's been a while since i last came into this forum. its about time for my car to have some parts repaired and replaced.

i am looking for an alternative to the tom's advox coilovers. mine has kaputed. sent for servicing but leaked again after a year. planning to visit trial tuning this week.

so i am asking for my friends recommendations and preferences based on experience. normal driving and wangan balik kampung sessions :)

at the end of the day, its what u are looking for in a suspension

everybody can recommend and say its good to them, but they are not u and u are not them.

u must first start with what do u need/want for your car.

are u a daily driver?
would u want some sporty feel out of your car?
do u like hard suspension absorbers and springs?
do u like the comfy compliant ride for everyday drive?

everyday drive or racing driving is totally different in setups

for me, i can only give u an advice for everyday driving with some sporty feel becoz i have been there before. other suggestions i do not know. this is just my opinions. feel free to check with the others

my setup has:
good comfy compliant ride as the absorber has 5 way setup. i set mine to middle
lasts me damn long time! >5 years on everyday drive around kl/crappy roads
sporty feel as i can zoom here n there.
cheap ...then la 5 years ago. now i dunno
plus using oem stock anti roll bars for front n rear.

my setup was using the TRD yellow shocks with white TRD sportivo springs for altezza sxe10. springs are long 250mm in length...so comfy n not harsh
shocks are adjustable in damping(5 way..i set mine to middle) but not in height. plus for everyday driving u would not want to lower too much.

good luck

[wfhan]

Originally Posted by Greytezza

I would recommend you D2 http://www.d2racingsport.com
...... it uses 6061 aluminium for the body......

what is 6061 aluminium ? some space shutter technology stuff ??? :P

Originally Posted by green

at the end of the day, its what u are looking for in a suspension

everybody can recommend and say its good to them, but they are not u and u are not them.

u must first start with what do u need/want for your car.

are u a daily driver?
would u want some sporty feel out of your car?
do u like hard suspension absorbers and springs?
do u like the comfy compliant ride for everyday drive?
......

well said.

What we can share here to the thread starter is probably our experience in using different setups along our ownership of the car.
and... what i can share with you on my own experience is i have used a few brands and setup, in fact, i think i have changed suspensions setup about 8~9 times for the past 12 months (adjust/change/re-setup/re-adjust)...not to mention the time and money spent to get it to my liking.

Here's what i have used and my personal 2 cents comments.
1. TITAN : came with the car when i bought it. not bad, can fully customized the spring rate and serviced the shock with TITAN.
2. TRD yellow shocks (like what Green is using) + TRD black spring : love the TRD yellow, but hate the spring height as it lowered too much to my daily commute.
3. TRD yellow shocks + stock spring : very confy, but feel like 'sampan' on highways.
4. TEIN HA : stiff, i liked it, but my family dislike it.
5. TEIN SuperStreet : personally don't quite like its feels. donno why ?
6. TEIN HA : ya, HA again, same set as #4, i kept it as spare when i was on TEIN SS.
7. currently -> D2 street system : like greytezza said. So far, i am liking it; cost me not as expensive as the rm9k new TOM's nor the RM4~5k+ new HKS. easier to so called 'service' it. I HOPE THIS IS MY FINAL SETUP. :P


in a nutshell, is what you need and want makes the difference between choices.

Again, remember, the above is just my personal preferences.

[6UE5t]

Originally Posted by iexit

My best experience is with OHLINS & BILSTEINS both not fully adjustable (can't afford a fully adj set :P), jap brand which was good for me was Cusco. I'm on the HKS Hypermax 3 now, so far so good... but stay away form Tein if you can. My 2 cents

What's wrong with Tein? How about Tanabe?

[iexit]

Well i had Tein's on both my ex cars are i did not like the feel. Its either too hard or too soft, absorber don't rebound as well as i think it should. On bumpy roads the car will 'sampan' as the absorber only manage to do 50% of the absorption (especially on a mid weight car like the tezza). I am sure many ppl like and have good experience with tein but personally i won't buy if i have the choice or budget.

If you can afford it, OHLINS will change the way you see the suspension world... i guarantee it. You can't beat the EURO's :-)

[wfhan]

Originally Posted by iexit

Well i had Tein's on both my ex cars are i did not like the feel. Its either too hard or too soft, absorber don't rebound as well as i think it should.

these words are what i have in mind too!.... hahaha yup, same feeling.

[bluedemon]

thank you all sifus for the kind suggestions. i have mentioned my preference that is "normal driving and wangan balik kampung sessions :)".
the D2 seems like a good choice. i love playing with damping adjustments :P
anyways, went to trial this week and have set an appointment with William to send my car next monday.

cheers!

[green]

Originally Posted by 6UE5t

What's wrong with Tein? How about Tanabe?

again i believe its all a matter of personal tastes n preferences. price over quality, longevity issues, adjustability, stiffness etc

I used have a tein superstreet installed as well. for me, its meant for the street..meaning minimum height adjustability. u cannot adjust it too much to lower your ride height(even tho a lot of ppl says otherwise). this is becoz the springs are 250mm in height and they need to be a certain length to function effectively. meaning u cannot lower them toooooo much. rule of thumb is about perhaps an inch. plus the tein superstreet are not full height adjustable like the hks hipermax. the d2 is

lower too much... expect the springs to function weirdly, and there goes your compression / rebound damping on the road. thats why some ppl feel springy too much...if u compress the springs too much to lower ride height.

my car is lowered to 2 fingers. just nice for me. springs are maintained about abt an inch compressed from the seat springs of the shock absorbers.

tein superstreet is fine with me...for normal everyday driving. 8kg spring in frt with 6 kg springs behind (both springs are long 250mm) good for a bit spirited driving with comfort(i set them shock absorbers 7 in frt n 8 in rear). 7 clicks in front ...harder 1 step as compared to rear

here comes some more precise opinions:
tein is quite the norm..meaning it is like u buying a toyota over a mercedes. the ride quality is different. merc has a premium german ride quality. toyota has a plushier/softer simplier ride feel. u decide which one u like.

tein = toyota
tanabe should be quite good, but i no experience on them sorry
hks = mercedes
ohlins = the best!!!

price is always an issue.
in the beginning, tein superstreet is ok with me...until my speeds exceeded quite a lot. after that i find the teins unable to cope with my car speeds...hence i chg to hks with longer springs than the original.

premium hks dampers for excellent control on the road. longer springs to maintain the appropriate ride quality. but i still find my setup a bit harsh on rough roads, but the control on the highway is stunning! so u see, theres no which is best or good. just u try to make the best of it.

but for me i hate short springs becoz i am not going racing on the tracks. i want to keep my spine intact. aby spring shorter than 200mm is meant for the tracks

still miss my trd sportivos springs with trd yellow shocks tho

cheers

[1JZtezza]

Originally Posted by iexit

My best experience is with OHLINS & BILSTEINS both not fully adjustable (can't afford a fully adj set :P), jap brand which was good for me was Cusco. I'm on the HKS Hypermax 3 now, so far so good... but stay away form Tein if you can. My 2 cents

My 2nd hand Tein Flex lasted > 5 years

[Sil80-13]

How about BC Racing?