JCushing

ive had neuspeed koni yellows ( http://www.neuspeed.com/products/pro...port&p_id=1133 ) with ground control coilovers i think the springrates are 400 f 350 r since 2002... in that time ive replaced both rear shocks once and now the rear pass side is waaay blown again. when i say blown i mean fluid all over the place, absolutely no resistance to movement either direction.

my ground control perch is broken in the front drivers side (lock nut snapped due to severe corrosion) so im thinking its time for a completely new set. the fronts dont seem as stiff as they used to be and im expecting the other rear shock to blow any day now.

my rear control arm bushings are shot too (crappy megan arms, i had to replace the stockers since the OEM swaybar endlink seized inside the OEM lca)

so i was planning on doing coilovers and rear LCAs come spring when i can finally go outside and work again, what do you guys recommend. i dont care about shock adjustability so much, if they are a "kit" the shock should be matched to the springs they come with fairly well. id like aluminum because my steel konis rust so quickly. i just want something that wont blow on me after a couple years.... i heard about the old omnis being less than stellar, how are the new versions? any other options worth looking at? im unfamiliar with the newer options like PIC, ksport, omni, form and function type 1 etc

for now my cars mostly a street car, but when i get a new car in a year or so, id like to start tracking it more than just the occasional 1320 trip... cars a 98 integra GS front 24mm bar stock, rear 21mm skunk 2 with new mounts i made and solid endlinks, neuspeed upper front and rear strut bars and rear lower bar, front end has skunk2 upper A arms with new skunk2 balljoints (old ones were junk) rear end just has washers on the stock upper arms. z-10 traction bars, just redid most of the front bushings with poly (hold your opinions they are already in and my old ones were trashed) new balljoints and wheel bearings in the front too...

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

dang man, hard to say... I've had my Koni shocks with a variety of spring setups since 2002 and they're still working great. Do you live in an area prone to rusting the undersides of cars?

I don't think you're going to find a much more durable OTS shock than the Koni Sport. Sine you said you don't need adjustability, you might look into a set of Bilstein HD's.

JCushing

i got the neuspeed konis with GC's and it was the ****, rode awsome handled awsome, i go tthe neuspeed version cause they were valved to match the neuspeed race springs and my rates were pretty close to them. i just dont feel like replacing another rear only to have another one blow...

i live in massachusetts so yeah, aluminum parts hold up alot better than steel as long as you get the slight surface corrosion taken care of.

my thinking for replacing the whole thing lies in the lock mechanisms being broken or siezed on the sleeves. on the struts, the perches are corroded onto the shock indent and the sleeve is corroded to that, i had to hammer the sleeve off the shock the last time i seperated one. the front shocks dont seem as stiff as before so i figure they are close to worn out. i had to cut the piston on one of my rear struts to get the top hat off, the metal bushing in the top hat was basically welded piston. so yeah you oculd say i have some rust issues....

that in mind id like to get a full set thats nice new and clean.. i wouldnt mind something stiffer too. i say i dont mind if they arent adjustable cause honestly i just set them when i install them and never touch them again.

basically what i wanted to know is are the skunk2, d2, ksport, omni, form/function, PIC coilovers decent maybe something i might not have looked at like the tein basics... being a long time koni/gc guy i havent paid much attention to alot of the other stuff out there.

ive been searchin all day about each individual one but nothing conclusive... alot of fanboyism....

BTW thanks for takin the time to post and help a OG out... not many left we got to look after eachother!

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

I think out of that list right there, PIC is the only company I would consider. Everything else there really is a downgrade from Koni/GC in my opinion.

Paul-R

wow bro i thnk you got some kind of problem i never had shocks do that to me . .

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

You live in CA, he lives in MA... massively different yearly climates. Not really a problem, just a fact of life living in those northern areas.

Also, I think just because a suspension setup has aluminum-bodied dampers doesn't mean you won't have any corrosion issues. The piston rod is still steel, and the lower fork and top hat is still steel (unless you use extended top hats or it comes with aftermarket aluminum top mounts).

Also, I've never heard it mentioned before, but I'm not sure if placing the steel front shock fork onto an aluminum body damper could cause any issues, you know being dissimilar metals and that kind of thing.

Another thing, did you run any kind of dust boot over your Koni shock pistons when you had GC's? If not, that could very well be why you had issues with the shocks blowing out over the years. I had my GC's for only about 9-10 months, and I had rigged up some makeshift rubber dust boots at one point, but they didn't work very well. Luckily we don't get much salt/snow around here, and I've had the stock metal dust boots on the shocks all the other times since I first installed them in 2002.

JCushing

i reused the stock metal boots, i belive i had to cut them to fit.

my car is lowered so i have roughly a 1" gap between the tires and fenderwell incase anyone was wondering. if my car was slammed like alot of you guys drive, it would rip my header and oil pan off. and paul-r, i have to run steel wheels in the winter here because the pot holes will break or bend aluminum wheels. my stock GS wheels were bent, i had to replace them a couple years ago. i actually hit a pothole a couple years ago with my winter steel rims that bent the lip of the steel wheel out, had to hit it back in with a sledge hammer.

as far as the fork mount, thats nothing some antisieze wont fix. youd have to see my car to understand lol...

would the pic apex be decent enough? what makes them so much better than the other companies that sell the same bodied shocks. i understand internally they are different but what makes a PIC apex 150$ more expensive than a form function type 1?

i dont mind spending the money, i think i spent 900 on the koni GC combo

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Did you cut those metal boots like GC recommends, so that it leaves the piston shaft exposed? IMHO that's completely pointless, and GC should just say to leave the stock dust boots off.

What makes PIC different is that they actually test their products and do R&D, while most of those other companies just slap their logo on the same Chinese-made aluminum coilover. Some of PIC's stuff is made in China, too, I believe, but to their specific specifications. Just look for posts and threads made by "PIC Performance" (I think that's the user name) and maybe send him a PM for more info about the product.

bmoua

PIC full coilovers are the way to go bro, even if you decide to purchase the apex version i'm sure you wont be disappointed.

JCushing

thats the way i think im leaning (PIC).... alot of the other brands seem to be hit or miss.. i havent seen a single bad thing about the PIC's. i belive i would go 10k front 8k rear since thats a slight step up in firmness from what i have now wich is what i was looking for.

any thought on the tein basics? 8kf 6kr http://www.jhpusa.com/store/pc/viewP...idproduct=3551 750 just doenst come with top hats.

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

I believe those Tein Basics have steel damper bodies, just like Koni's. It's basically the same as a shortened damper and a slip-on coilover. At least with Koni/GC you get rebound damping adjustability and choice of spring rates.

bmoua

Tein basics are too soft in my opinion

Whats your budget OP? Ur looking at a full coilover setup so im guessing your looking to spend a little under $1,000?

JCushing

yeah something like that.... like i said i spent 900 or so on the original setup. all the ones i listed i would feel comfortable buying.

i called neuspeed and got the warranty info, they are warrantied through koni still, they have my recipts for the 6 shocks i bought... i just hope i kept my old rears.. something tells me no

PatrickGSR94

iTrader: (1)

Tein Basics have spring rates of around 450 lb/in front and 340 lb/in rear, which is more than enough for any street car, even for the occasional autoX run. I used to turn 380/450 GC's and it was stiff as hell for daily commuting. VERY uncomfortable ride. If I did it again I'd go with 400/300 or 400/350.

All these coilovers with 10, 12, 14K rates really are suuuuper overkill for street use. Remember the stiff the suspension, the easier the tires can break traction. For daily driving that could be downright dangerous if your suspension is too stiff.

JCushing

i have 400 / 350 now, i dont think 450/340 is a huge step up. i dont find it too stiff at all and id actually like to try the 10k/8k setup

i drive mostly street now, but id like to track my car more when i get another car (wich will be soon maybe a year or so)

The G2 Racer

Just over a week on my PIC Apex coil overs, I love em. Highly recommend them.

JCushing

thanks for the feed back, i appreciate it

Mashimaro

iTrader: (1)

I think you're safe if you decide to go with the PIC coilovers. The main selling point for PIC seems to be great customer service compared to all the other Taiwanese made ones that won't help you incase you need a warranty issue (unless your dealer wants to suck up the cost of replacement), ie: D2, Omni, Attack, K-sport, T1R...

I had a friend who ran some Skunk2 Pro C's, and he seemed to like them in terms of bang for the buck, but he only had them on the car for 3 months before he sold the car so i don't know how long they last.

If you're considering Tein's, keep in mind that the pricing for them has gone up for the 3rd time now in 1 year. so i don't think they're going to be around the 1G range anymore, but i may be wrong

good luck and let us know what you go for. write up a review for us maybe!

JCushing

spring is finally just about here, so i ordered some PIC apex's 10k front, 8k rear and a pair of skunk2 rear LCA's to replace my shot megans..... looking foreward to getting everything in and being able to drive the teg again.

KayTran

what are the rates for the PIC selects? 12k/10k?

The G2 Racer

The rates are whatever you choose.
Only difference between Selects and Apex is the Select has adjustable damping.

JCushing

wich is exactly why i went with the apex, as it will be mostly a street car, track will be secondary. this is what they recommended when i called PIC also... suspension should be here thur/fri, hopefully the LCA's will get here quick.

KayTran

ooo, nice. Such a big price range between non-adjustable and adjustable.

The G2 Racer

You can shove your sarcasm right up your ***.

I didn't want to spend the extra money on damping adjustment because I don't need it.