Besides adjustable ride height, what are the advantages and disadvantages to running a well paired shock and spring combination versus a coilover system?

 

only thing I can think of is:

spring/shock - most likey cheaper than a adj coilver set (besides GC)

spring/shock - they may match well together, but the adj coilover set (besides GC) is designed to work as a set

yshi - whose not sure how much longer he can hold out from getting semi-streetable racing sus before the next track event

 

The shocks in a cheaper shock/spring combo are usually twin tube design, where the fluid and gas inside are not highly pressurized. They can not handle too high of spring rates without excessive wear; hence a lot of people here suggested revalving the Koni Yellows with >600# rates. Since the fluid and gas are not highly pressurized, cavitation in fluid would occur under extreme track condition. Construction cost is cheap and they response well to slight bumps.

Most true coilovers are single tube design, where fluid and gas inside are highly pressurized. They can handle very high spring rates and temperature without cavitation. But construction cost is high, and do not reponse very well to small bumps. That's why it's not too comfortable for street use.

I hope I had answered your question.

 

Bilsteins Sport dampers are monotubes, that work well with the GC setup, are servicable and re-valveable and are very comfortable for street use. They are also good upto 800# springs.

 

Very well, thank you.

 

I think Yoshi needs a set of Zeal S6

 

are those the same bilsteins that are the replacement shocks for the R?

tjtruong~who is still waiting for his bilsteins to ship to him

 

Usually coil-overs offers a bigger piston dia. which is more capacity than any shocks you can buy in the market. Majority of the coil-overs are shortstroke dampers which offers max suspension travel.

 

I saw those Bilstein monotube shocks on one of those mail order catalogs. They are not adjustable (either height or stroke) if I remember correctly.

I remember someone mentioned that those Koni yellows are better be revalved for 400# or higher rate? 400# springs is nothing, I mean, at least for serious track use. So it sounds like revalving is almost a must if someone wants to use them for track with, say, 600# springs. What would happen if they're not revalved? Will they break into million pieces? Or squirt shock juice??

 

Flux,

You auto x and are looking at road racing. Go with the full coilover system. You well not regret it. I have a short clip of Calvin (BlazinITR) doing some auto x'n and with me and some new Teins he shaved about 5 seconds off his auto x times. Placed first!

Way to go Cal. !!!

You have all the advantages and none of the disadvantages. You can set it up for track use then make some minor adjustments and have it ready to drive home without feeling every penny or pebble that crosses your path.

Fuminsho,

 

Hey why don't you buy those Tein Ha's that one of the members is selling?

 

I'm buying hybrid_eg's... so back off!

 

I think a nice set of quality spring/shocks is better then true coilovers, if you constantly adjust the coilovers wouldnt have you have to balance each corner every time, that is pretty costly and if you don't your car isnt going to reap the benefits of true coilovers.

 

I think you based your opinion on the articles about corner weight that were posted here not too long ago?

Something you should keep in mind is that, any shock/spring combo that has no height adjustability would not give you perfect corner balance. All hardwares (shock length, bushing stiffness and diameters, spring length, etc) are manufactured within a certain tolerance. Tolerance means + or -. So with all these discrepancies on the dimensions, the corner weight would NOT be balanced and you won't be able to adjust it. On the other hand, coilovers allow that kind of adjustability.

But IMO, corner weight is something nice to have done, but not as important as one would think; simply because all the "theories" about corner weight are based on a completely flat surface. In reality, no concrete/asphalt pavements would be flat like a tiled showroom floor.

 

Could someone please answer the ques I asked earlier? I want to know what ill-effects it would have and if the shock company would warranty it.