Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review
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Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review
Hi everyone,
I just want to take the time to let everyone know my experiences with the new Skunk2 Pro-C coilovers on my HPDE/AutoX car, a 210whp K20A2 swapped 95 Civic EX at 2480lbs with driver and full tank of gas. These coilovers just came out this year and I decided to give them a whirl. I’m not a pro driver or licensed SCCA or NASA driver, far from, just another guy that likes to go fast around race tracks.
http://www.skunk2.com/Suspensi...=COVC
With the stock 550/450 spring rates and 12 levels of adjustment, Skunk2 sells these coilovers as a track worthy, high quality mono-tube coilover that is highly functional for both spirited driving and daily driving. Through talking with Skunk2, these shocks are ruggedly designed and well suited for even more spring rate than what they come with. Later they will offer more spring rate options.
Before I put them on I’ve had 6 HPDE track days worth of experience. Last year, 4 days Last year at Heartland Park Topeka KS and 1 day at Mid American Motorplex S. of Omaha Nebraska. This year I had one other day of driving at Mid American in the spring. The Skunk2 Pro-Cs come with 550/450 rates and that is what I stuck with for 2 separate track days of testing at Mid American Motorplex. http://www.midamericamotorplex...s.asp
<U>For comparison: </U>
- 1st time at MAM: I’ve had Omni Power Coiloves on the car last year on 205/45/16 Hankook RS2 street tires. 550/450 w/GSR rear sway. Best Lap time was a high 1:55:7
- 2nd time at MAM: I’ve previously used Koni SPSS valved with 650/850 w/GSR rear sway. This year I drove on the Konis with updated bushings and camber kits front and rear. I was on the same Hankooks and went out for 3 sessions getting low 1:55s. The track was very cold as it was early in the spring. I then went out for some more sessions in the afternoon and put down consitent low 1:53s on full tread 225/45/15 Toyo RA1s
- 3rd time to the track: same car all around with exception of the Konis swapped out for Skunk2s I dipped into the 1:49s consistently on RA1s.
- 4th time to the track: still on Pro-Cs abut added a ASR subframe brace and 21mm Blox swaybar, I was immediately faster running 1:47s at the track within my 2nd track session. Through the day I stayed consistent and ended up getting a best time of 1:46:5x which would beat ITR, ITS, ITA, Spec Miata and other class times.
As you can see, you don’t have to have BIG spring rates to be fast around the Road Course. The above does display a learning curve though as well as the car being better setup. I am not going to/can’t claim that the sole reason why I got faster out there was b/c of the coilovers. Testing wasn’t setup that way and was never the goal.. .
<U> The things I liked about these coilovers </U>
- Come pre-assembled
- Adjustability – full body coilovers allowing for no saggy shocks and clanky springs like the Koni Setup.
- Tune ability - 12 levels and you can feel most all of them. I tested this out on the track many different times, playing with the settings starting at 6 front an rear and moving them up and down. I typically ended up with 4-6 clicks front and 11-12 clicks rear. Was able to tune out most under steer with the shock settings
- Smooth operation – handled rumble strips and irregularities in track very well, even when under loads in the corners.
- If the rear end came loose, the car was very easy to catch with throttle and counter steering
- In Under steer cases – (More often than not) In cases of letting off the gas abruptly, it would not unsettle the car too much and was easily controllable even with the added 21mm rear swap and ASR brace. A very friendly setup that turns quite well.
- Daily driving ability – Definitely better than the KONIS b/c of the spring rates and valving. These shocks are clearly a great choice for a suspension that is double duty. The Skunks can also be tuned to be more or less stiff than the Omni Power Coilovers. I would say that the Skunks need to be at about level 8 to be as stiff as the Omnis though.
- Braking at the track – shocks handled the hard breaking great – late threshold braking 125mph to 70 & 120 – 80 was stable. Toe at zero front and rear. ITR fronts with Satisfied Gransport GS3 pads (as torquey as Hawk Blues or XP10s), GSR rears with Carbotech XP8s rear. On a 65deg track, I found the limits of the RA1s with this setup. No ABS.
<U>Negatives about the setup – not many</U>
- Not quite stiff enough for an extreme track setup – they will hopefully solve this issue later on but they aren’t exactly advertising these coilovers as the ultimate track coilover setup. I’ll be later testing 650/550 and ~ 650/650 setup with an even stiffer rear sway bar as well. Possibly the 32mm ASR next year.
- In tight transitions on the track, the car felt sluggish. This is mainly due the spring rates being too low in the front. I would have cranked up the rebound adjustment to counter this problem, but to have minimal under steer, the front setting needed to stay around 4-6, 4 with GSR sway and 6 with 21mm sway was a good compromise.
- Probably too thick of a Rubber washer is used that sits on top of the spring and b/t the upper shock mount. This is probably has a minor NEGATIVE effect on shock responsiveness.
- Biggest complaint – I stripped the nut that is welded on the rear coilovers – a design that should be removed b/c it could be stripped eventually causing an issue to have to cut it off. This would be a hassle at the track for sure.
I hope this helped someone out.. .
Front suspension with ITR brakes
Mustang Club really didn’t enjoy me putting the hurt down on them this day. 1:46:5s baby. They were all on R-comps too.. . They had superchargers too!
Modified by 6spdKEG at 10:55 PM 12/4/2007
I just want to take the time to let everyone know my experiences with the new Skunk2 Pro-C coilovers on my HPDE/AutoX car, a 210whp K20A2 swapped 95 Civic EX at 2480lbs with driver and full tank of gas. These coilovers just came out this year and I decided to give them a whirl. I’m not a pro driver or licensed SCCA or NASA driver, far from, just another guy that likes to go fast around race tracks.
http://www.skunk2.com/Suspensi...=COVC
With the stock 550/450 spring rates and 12 levels of adjustment, Skunk2 sells these coilovers as a track worthy, high quality mono-tube coilover that is highly functional for both spirited driving and daily driving. Through talking with Skunk2, these shocks are ruggedly designed and well suited for even more spring rate than what they come with. Later they will offer more spring rate options.
Before I put them on I’ve had 6 HPDE track days worth of experience. Last year, 4 days Last year at Heartland Park Topeka KS and 1 day at Mid American Motorplex S. of Omaha Nebraska. This year I had one other day of driving at Mid American in the spring. The Skunk2 Pro-Cs come with 550/450 rates and that is what I stuck with for 2 separate track days of testing at Mid American Motorplex. http://www.midamericamotorplex...s.asp
<U>For comparison: </U>
- 1st time at MAM: I’ve had Omni Power Coiloves on the car last year on 205/45/16 Hankook RS2 street tires. 550/450 w/GSR rear sway. Best Lap time was a high 1:55:7
- 2nd time at MAM: I’ve previously used Koni SPSS valved with 650/850 w/GSR rear sway. This year I drove on the Konis with updated bushings and camber kits front and rear. I was on the same Hankooks and went out for 3 sessions getting low 1:55s. The track was very cold as it was early in the spring. I then went out for some more sessions in the afternoon and put down consitent low 1:53s on full tread 225/45/15 Toyo RA1s
- 3rd time to the track: same car all around with exception of the Konis swapped out for Skunk2s I dipped into the 1:49s consistently on RA1s.
- 4th time to the track: still on Pro-Cs abut added a ASR subframe brace and 21mm Blox swaybar, I was immediately faster running 1:47s at the track within my 2nd track session. Through the day I stayed consistent and ended up getting a best time of 1:46:5x which would beat ITR, ITS, ITA, Spec Miata and other class times.
As you can see, you don’t have to have BIG spring rates to be fast around the Road Course. The above does display a learning curve though as well as the car being better setup. I am not going to/can’t claim that the sole reason why I got faster out there was b/c of the coilovers. Testing wasn’t setup that way and was never the goal.. .
<U> The things I liked about these coilovers </U>
- Come pre-assembled
- Adjustability – full body coilovers allowing for no saggy shocks and clanky springs like the Koni Setup.
- Tune ability - 12 levels and you can feel most all of them. I tested this out on the track many different times, playing with the settings starting at 6 front an rear and moving them up and down. I typically ended up with 4-6 clicks front and 11-12 clicks rear. Was able to tune out most under steer with the shock settings
- Smooth operation – handled rumble strips and irregularities in track very well, even when under loads in the corners.
- If the rear end came loose, the car was very easy to catch with throttle and counter steering
- In Under steer cases – (More often than not) In cases of letting off the gas abruptly, it would not unsettle the car too much and was easily controllable even with the added 21mm rear swap and ASR brace. A very friendly setup that turns quite well.
- Daily driving ability – Definitely better than the KONIS b/c of the spring rates and valving. These shocks are clearly a great choice for a suspension that is double duty. The Skunks can also be tuned to be more or less stiff than the Omni Power Coilovers. I would say that the Skunks need to be at about level 8 to be as stiff as the Omnis though.
- Braking at the track – shocks handled the hard breaking great – late threshold braking 125mph to 70 & 120 – 80 was stable. Toe at zero front and rear. ITR fronts with Satisfied Gransport GS3 pads (as torquey as Hawk Blues or XP10s), GSR rears with Carbotech XP8s rear. On a 65deg track, I found the limits of the RA1s with this setup. No ABS.
<U>Negatives about the setup – not many</U>
- Not quite stiff enough for an extreme track setup – they will hopefully solve this issue later on but they aren’t exactly advertising these coilovers as the ultimate track coilover setup. I’ll be later testing 650/550 and ~ 650/650 setup with an even stiffer rear sway bar as well. Possibly the 32mm ASR next year.
- In tight transitions on the track, the car felt sluggish. This is mainly due the spring rates being too low in the front. I would have cranked up the rebound adjustment to counter this problem, but to have minimal under steer, the front setting needed to stay around 4-6, 4 with GSR sway and 6 with 21mm sway was a good compromise.
- Probably too thick of a Rubber washer is used that sits on top of the spring and b/t the upper shock mount. This is probably has a minor NEGATIVE effect on shock responsiveness.
- Biggest complaint – I stripped the nut that is welded on the rear coilovers – a design that should be removed b/c it could be stripped eventually causing an issue to have to cut it off. This would be a hassle at the track for sure.
I hope this helped someone out.. .
Front suspension with ITR brakes
Mustang Club really didn’t enjoy me putting the hurt down on them this day. 1:46:5s baby. They were all on R-comps too.. . They had superchargers too!
Modified by 6spdKEG at 10:55 PM 12/4/2007
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From: Quebec, Canada
Re: Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review (6spdKEG)
those 650/850 w/ spss valved konis sounded perfect, maybe you weren't able to drive them as fast as it is to drive a 650/550 set up coilover...
Have you paid for them ? Why did you change the konis with so less track time ? I used to own a set, they were amazing !
nice review
Have you paid for them ? Why did you change the konis with so less track time ? I used to own a set, they were amazing !
nice review
Re: Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review (WhiteRicer)
nice review. How do these feel on regular street driving ? (are they bouncy, how well do they absord the bumps on the road?)
thanks for the review.
thanks for the review.
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Re: Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review (STN_Pat)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by STN_Pat »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">those 650/850 w/ spss valved konis sounded perfect, maybe you weren't able to drive them as fast as it is to drive a 650/550 set up coilover...
Have you paid for them ? Why did you change the konis with so less track time ? I used to own a set, they were amazing !
nice review
</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vietnameeh »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">good review... but wouldnt you say the the times got better with seat time?</TD></TR></TABLE>
The Koni setup was nice. A bit stiff for getting to the track but yes, they did well out there for me. I mentioned before in my post that I CAN'T SAY that the SKunk2s were the sole reason I got faster out there. Mainly it was seat time, alignment and also adding the ASR rear sub frame brace and 21mm rear swaybar. With the same amount of seat time and added swaybar, It would have been interesting to see the comparison.
For reference, I had 4 days of seat time at Heartland Park Topeka Kansas Race Track. Home of SCCA Nationals. All 4 days were on Hankook RS2 street tires and Omni Power Coilovers with GSR rear sway bar and natural camber from lowering.
I drive 3 to 7 hours to events and was given the opportunity to run the Skunk2 Pro-Cs at a discounted price so I gave them a shot. I have kept my Konis around until I got a few track days on the Skunks to see if I want to keep them and I will I'll be bumping up the spring rates a little on them though for next spring.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DOMKID »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nice review. How do these feel on regular street driving ? (are they bouncy, how well do they absord the bumps on the road?)
thanks for the review. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I actually enjoy them for street driving. A really good compromise actually and not too stiff for a guy that likes a sporty ride. They feel way better than the 650/850 Koni setup on the street even when the Konis are on full soft. The Konis on full soft felt bouncy actually. I usually had them a full turn from full soft for street driving. The SKunks are also better than the previous Omni Powers I had as well. The Omnis were the same spring rates as well. 550/450.
Thanks for the compliments on the car.. . but you don't really want to see "better" pictures. It's not that clean at all. I built it to do the job at the track, not on the streets really. Unfortunately, I wont be achieving my goal of getting a race license next year so the car is basically just going to be a weekend ride and HPDE car now.
Have you paid for them ? Why did you change the konis with so less track time ? I used to own a set, they were amazing !
nice review
</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vietnameeh »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">good review... but wouldnt you say the the times got better with seat time?</TD></TR></TABLE>
The Koni setup was nice. A bit stiff for getting to the track but yes, they did well out there for me. I mentioned before in my post that I CAN'T SAY that the SKunk2s were the sole reason I got faster out there. Mainly it was seat time, alignment and also adding the ASR rear sub frame brace and 21mm rear swaybar. With the same amount of seat time and added swaybar, It would have been interesting to see the comparison.
For reference, I had 4 days of seat time at Heartland Park Topeka Kansas Race Track. Home of SCCA Nationals. All 4 days were on Hankook RS2 street tires and Omni Power Coilovers with GSR rear sway bar and natural camber from lowering.
I drive 3 to 7 hours to events and was given the opportunity to run the Skunk2 Pro-Cs at a discounted price so I gave them a shot. I have kept my Konis around until I got a few track days on the Skunks to see if I want to keep them and I will
I'll be bumping up the spring rates a little on them though for next spring. <TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DOMKID »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nice review. How do these feel on regular street driving ? (are they bouncy, how well do they absord the bumps on the road?)
thanks for the review. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I actually enjoy them for street driving. A really good compromise actually and not too stiff for a guy that likes a sporty ride. They feel way better than the 650/850 Koni setup on the street even when the Konis are on full soft. The Konis on full soft felt bouncy actually. I usually had them a full turn from full soft for street driving. The SKunks are also better than the previous Omni Powers I had as well. The Omnis were the same spring rates as well. 550/450.
Thanks for the compliments on the car.. . but you don't really want to see "better" pictures. It's not that clean at all. I built it to do the job at the track, not on the streets really. Unfortunately, I wont be achieving my goal of getting a race license next year so the car is basically just going to be a weekend ride and HPDE car now.
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Re: Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review (6spdKEG)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 6spdKEG »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">anyone else try these out yet?</TD></TR></TABLE>
me
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Re: Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review (6spdKEG)
4 second difference between a proven Koni setup to a much more mild setup?
As you said, I'm thinking that seat time had much more to do with this than suspension. As was also said, you're probably just a lot more comfortable with the mild springrates.
As you said, I'm thinking that seat time had much more to do with this than suspension. As was also said, you're probably just a lot more comfortable with the mild springrates.
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Re: Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review (Todd00)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Todd00 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">4 second difference between a proven Koni setup to a much more mild setup?
As you said, I'm thinking that seat time had much more to do with this than suspension. As was also said, you're probably just a lot more comfortable with the mild springrates.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Seat time, adding 21mm rear swaybar and the NEW RA1s getting faster were some of the main contributing factors.. . The addition of the rear ASR brace and 21mm swaybar actually made about a 2 second difference right off the bat. I was faster in my first session out by at least 1 second on average than my previous track day's last session without the addition roll stiffness of the 21mm swaybar vs the stock GSR 15mm bar.
As I stated in my first post that I never had a goal of comparing the two coilovers in an exact nature to say which one is faster.. . I just bolted up the skunk2s and hit the track.. . The Konis are not going back on and are currently sold.
I actually prefer the stiffer rates I had on the Konis for the Road Course (650/850) and I can guarentee that when I up the rate with these Skunks, I'll be faster. That being said, I could probably be faster on the Konis within a couple sessions just b/c of the spring rates and the added rear sway bar which I have never ran with the Konis. There is too much body roll with Skunk 550/450 setup when running 225 r compound tires. I'm going to move to a square setup running 650/650 I think. I might very the rears by + or minus 50 from 650 though.. .
The RA1s are going to progressively get better durring my next track session as well so it will still be hard to guage if the change in spring rates played a large roll or not. If I better my laptimes by a second on average, I'm going to figure the spring rates played a significant roll in my success.
I'll be sure to update in the spring! It's in the teens here in Iowa now
As you said, I'm thinking that seat time had much more to do with this than suspension. As was also said, you're probably just a lot more comfortable with the mild springrates.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
Seat time, adding 21mm rear swaybar and the NEW RA1s getting faster were some of the main contributing factors.. . The addition of the rear ASR brace and 21mm swaybar actually made about a 2 second difference right off the bat. I was faster in my first session out by at least 1 second on average than my previous track day's last session without the addition roll stiffness of the 21mm swaybar vs the stock GSR 15mm bar.
As I stated in my first post that I never had a goal of comparing the two coilovers in an exact nature to say which one is faster.. . I just bolted up the skunk2s and hit the track.. . The Konis are not going back on and are currently sold.
I actually prefer the stiffer rates I had on the Konis for the Road Course (650/850) and I can guarentee that when I up the rate with these Skunks, I'll be faster. That being said, I could probably be faster on the Konis within a couple sessions just b/c of the spring rates and the added rear sway bar which I have never ran with the Konis. There is too much body roll with Skunk 550/450 setup when running 225 r compound tires. I'm going to move to a square setup running 650/650 I think. I might very the rears by + or minus 50 from 650 though.. .
The RA1s are going to progressively get better durring my next track session as well so it will still be hard to guage if the change in spring rates played a large roll or not. If I better my laptimes by a second on average, I'm going to figure the spring rates played a significant roll in my success.
I'll be sure to update in the spring! It's in the teens here in Iowa now
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Re: Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review (Mr.OB*GYN_Rhett)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr.OB*GYN_Rhett »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thats a super interesting timeline/history/review there. glad to see you owned those mustangs 
</TD></TR></TABLE>
</TD></TR></TABLE>
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Re: Skunk2 Pro-C coilover review (bmoua)
I went back to the track for the last time with my car. It handled well! No changes to the suspension except for alignment.
The alignment shop gave me a little less camber up front, neg 2.4
I needed neg 3 for sure.
The track day went well, could have been better with some fine tunning of corner weights and a bigger rear sway bar. higher spring rates to help roll even further but the 550/450 worked pretty good. Had lots of fun but didn't put down any faster times. Many 1:47s which is still screaming for a 210whp honda but I didn't beat my best. Most of the time I had a passenger b/c I was giving pointers and showing people the line and what not.
I actually raised the car up a little bit front and back. This kept me off the bump stops for sure. I don't suggest having the threads on the main body go past the middle of the hole on the bottom section of the shock.
No in car footage unfortunetly. I did get some crappy out of car and some pics though!
> 2 groups > I was group A > http://photos.fotogp.net/f79619503
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...4930343
http://photos.fotogp.net/p7489...27814
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...32586
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...30343
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...64173
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...91393
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...87784
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...87840
http://images34.fotki.com/v112...i.jpg
http://images34.fotki.com/v112...i.jpg
http://images33.fotki.com/v113...i.jpg
http://photos.fotogp.net/p7489...42050
http://photos.fotogp.net/p7489...82191
I now drive this 2006 350Z track Model
Modified by 6spdKEG at 10:17 AM 5/16/2008
The alignment shop gave me a little less camber up front, neg 2.4
I needed neg 3 for sure.
The track day went well, could have been better with some fine tunning of corner weights and a bigger rear sway bar. higher spring rates to help roll even further but the 550/450 worked pretty good. Had lots of fun but didn't put down any faster times. Many 1:47s which is still screaming for a 210whp honda but I didn't beat my best. Most of the time I had a passenger b/c I was giving pointers and showing people the line and what not.
I actually raised the car up a little bit front and back. This kept me off the bump stops for sure. I don't suggest having the threads on the main body go past the middle of the hole on the bottom section of the shock.
No in car footage unfortunetly. I did get some crappy out of car and some pics though!
> 2 groups > I was group A > http://photos.fotogp.net/f79619503
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...4930343
http://photos.fotogp.net/p7489...27814
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...32586
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...30343
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...64173
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...91393
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...87784
http://photos.fotogp.net/p9385...87840
http://images34.fotki.com/v112...i.jpg
http://images34.fotki.com/v112...i.jpg
http://images33.fotki.com/v113...i.jpg
http://photos.fotogp.net/p7489...42050
http://photos.fotogp.net/p7489...82191
I now drive this 2006 350Z track Model
Modified by 6spdKEG at 10:17 AM 5/16/2008
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