Made my choice. Almost 100% positive i'm gonna get 'em! I've heard great things about them, especially from Alan @ AJ-Racing. If anybody with them can post a short review of them, just to reenforce how great they are...it would help me justify the $$.

My other choices were the Zeal B6 and TEIN RA.

This is going on the '95 for daily driving purposes, with weekend auto-x and occasional (maybe 1-2 times/year) circut racing in mind.

The one question I do have is: How tolerable is the 'softest' setting on the BC's.

Thanks,
Marshall

 

They are tolerable, but personally I wouldn't want to use a $1700 set of coilovers for daily driving and only "occasional" racing.

 

I have a set on my 01 type R and I love them and they are frequently used at the track. GREAT CHOICE

 

I'm just getting involved with circut racing, and I hope to get into it...eventually. But I have been at every Auto-x event for the last 6 months. Are they "too much" for auto-x?

 

Talk to Dee about a good coilover setup. He seems to have experience with most coilovers setups available: Tein, Zeal, Apexi, etc. He could give you some valuable insight. Good luck..

 

Stick with what you have now and work on becoming a better driver.

Don't make the mistake of upgrading the parts before upgrading the driver.

 

there is nothing on the car right now...the car sits until i get something...I figure why waste money on buying a 'cheaper' suspension when i can get something else isntead. Plus, I drove on skunk2 coilovers + tokicos on the '92 forever and i HATED the ride...I wanted to shoot the car every time i got out of it.

EDIT: if there is something that is "good" and won't rust out or start breaking on me, please inform!


[Modified by 92TypeR, 2:11 PM 8/31/2002]

 

Why do you NEED suspension?

 

The car is sitting on jackstands with no brakes or suspension. I bought it as a theft-recovery, so almost the whole car is missing. I am building it right, the first time. If there is a better suspension option, please let me know, I have set my budget under $2,000 for the complete suspension (sway & tie bars etc etc).

 

nice choice in suspension. in my opinion you did do the right thing. although i do partially agree with reid, make sure you know how to drive your car before you upgrade it. i have had 15+- track events and am just starting to upgrade the suspension. better to go all out at first instead of regretting that you should've gotten something more.

 

It sort of holds the car up, as well as connects the wheels to the car body.

The buddy clubs are my choice, though I can't comment on how I like them yet because they haven't been installed yet (those pesky 14K springs).

 

Well I assume you already have everything listed in your sig.

I'd recommend you find some used ITR springs/shocks.

 

I totally agree with what you and reid said. I know i'm not perfect, but I know I am good enough to move on to something better than stock, and better than cheap @ss coilovers. If I had stock ITR suspension I wouldn't be here asking the question, but I don't, so I figure why waste my money by purchasing expensive OEM suspension parts when I have this car that i can slowly build up (which I have been doing) and research all the possibilites instead of making misguided choices and regreting in the end. That is why I am here. I have driven up to AJ-Racing to ask questions in person, I am learning all the possibilities and I have almost made my mind on suspension. My first choice in the very beginning was the TEIN Super Streets, that is until I found out that they rusted out, especially in the wet/humid pacific northwest climate. I originally wanted something that was tuneable, and was geard for both daily driving and weekend auto-x. I have never competed in any road race or circut event, but I am slowly moving in that direction. I am signed up to take this $500 race class at Pacific Raceways, but I don't have a suspension yet, and I 'need' to get it by monday (9/9) or else I will not be able to use my car in the class, and will be forced to use their raced out Neons. Which will be a big waste of my money (which is past the refund date) becaue I will be learning to race on the track with a car I'll never touch again.

Maybe I should generalize my question: I want (need) a suspension setup that is tuneable, and will be used for daily driving, weekend auto-x, and occasional road/circut racing. I don't want to exceed my budget, and I don't want overkill, but I don't want something that will rust-out, or break after nearly months of driving. I don't want something that clunks around (like my old Skunk2's) and I want something will keep a confortable ride, while have a hardcore edge when needed.

Does that help?

-Marshall

 

Drive a Neon.

If you're serious about this sport at all, driving a race-prepped Neon will be a better experience than driving your car. Driving skills are universal and you can easily adjust to different cars.

Used ITR springs/shocks only go for 200-300. You can put the money aside and spend it later when you think you're outdriving the stock ITR suspension. Stock ITR suspension is VERY GOOD. Also don't go to a shop for advice on which suspension to get. I'm not saying they're not competent, but the bottom line is they're out to make a buck.

 

I think what you are going with is great. Dee reccomends NOT getting zeal b2's or HA's because of their lack in tuneability. If you are worried about rusting, Tein RA's and Zeal S6's would be a good choice. Both are full aliminum bodied. IPS is having a special on Zeal suspensions. As I understand it, the Buddyclubs are... not aluminum but have a protective coating on them? The BC's do have larging valving than the S6's and the RA's I believe.

 

Thanks.

I still don't completely agree with the whole Neon thing, but I am taking the class nonetheless.

I have driven my friends '98 ITR at auto-x events and I like the way the car feels. I think that it can be slightly stiffer, but I like how there is minimal body roll. Also, I looked at the Eibach Pro springs with ITR shocks for a while, how does that hold up? I know that the RealTime ITR's use them, but if they are tuned differently I dont' know. I just like having adjustable ride height and adjustable damper settings.

Keep feeding the info in please...

EDIT: Forgot to add that the Neons cost another $190 ontop of the $500 for the class...so I would rather put that $190 in my car than a Neon that I see for one day.


[Modified by 92TypeR, 2:53 PM 8/31/2002]

 

I say learn from stock. Find out what the car handles w/ the stock suspension. Once u've developed enough skill to out-drive ur suspension, then u will have a better appreciation and satisfaction with ur new suspension setup.
just my 2 cents.

 

I guess I'm too modest for you to pick up on. I am better than stock suspesnion, I am better than cheap adjustable suspension, I am ready for something better. I am not trying to sound excellent or godlike, but I am, in my mind and most people's minds I know, a great driver.

If i was 16 or 17 again I would do exactly that, I would never recommend an advanced suspension for a novice driver. But I am far from novice, and I have already past the limits of what the stock suspension can offer.

 

Can you please give us your high performance driving background?

I was assuming this was your background:

If that background is correct, I mean you no disrespect, but you're still a novice.

 

Good choice.

Coil-over suspension improves my laptime by 3 secs. I don't see a reason WHY NOT. I am not a professional dirver but I do about 1000 laptimes for the past 5yrs.

 

What were you running previously and was suspension the only thing changed on the car?

 

Suspension serves dual purpose as both a performance and safety item. If you can shave 10 feet off your 70-0 braking times by just upgrading suspension, do it. It's too easy to fall into the frame of mind that just because it's OEM "Type-R" it must be the best. Buddy Clubs are excellent quality dampeners. I just got mine in yesterday, but they're for a DC2-R (I have an EK Civic). Here's some pics:

 

I hope that comment is not directed at me.

ITR suspension is by no means the "be-all, end-all", but it is better than most drivers.

 

The Buddy Clubs are just one of the goodies yet to be installed in my go-fast ITR build up.

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...EzZGZkMzF5NTQx

I'm no "pro" driver either, but have "logged" more than 500K miles in the last 27 years!

 

Depends what you mean by "better than most drivers." If you view suspension as a "go fast" part, then yes it's pretty decent. Gets the job done. But if see it as a "stop fast" part, there are a lot of other setups I can think of that will allow you to brake harder and faster without inducing as much dive as stock ITR suspension. Dive = alignment change = sux. I know plenty of unskilled drivers that can manage to outdrive their stock ITR suspension to the point of wrecking their cars. With upgraded suspension their margin for error is at least increased a little bit. I guess what it all boils down to is that suspension serves more than one purpose: It allows good drivers to go fast, and prevents bad drivers from getting in over their heads. The Buddy Clubs will definately improve the latter aspect of my previous sentence, and probably the first part of it as well.