I would like to share my thoughts on the R2 setup that is offered by Eibach.


I was in contact with Eibach about the coilover setup for my Track Only ITR. The kit is now offered with spring rate choice and I went with 800lb front, 1000lb rear spring rates as they are my preference. Eibach and the entire crew were nothing but helpful and fast to respond to my questions and put together the R2's that I wanted. Other then the spring rate choice I went with ots valving.

I received the R2's very well packed and upon opening the box I could tell the high caliber build of this setup. Loved the "Made in the USA" stamped right on top of the upper mounts. The craftsmanship is that of other high end shocks that I have seen and inspected.


I found a few hours to install my custom Eibach R2's.

Install was straight forward as many shock/coilover setups we are use too. Coming from PIC's and JDM style coilovers like them, the install and removal of such, is a breeze, due to the coilover length is short when setup at a decent ride height and camber setting for track use.

The R2's are a bit different in this respect. They do not have a "spinable" lower perch. The length of the shock body when not compressed(installing) is long. I would say as long as stock. The rear's went on without much work with just removing the lower shock bolt and the upper arm bolt. I still had to compress the shock as much as I could by hand to get it to line up for the re install of the LCA bolt. Compressing the shock can be done slightly only because the helper spring is the only spring being compressed and not the main 1000lb spring.

The fronts were a different story for me. My car may be lacking in the "droop/slack" area since everything has been held in place by my previous "little droop" coilovers/setups. With my the lower fork resting at its lowest point(on the axle), the shock was still a slight challenge to get into the top of the fork. I ended up loosening my inner front lca bolt and aslo my front compliance bushing to allow just a little more/maximum droop of the front LCA's. After some deep breathes and angles I got things lined up and installed bolts. Then loaded suspension and torqued bolts. Always remember to load your suspension first!

I then played with ride height and camber settings. For initial setup I like to pay attention to my camber settings first. I start with close to -3 front camber and -2 rear. Once at this point, I then continue with weighing and fine tuning and corner balancing. I am going to start with 2 clicks of compression and 3 clicks of rebound. This will be my first time dialing in double adjustable dampers so this will be a learning curve.

The rear Reservoirs are attached to the damper and that makes less of a hassle and cleaner install. The fronts you have to route the reservoirs to your most desirable position. Per Insight from another owner, I ended up taking the driver side through the splash shield and up through the washer bottle hole. The Passenger side was a bit more "fishing" as I was deciding the best option for me. I have the Mugen Intake and Brake ducting to deal with on the passenger side and it made it a thought filled process. Final outcome was the reservoir going between the trans mount attachment point on the frame rail, then up under the intake/filter area then the line crossing over the abs and to the front mounting point.

With more room and a cleaner looking install I also placed my reservoirs in the front of the engine bay. Two existing holes on the usdm front core suppport make perfect holes for a 10mm headed bolt and two washers(one locking) and a nut. Install came out very clean of the reservoirs. I am going to add some wire loom the the reservoir lines to prevent chafing which will occur. I snapped a couple cell phone pics and will attach.


I have taken the car to VIR and Summit Point to give the setup a shake down. With my camber at my preferred settings and corner balance complete I set out for my first session. I must admit, I was not looking for the noticable change right off the bat. I thought fine tuning and adjustments were going to be a on going process to dial in the shocks. I must honestly say I was wrong!

After warming up tires and brakes I was very impressed with the low speed damping of the shocks! The car felt so much more stable in transitions. Very much so more Planted, less roll even with the same spring rates with other setups. With the design that Eibach has gone with, allowing more droop. The car is so much more stable in corners and when touching curbing/gators. The car does not become twitchy when on rough track surfaces. The settings that I started with in both compression and rebound felt so good to me that I will stick with them.

I must say, anyone looking for a great coilover setup for any car will be very impressed. The design and research that Eibach has pit into these setups has paid off for them. Truly buildng/selling an amazing setup that is priced very fair for what you are getting! Thank you Tony and Eibach for putting out yet another great product. Your attention to detail and the above and beyond customer service is what makes your product and company a pleasure to deal with.

 

 

Great write-up Steve. I'm very much looking forward to purchasing these units soon.

 

ricer checkered flag!!

 

great review from some real world testing. It's nice to see you used similar alignment and height settings as well as the same spring rates. It takes out some of the variables that make us readers think "oh its just the combination of all this new stuff". May I ask what dampers you were previously using?

If only HC didn't dock you so much weight for externals...

-Mark (who's working on a rookie season in H2 within the next year)

 

Steve was on PIC+.

 

Good stuff, Steve! Thanks for posting a write up.

 

Any reason you didn't ziptie the reservoirs to the strut brace? Just curious as that seems to be where most people put em.

 

Car looks great. What tire and size are you running?

 

I asked the same question over on itrexpo, here is his response.

 

Eibach provides a very nice set of clamps/holders for the reservoirs. With my engine bay, the mounting just worked out better on the front. The factory holes on the rad support were a perfect spot to mount them. "To each their own"