i have done a lot of research, but figured i would get some type r owner feedback. I'm looking get a set coilovers for my 97 integra type r. the car is used for the occasional track day and only weekend or evening pleasure use. I'm looking for something that will outperform the stock setup, but will not break my back on the street. budget is around $1200. Personal feedback only, want to see what you are using and how its held up over the years. i know street/strip is a tough compromise but as along as its gonna outperform the stock setup on the track...

 

Personal feedback:

PIC coilovers- good quality, not chinese, in your budget, different available spring rates.

Mugen lowdowns- favourite for the street by far, took out some body roll on track days too, over your budget new, find a used set.

Tein SS- limited experience with them but seemed like good quality, in your budget.

 

I have the same goals for my R, so I went with Ground Controls with extended top hats and Konis without considering anything else. Over the years, it seems affordable brands of coilovers come and go, but GC/Koni have anyways been around. Built to order, custom spring rates, lifetime warranty, I figured I could not go wrong.

 

what rates are you running in front and rear? I'm leaning towards this combo.

 

Using the Koni/GC myself. You definitely can't go wrong for a street/weekend warrior setup. Other full coilover setups in the same price range I've found too harsh. Don't go more than 600-650lbs on your rates as the OTS Koni Yellows aren't valved to handle more than that. Higher rates will require the race version of the Koni's. If you want to keep the neutral feel of your stock setup and maximize the potential of the OTS koni's, you can try 650 front and 600 rear. This will keep you within range for the shocks and not break your back on the streets. If you ever need more rotation, you can then upgrade your rear sway bar without affecting ride quality.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking something around the 450 range for the front and back. 600 might be a little too stiff for the street...

 

After calling GC and answering some questions, they set up me with 430/350. IIRC, they asked me what ride height I would have the car at and if it was a real R with the oem front strut tower brace because they machine the top of the top hat of the fronts to clear the brace.

 

Skip the extended tophats and just get the Koni Race shocks for the ITR. You'll pay more, but not a lot more (when you figure in cost of the tophats) and all the trick stuff is done to the shocks already. They are shortened and you also get the superior SPSS3 valving and they can run up to 1000lb rates.

And to keep the factory R "balance" do something like 400/450 or 500/500 or so. Remember that stock is 250ft /250rear (progressive).

I wouldn't go above 600lbs if you want to maintain OEMish street manners.

 

Yup, all true ^^^^.

But for someone just looking for a better (mostly street) setup, I think the choice of OTS yellows and extended tophats for the front is probably a solid option. You certainly won't have the range of rebound adjustment that the Race ones give you but it'll save some cash and you can always re-sell the OTS shocks/tophats to someone else if you decide that you want/need to run higher rate springs or have more adjustment range.

 

If it's just a street setup, then it shouldn't be slammed anyways and extended tophats really aren't needed in that case either. Lowering the car less than an inch on firmer springrates with smaller bumpstops should not have one bottoming out a Koni yellow. Especially since you can use the bottom circlip on the yellows.

I dunno...I'm not a huge fan of extended tophats as you don't really need them if you buy the correct shock/spring combo for what it is you'll be doing (and run at a realistic ride height). If OP wants to slam the car though on OTS yellows, then he'll need the tophats.

 

It's funny but in my earlier post I started to type a response about sliding the shock in the fork and trimming the bumpstop being a viable option vs. the extended tophats and then reconsidered it. Why? Because most folks who are asking "what coilover should I get" questions probably aren't looking to fiddle with the shock setup to get the right amount of travel. I completely agree that extended tophats aren't a necessity but they are an easy button... but, to your point, it'll come down to ride height vs. spring rate. If he's going with 450/350 then he's not going to be able to get too low really.

 

excellent info, thanks. I'm not looking to slam the car at all. Maybe an inch or so all the way around. just to lower the centre of gravity a bit. not into the tucked look, want some gap between the tire and fender arch. never thought about the koni race shocks. will the better valving make the ride any stiffer?

 

Yeah, you won't want to be "tucking tire" with the rates that you're talking about. I'm at ~4" to the bottom of the jack tab up front on 650's and still ran into issues bottoming the UCA against the body over larger bumps (going to 750's):



I don't know that I'd say that they'll be stiffer exactly. The shorter body will help keep the shock from bottoming as easily which will actually make the ride a little better. IIRC, the rebound adjustment picks up at something like 2/3rd of the OTS shock and then extends quite a bit higher. The result is that you can run them at basically full soft, still have a well damped shock, but have way more headroom to sharpen the car for track/autox.

PS
Never leave your Koni's all the way soft or hard; always back off just a touch from the limit of either adjustment. If you don't, it can lead to frozen adjusters over time.

 

your car looks about where i would want my car to sit, even a tad higher. gonna have to save a bit more for the race koni's but seems like the better way to go if i get more serious about tracking the itr. would the race koni work well with something like 450/450? or do they need a stiffer spring to work properly?

 

Race Konis will work on OEM springs up to about 1000lbs. 450lbs is well within their range. I'm running Koni race shocks on my OEM springs (with the circlip set on the bottom of the shock).

 

I used 360F/380R GC springs with OTS Koni Yellows. I lowered the car 2.5" and it rode like ****. I then raised it up so it was only lowered 1" or so and it was like magic. Rode great.

I tracked it in a few different configurations...all with the same springs/shocks, and it was more than quick each time.

 

I went back and checked my notes, that pic was at a slightly higher ride height than where the car is now. Still, I think you're going to need more than 450# rates up front to keep the car from riding horribly. I'd think more in the 550-600 range.

As mentioned by Todd, the Race shocks work fine with lower rates. It just means that you've got extra rebound adjustment available.

 

I have Koni's on mine and track it occasionally, I am very satisfied with them and recommend them highly.