Looking for any updated takes on coilovers for a DC2 integra turbo. Lots of older threads talking about the GC/Koni setup, but wanted to see if these are still the king in 2024. My budget is around 1500 (willing to spend a tad more if it will make a big difference). Two other brands I've seen mentioned are Buddy Club and Fortune Auto. Thoughts?
FYI my use case will be more of a weekend warrior. Have most of a turbo kit and intend to make around 500whp, drive back roads, etc. I live in the Hampton Roads area so the roads out here can be a little rough. Appreciate the input.

 

FA are pretty decent. Possibly also look into Redshift modified BC suspension: RedShift Motorsports - Your home for RedShift and BC Racing Coilovers – RedShiftMotorsports

Either way, $1500 is honestly pretty tight for a decent setup in 2024.

As a long-time GC/Koni user, I can't really recommend them anymore. There are too many better options for just a little bit above the $1500 price point.

 

Seeing some good things about them online. From the website the Street coils sound more like what I'm looking for than the competition. Youd recommend those over the GC/Koni? Attractive pricing as well.

 

Koni/GC has never really been very good honestly. It's fundamental - they don't have much compression damping and it's by design. They also can't take more than a 500lb spring and that's pretty low for what people tend to run on these cars in 2024. You need to run the extended top hats if you're more than ~30mm lowered - there's another cost. They were a good option when the only other thing at a similar price point was Function/Form and other far-east junk and the next step up was double the price.

Revalved Konis with the SPSS3 race valving are fairly decent but at $1k just for the bare dampers you're back into proper coilover territory and still kickin' it with a twin tube OE replacement damper.

If I wasn't queued up for building an engine I'd probably do a set of FA 510s for the daily, but 500s are really all I would ever need for that car (it's 100% street). The Redshift/BCs have piqued my interest lately though too.

 

Kind of leaning towards the FA 500 rn. Noticed Redline only offers 2yr warrenty, FA has 5yr for their stuff. That alone may be the deal breaker for me. Kinda decided against Koni at this point.

 

I think the FA dampers are better units than the BCs that the Redshifts use.

 

Alright, decided I'm going with the fortune autos. Looking to pick your brain on one more topic: spring rates/sway bar. From what I'm seeing online, 10k/8k spring rates are pretty close to fitting my needs, although I'm slightly tempted to get 9k/7k for a bit of added comfort since I don't plan on doing much tracking the car. With that in mind, do you have any thoughts for sway bar size, specifically ITR vs ASR? Both will be a big upgrade over my current GSR (14mm from what I was seeing online).

 

I've always loved tein flex-z for the price. Track and street. And they just lowered prices. Stick with Japanese made suspension. My $0.02

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Teins are okay. They work well enough. They’re not serviceable really, but they still sell replacement dampers if you need them, right?

For Japanese made, you can also find Ohlins DFV for a little under $2k. Look for Australian vendors, the exchange rate is favorable. Their dampers are really really good.

KW v2 are also really good and right at $1500. Their off the shelf spring rates are really street oriented but the quality is top notch. Pretty sure you can order them with custom rates directly through KW. Most of the pro build race cars I work on a moving toward KW.

 

If you haven't pulled the trigger yet check out www.flatoutsuspension.net I don't have experience using them yet but I did buy a set and hopefully they will be installed soon.


Flatout are not afraid to tell you where there stuff is made or sourced either.

 

Bite the bullet on the FA 500, along with ASR 24mm sway bar. Got 10k front and 7k rear, will post update with how it rides after the install.

 

What rates did you end up going with? I'm looking for the same, street track coilover that's around 1500. Where did you order yours from, I haven't seen them but have heard of them.

 

Got 10k front and 7k rear. Have all the old suspension ripped out right now, will start installing the new kit this weekend. Bought mine off of https://cygnusperformance.com/, they had the best deal after taxes/shipping. Very excited to get it done and hit the streets. It did take about a month after purchasing before the coils showed up, so take that into account for your timeline.

 

Hey, that guy is based where I grew up! Looks like they have some good products too. Neat.

 

Post summer check-in. How did your new suspension work out?

I ended up trading a few emails with Geoff at Cygnus and ordered a set of his X-1 Motorsport Editions with Hypercos on board. Now the waiting game to get them begins.

 

Finally got the suspension finished, along with the apr sway bar and function7 lcas. Rides amazingly, way more planted on the road. Not the smoothest ride in the world, but substantially less bouncy than the tein/raceland combo I was running before. Nothing but smiles here.

 

Nice! I can imagine it was a huge change coming from Racelands

I've got a couple of weeks left to wait for my X-1s from Geoff. Really looking forward to them. Had to switch out the Hypercos for swifts due to supply, otherwise everything is coming along.

 

Mine are here! Just waiting for this pile of dirt to be out of my driveway so I can get into the garage and do werk. Geoff is the real deal btw, hands down some of the best customer service and communication I've ever had.

 

Keep us updated.

 

Will do! I'm really getting anxious to get this stuff done. I've had to put off most projects for the last two years or so, it's been really frustrating.

 

Man, car has been great for the last month since I got my stuff on. What a difference from my shagged out old Konis. The coilovers took a little longer than expected but were worth the wait. Geoff @ Cygnus is the boss as far as I'm concerned and I will 100% do more business when the time comes.

Went from 475fr/330rr, so about 8.5k & 6k, to 10k/8k and the thing is still much smoother. I also changed the geometry quite a bit - roll centers, caster, bump steer, front bar diameter, along with some fresh bushings and a couple of swaps for sphericals - so it's hard to compare anything but the ride between the two. I also get a loud but satisfying "thwack thwack" when I change lanes with the spherical compliance bearings in the front and rear. I don't think I'd recommend that for the typical user, but I love it.

Valving is great on these things, and the adjustments are noticeable and usable. I need to take it (at least the front) apart, sort out my bump steer settings, roll my fenders a bit more, and add some packer so I can't bottom frame and/or run the arms into the towers and/or tires into the frame, otherwise I think I'm done with the chassis on this car. Thing is an absolute bomber now, can't wait to get it out in the canyons, and maybe out to Streets of Willow for some fun laps. It's nice to have the car make me grin again

Good stuff all around. Under $1500? Nope. The dampers are fantastic though and are honestly a steal at $2140 with the Swifts. Do recommend.

 

Late response- I was thinking of going with spherical compliance bearings on my Civic too but I daily it lol. Not sure if I'd enjoy if I'd enjoy it on a daily basis, but I'm thinking I'd definitely love it on spirited drives and track days though.

 

They are definitely loud. I'm satisfied, but my daily driving cycle amounts to about 6k per year, so I can see where it would be exhausting if I was doing long road trips or lots of hours in the car in general.

 

Man, @spAdam got the WHOLE HONED setup on there ha.

 

Yeah I have quite a bit of their catalog at this point. Everything that makes sense for a street car, at least.