Here's the deal....I've been out of the J scene for a while. I bought a Mazdaspeed6 and that has been my toy for the last year and a half. I pulled the cav out of storage and realized I missed it. I'm selling the Speed6 and looking to get the cav back in action. The thing is, I've gotten used to how awesome the Speed6 rides. It's lowered on Eibachs and still glides along the road nicely. The cav has the Eibach prokit paired up with Tokico D-Specs and rides like total ass. It is so unbelievably harsh, I can't even stand to drive it. Which brings me to my question....
I'm looking for some kind of suspension setup that will give me a decent drop, but still ride nice...is there such an option for the cav? I understand I will never get it to ride as nice as the Speed6, but can I get close? Suspension is the one thing I don't know much about, so I don't really know the pro's and con's between air ride and coilovers and how each of them ride. What would you guys recommend?
2010 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited
1999 Cavalier Z24 Supercharged
1999 Grand AM SE (Beater Car)
1997 GMC Sierra
2007 Honda CBR 600RR
2005 Honda TRX450R
oh man here we go. High dollar coilovers are probly your best bet, but then again i dont know how a mazda rides.
Tiens, or the B&G coilovers are probably your best bet...
IMO the B&G's are the best bang for the buck when it comes to coilovers for j-bodies.
I just put my car on air a few weeks back, and let me tell you it is very stiff... There might be some things that I am missing to get a better ride, but the way it is evey bump is hard as can be.
Well I was afraid this might open a can of worms. So it sounds like coilovers is the way to go. What's everyone opinion on brands? I know we've got Tein, B&G, STD...pro's cons? What should I realistically look to spend? Also, do coilovers come with mounts, and if not what do I want to get?
2010 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited
1999 Cavalier Z24 Supercharged
1999 Grand AM SE (Beater Car)
1997 GMC Sierra
2007 Honda CBR 600RR
2005 Honda TRX450R
I can only compare the old Easystreet airride kit and Tein SS's. Except for stance the Teins trump the airride in every way. In order to get any sort of decent ride i had to run low pressures which ment that i scraped everywhere. The Teins dont ride like stock, but compared to the airride it is alot better.
its an old concept. time for something new to take the reigns. - Z yaaaa
The STD (level 5 or 3) is the better coil over if you want handling since they're dual ride height adjustable. The Teins are still no slouch. I know the Tiens have been called harsh in my car and to be honest, they are. But the benefit of running coilovers is that you can order whatever spring rate you want and put them in for like 250 bucks.
1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by:
Kronos Performance
WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer
adjust your d-specs softer
Ryan Thompson wrote:adjust your d-specs softer
Done that. It helped a little bit, but still rides rough regardless.
2010 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited
1999 Cavalier Z24 Supercharged
1999 Grand AM SE (Beater Car)
1997 GMC Sierra
2007 Honda CBR 600RR
2005 Honda TRX450R
what ef, luke? ur ass must be sensitive as hell cuz my d-specs on even tenzo springs rides pretty damn good...
id say grow a pair and get back to releasing the j-body is @!#$! lol
Dude, it's rough as hell! I'm convinced it's the springs...they are damn near 10 years old. I think they've seen better days.
And once you've ridden in a Speed6, you' agree that it rides and handles like a dream as well!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Thursday, August 11, 2011 4:49 PM
2010 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited
1999 Cavalier Z24 Supercharged
1999 Grand AM SE (Beater Car)
1997 GMC Sierra
2007 Honda CBR 600RR
2005 Honda TRX450R
Cursed Cav wrote:And once you've ridden in a Speed6, you' agree that it rides and handles like a dream as well!
I know exactly what you mean, since putting coilovers on my 2011 GTI it trumps every J I've ever been in in terms of ride quality when lowered and I've owned a bunch of different setups and ridden in a bunch more I'd try to find some locals with a nice setup and go for a ride. You have to remember the Speed 6 is a whole different class of car and honestly I think you'll be a bit disappointed no matter what you go with.
I think shadow fire was selling his STD coilovers from the GP. Mine will be here friday but ill be at work when they get delivered.
Darkstars wrote:Cursed Cav wrote:And once you've ridden in a Speed6, you' agree that it rides and handles like a dream as well!
I know exactly what you mean, since putting coilovers on my 2011 GTI it trumps every J I've ever been in in terms of ride quality when lowered and I've owned a bunch of different setups and ridden in a bunch more I'd try to find some locals with a nice setup and go for a ride. You have to remember the Speed 6 is a whole different class of car and honestly I think you'll be a bit disappointed no matter what you go with.
It sure is hard to give up something that rides so nicely
Unfortunately I live in WI, and there aren't any people around here I know that have any kind of suspension work done to their cars. I realize the Speed6 is a totally different car. It's longer, has independent rear, and weighs 3800 pounds. I think you're right, no matter what I do, I'm going to be a bit disappointed. But if I can get somewhat close and at least bearable, I think I can be happy with it.
2010 Subaru Impreza WRX Limited
1999 Cavalier Z24 Supercharged
1999 Grand AM SE (Beater Car)
1997 GMC Sierra
2007 Honda CBR 600RR
2005 Honda TRX450R
coilovers > bags. you want soft ride and dont care about handling much? set your preload soft. before i tightened up my preload my cav road super soft lol.
Well, made a couple adjustments today and the ride is getting a lot better. I know that it is never going to compare to coilovers, but I am starting to really like the bags, and this is on my daily driver.
I am from Wisconsin, but about 3.5 hrs away from you. Good luck with the hunt, I'm sure you will find the right setup for what you need/want.
azncav wrote:coilovers > bags. you want soft ride and dont care about handling much? set your preload soft. before i tightened up my preload my cav road super soft lol.
You hush. You should never pre-load springs that much. You should always buy the springs in the length and spring rate that you want them. Thats the point of coil overs. The pre-load is there to allow you to make minor adjustments between spring rates as needed. The proper way to set a spring preload is to have the wheel off the ground and tighten the preload up until the spring just barely touches the spring seat.
1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by:
Kronos Performance
WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer
thats how mine is set lol.. i did it off the car actually.
Oh so yours like werent touching to begin with?
1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by:
Kronos Performance
WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer
In my opinion there is no aftermarket suspension set up that can even mildly lower these cars without a harsh ride. No matter what you do the ride will always be significantly worse than stock. Adjusting your shocks to full soft will do nothing. Spring rate is everything. Even progressive springs like the prokit fail to provide comfort anywhere near stock. Don't get me wrong, a quality suspension set up will do wonders for handling ( as mine has ) but as far as comfortable driving on anything short of a freshly paved road, forget it. That is, of course, my opinion.
what you mean ?
i have mine where you cant barely turn the springs by hand i believe
Ok if you really want to be lowered and be soft. Get a set of coil overs with stock upper mounts, buy some 150 lb fronts and 100 lb rears that are 1/2 to 1 inch longer than the current springs and rock those with the damping most of the way soft. It'll ride like a caddy.
azncav, you said you tightened them up to be the correct pre-load so that must mean they werent touching before.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Thursday, August 11, 2011 6:26 PM
1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by:
Kronos Performance
WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer
oh yea when i first installed them the springs had a good amount a play. i went into this with no idea what i was doing lol. thanks to having ground controls.
