Project/Daily FR-S

[ScottyB]

That is impressive, they don't look that bad even on 20 yr old BMWs :dunno:

seriously, that is atrocious. has any other FRS driver seen anything similar?

that top donut looks exactly like the one i saw on my car when i put the catback on years ago. the stocker was barely scuffed up after 30k miles, but that was having never touched salt.

[interfooler]

To my knowledge, no one else has had this issue, aftermarket or stock. I've just had shitty luck with the exhaust on this car with a lot of little things popping up. I don't know why I always run into problems while no one else does, haha. :dunno:

[SlimKlim]

Cars are weird. I had a nasty hot-start-up rattle in the VW that I couldn't figure out. Thought my timing chain tensioner was about to shit the bed and eat the motor. Went away when I replaced the battery, I still can't understand why.

[interfooler]

Back from the dead... Had a change in priorities towards the end of the semester and then through the summer. Car needs some TLC and a few other things. Additionally a few small problems have surfaced.

First, around early July, a bolt on my short throw adapter (connects the shift lever to the arm) came loose and just about backed itself all the way out. This resulted in an almost undriveable car since the shifter would move all over the place. Turns out this was a common problem, so TRD added a step to loctite the bolt, but that wouldn't always prevent this. So I ended up getting a longer bolt and a nut for the other side (doesn't have one by design), in addition to the loctite. So far so good...

The next issue are my shocks. I'm on aftermarket coilovers that have about 35k miles on them and 3 winters. The ride has gotten so incredibly rough over the past year, I don't give them much longer till the shocks go. They're not leaking and the shocks themselves aren't making noise, so they're still "ok," technically speaking. I didn't expect them to last long, but I didn't expect them to go this quickly. So, as they say, "do it right or do it twice." Hind sight is 20/20; if I had only saved a little more money at the start. This just forces me to do what I wanted to do for a while now.

I'm going to get a pair of Racecomp Engineering yellow springs to put on the OEM shocks. They provide a 20mm drop and are well designed for the shocks, so I don't have to worry about blowing them after 1000 miles like the ones that drop the car ~1.5" In theory, they probably are better performing than the setup I'm running now. Only issue is that I need camber bolts or have to fork up $$ for some camber plates for the OEM struts... That's something I'll deal with later. My only priority is just getting off of these solid shocks. I'm aiming for Thanksgiving to be on the new setup. It can't come soon enough, haha.


Down the road (ideally, 1+ years, once I'm settled in) I'm going to get new coilovers. I was thinking sticking with RCE (uses revalved KWs), KW, or other quality brands. I thought about rebuilding my coilovers, but the cost to do it is not justified.

[ScottyB]

I'm going to get a pair of Racecomp Engineering yellow springs to put on the OEM shocks.

those are a very good bet. i've wanted RCE Blacks for a while now....not only does the spring rate work better than others for stock valving but you're also going to get some side benefits out of a more sane ride height, like a better camber curve, more grip on most street surfaces, and less stress on the rear drive shafts which i've heard like to blow out on the lowered cars.

Down the road (ideally, 1+ years, once I'm settled in) I'm going to get new coilovers. I was thinking sticking with RCE, (revalved KWs), KW, or other quality brands.

don't both rebuilding, the foundation is going to remain the same problem - cheap materials that will wear out in another 3 years and you'll be kicking yourself twice for missing your chance to start fresh with a quality setup.

give Feal a look.
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they are a legit suspension builder and know how to valve shocks right for strut setups. the 441's are a good entry level street/track choice and should last well.

[.RJ]

Koni.

[rherold9]

Koni.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[D_Eclipse9916]

Just FYI,

Might want to look at pricing for rebuilds on KWs (hint: Extremely Expensive and seem to last 40-60k miles)

Konis are cheap, are good for 99% of applications, are cheap to rebuild once they wear out (60-100k miles of street driving), and can also be custom valved.

[interfooler]

those are a very good bet. i've wanted RCE Blacks for a while now....not only does the spring rate work better than others for stock valving but you're also going to get some side benefits out of a more sane ride height, like a better camber curve, more grip on most street surfaces, and less stress on the rear drive shafts which i've heard like to blow out on the lowered cars.

Yep, just other reasons why I want to go this route. I'm lowered almost 1.75" I have a 1-2 finger gap. I've gotten used to driving low, but I don't like it. I wanted to raise the car, but the locking collars are seized. That was the first problem I've had with the coilovers. I stopped caring for them about a year and a half ago. Also, I wanted to get whiteline roll center correctors (?) but that would bump me out of STX for autocross (not that I really care all that much anyway since I do it for fun). In regards to the axles, I had a clicking noise about a year ago... turns out it was a loose axle nut, so I dodged that bullet. Mechanically, this car has been solid. Every problem I've had has been with a specific mod I've done. Other than that, no issues whatsoever. I don't know how people blow up their motors or rip through clutches at 12,000 miles. I haven't exactly been the sweetest to this car, so it beats me, haha. :dunno:

don't both rebuilding, the foundation is going to remain the same problem - cheap materials that will wear out in another 3 years and you'll be kicking yourself twice for missing your chance to start fresh with a quality setup.

give Feal a look.
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they are a legit suspension builder and know how to valve shocks right for strut setups. the 441's are a good entry level street/track choice and should last well.

Yeah, I wasn't going to rebuild at all. It would cost a significant amount, for what it is. Money better spent elsewhere. And I've heard good things about Feal. They got into the game with this car a little late. My only issue is that they're still on the cheaper end (yes, I know ST is "cheap" as well)...but we all know how that market works... cough cough, BC, cough. "they're great!" "best option out there!" "such a big performance increase even though I only have subjective data!" .... every entry level system is "good" so to speak, but not enough people have Feal for this car to really make me say "ok, i'll give them a try." I was one of the first handful to have a setup from Fortune Auto for this car. They've since moved on to the version 5. They were supposed to be good, but they just didn't last me. I don't want to jump in with them and have this same outcome. Regardless, Feal isn't the option I want to take down the road. My only considerations now are systems with an MSRP of $2000+. (doesn't mean that I will pay full retail, though, lol). I'd go for a spring/strut combo before I'd go for another "entry" coilover.

Koni

That would be good if was looking into struts as well...and if the setup with springs didn't cost $1000. This is just a temporary thing to hold me till I can properly setup the suspension, so $300 and springs matched to the OEM strut sounds much better than $1000. I don't have to worry about the struts failing since the setup is essentially OEM, so I'm not going to get struts. But again, this is just for right now, not the future. Also, even if I just get the springs now, they can be used on aftermarket struts later on, so it may actually save me some money down the road.

words

You helped point out a punctuation error in my post; I've since edited it. I was not going to attempt to buy used and revalve KWs. RCE uses revalved or custom valved (I can't remember which) KWs for their systems. I'll have to give them another looks and see about longevity. My original plan was "ball out" as the swagalicious kids say nowadays, and get a well known and proven coilover. My other option would be springs and struts. They would be cheaper and would essentially do the same thing, up to a certain point. Regardless which option I go, I'd still have to get camber plates as well, so it's not like coilovers win on that regard. I still have plenty of time to figure this out. My goal is to just have a properly set up car that won't be spine shattering anymore. As I've said, my priorities shifted, so it's springs until then. Is it the best solution? No. But right now it's better than what I have.

[interfooler]

Sorry if this post is coming off as snarky or "thanks but no thanks." Not my intention. I haven't had coffee yet and have a good bit of stuff to do right now. I already typed too much so I'm not going to go back and edit it all. Basically the TL;DR is thank you for the input, but right now I'm going to just get these springs. I have an idea of what I want to do in the future when the time comes, but I have several options and I'm not trying to limit myself just yet.

[D_Eclipse9916]

If you are spending $2k plus, I wouldnt even bother looking at KW or any KW variant. I put them on the same plane as custom-valved yellows. Getting Feal/KW is the same path you have already walked.

At that price point, there is only a couple shocks I would deal with: MCS Single, Ohlins or Penske if they made a shock for you car.

After 3 years of hard racing where most shocks need rebuilds every season or two, my Moton Singles 1st of all held up 100%, dynoed like they were new, and continue on another car where they still are working great. (Moton is now MCS).

I have ran countless cars over countless shocks, noting the suspension setups each time. Beleive me, there is a large and considerable difference between junk like Fortune Auto/BC/AST/Japanese crap vs properly valved Konis/Bilsteins. And then a HUGE step up to MCS/Moton/Ohlins/Penske.

Even right now I have MCS on the race car, Ohlins on the LS1/M3, and higher-end Konis 3013s on the z06

The Ohlins are 7+ years old but feel awesome, the MCS are just mind-blowing, and the Konis have less than 5k miles on them but feel slightly blown and could use a rebuild (I am hard on shocks). The Fortune Auto/AST/BC Racing junk all feel WAYYY too stiff (and I come from full blown aero/slick setups), hop around, very little shock control, and make the car handle like a pogo stick.

[.RJ]

Koni

That would be good if was looking into struts as well...and if the setup with springs didn't cost $1000. This is just a temporary thing to hold me till I can properly setup the suspension

Koni struts & some GC sleeves/springs will give you a 'properly setup' suspension at a much lower cost compared to some of the other options. The quality and adjustability of their shocks is really fantastic and a step above all of the Tein/Feel/Fortune/etc stuff - sure they dont look so blingy with anodized shock bodies and a nice marketing campaign and lots of fanbois touting how awesome they are on the internet, but the proof is in the performance. I have used them on a bunch of cars over the years, and will be putting a set of their street FSD shocks on my panzer wagon soon.

[ScottyB]

My only considerations now are systems with an MSRP of $2000+. (doesn't mean that I will pay full retail, though, lol). I'd go for a spring/strut combo before I'd go for another "entry" coilover.

oh i see. thought you were maintaining a relatively similar to slightly higher budget on the next choice - i just ASSumed.

this being the case i would immediately head straight for a koni/ground control setup as the others have mentioned. for a street car that's occasionally competing in stuff, that's a fine setup.

if you don't plan to corner weight your car or adjust height/alignment every season, i don't see any issue with a well chosen spring/strut combo with a quality adjustable shock (like a koni yellow). you can't beat how easy those setups are to live with...no collars, no camber plates to have to change over to in order to accommodate a new top mount.