scott1256c

I'm interested in your thoughts on the following.
I'm considering a set of coilovers for my 2007 IS350.
I'm not going to track the car, but that doesn't mean I don't like to take the occasional corner fast.
My reason for thinking of coilovers is the car is already dropped about 1.5" in the front with Tein S.tech and about 1" in the back.
I like that look and don't want to go much lower.
Where I live we get a reasonable amount of snow, and with the car dropped the way it is, I doubt I'll be able to drive down the back alley in winter. The city does a real poor job of clearing snow in alleys. So for winter I'm going to raise the car, and I don't want to put spacers in every fall and take them out every spring. Adjusting a coilover sounds like less trouble.
I'm considering yonaka spec II coilovers with a spring rate of 10k front 8k rear. Alternative is DGR 13k front 8k rear.
So is 13k going to be too stiff for daily driving? is 10k going to be a little soft? I know they are adjustable for stiffness, but am wondering if 13k,even at the softest setting will seem too firm? As it stands now with the s.tech springs I don't mind the ride. I could handle a little firmer. Don't really want any softer though.
Other things to consider.
DGR are pillowball and you can adjust the camber. I don't think you can with Yonaka.
The Yonaka don't look as well engineered to me, but I'm just looking at pictures and some closeups of welds on the Yonaka vs. DGR, and honestly who can be sure the pictures supplied are even the correct ones.
While I might consider other coilovers, these are the two I'd like opinions on.

Anyway, I'm interested in what you think.

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Never heard of either brand making coilovers.. I guess they're new to the industry, and as such, you may not find many people with actual experience. With that said, I'd take my money and spend it on something proven to be a good performer, like the Megan EZ line. I would suggest BCR or Fortune Auto, but if you're looking at Yonaka and DGR your budget must be along those lines.

I haven't heard of DGR before, but I know Yonaka makes really cheap, low-quality "racing" parts, everything from seats to exhausts. That brand just screams low quality, IMHO.

WylieKylie

iTrader: (2)

Raising and lowering the car every spring and fall is going to to take you several hours, and unless you don't care how the car drives, or how quickly tires wear out you will also need an alignment every time you raise or lower the car.

scott1256c

I guess I had just assumed that it wouldn't be that much work with coilovers. Good thing I asked questions before I purchased. I'll have to rethink this.

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

It's probably easier to just swap out the suspension every time. Coilovers for summer, springs and shocks for winter.

jdmSW20

iTrader: (12)

ive never heard of either brand before so you might be hard up to find a good review on either. like stated above i would just go with a known brand like BC. they wont break the bank and you can get custom spring rates too. they have deals all the time in the vendor section. personally i think 10k/8k is too soft but then again my car is slammed and you have to factor in the 2IS isnt the lightest of cars as well. so those stiffer spring rates arent anything to be afraid of. i wished i had gone 12k/10k myself initially.

good luck man

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

Several hrs to adjust you must be sleeping for several hrs lol. At most 30-40 min to adjust your coilover it isn't rocket science.

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

That will take you longer then making an adjustment on coilover for 30-40min job plus less hassle?

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Unless you somehow screw up the coilover height and make it too low/too high. Then you have to jack the car up and unbolt everything to adjust again. Much easier to just swap it out, no risk of making the wrong adjustments when you raise for winter/lower for summer. You can use tape or a marker or something to mark the threads, but there is a good chance it might wear away or get washed off during winter.

The extra hassle amounts to six bolts in the engine bay.

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

Too funny so jacking up the car and taking everything back out is easier? Then turning a nut to adjust the height with one hand? Idk about you but you can't mess up. Nobody uses tape to mark we us tape measure to assure it even all around. By the time your on your second one I'll be eating and sleeping it that simple too do.

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Ok now I'm not sure what you're talking about. When you adjust height on the coilover (which I'll be honest, I have not done myself), don't you have to jack the car up, remove the wheel, unbolt a few bolts at the base of the coilover, and then spin the coilover shaft? If that's the case, then there are only 3 other bolts to unscrew to take it out, right?

Anyway this is more of a personal preference thing, it can be done both ways. Neither is better than the other, besides the fact that you can reduce mileage on the coilovers and possible seizing on the threads due to winter weather by swapping them out for stock suspension.

scott1256c

This thread is almost dead, and maybe I should have left it that way.
I bought the DGR. They don't have camber adjustment, though that wasn't very clear when I first investigated. They installed without too much difficulty. Build quality looked very good.
I expect they adjust height like most coilovers. No you don't have to remove bolts.
There are 3 collars on the strut, the lower one against the tube is single. The other two are adjacent to each other and locked together at the lower spring perch. To adjust height you loosen the collar at the bottom, spin it up out of the way, then use the spanner to spin one of the other two locking collars at the spring perch. Spin the upper two collars as a pair. If you want to shorten the strut, spin the upper collar. If you want to lengthen the strut spin the lower one. This way you are always spinning one of those two collars to be TIGHTER against the other. This rotates everything expect the top mount and the lower tube. This DOES NOT change the spring preload (which is pretty important). When you have the height you want you retighten he lower collar.

I hope I got which of those two upper collars you spin correct I don't have them in front of me, so I'm doing it with my eyes closed picturing it in my head. Anyway, you know how screws work so just remember to spin one of those two upper collars INTO the other as if you were always trying to tighten them up (they will spin as a pair). The DGR guide book does a CRAPPY job of explaining this. In fact they explain it wrong. There are a couple of youtube videos which demonstrate (and more than a few which DON'T demonstrate).

Anyway, once I figured out what to do, it was pretty simple. I'll just do it when I change tires in the spring and summer and it won't take very long.

I have noticed a clunking sound when I go over some potholes or sharp bumps. From my searches, this seems like a pretty common problem with coilovers. There are a couple of potential remedies, but it is too damn cold out now for me to fart around with the suspension, so I'll live with it until spring. It isn't that bad.
Also, since winter has set in, I can't tell much about how the car will handle. All I'd do if I tried hard cornering would be to slide around, so I won't really be able to tell that until spring either. The ride is definitely stiffer, but not uncomfortably so.