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So the more I drive around with my new wheels/tires, the more I hear the occasional rub of the fenders on big dips or uneven roads. I'm considering going the coilover route so I can dial in ride height. I'm not sure I'm going to do it just yet, I have no issues with how the car handles after all the suspension mods I've done, but I wanted to at least get all the information before I decide.
Does anyone know what tool he's talking about exactly for removing the suspension knuckle from the steering arm? He mentions he borrowed it from advance auto, but I didn't see the name of the tool to ask for.
Is this going to be any more complicated than coilovers were to install on my Miata? (other than drilling a hole in the trunk liner for the adjustment valve) I'm going to do it at a DIY shop with a lift and air tools, I did the Miata in my driveway with an impact gun and hand tools back in the day.
NOW... the big question, and yes, I've read a number of posts from the last 15 years or so. Which coilovers are the best for RIDE COMFORT (this car is never going to see a track, that's what God made Miatas for)?
It sounds like the Tein Comfort Sport are the most comfortable, but at $2000 + the EDFC controller to play with the damping from inside the cabin it's way out of my budget for this.
Probably a very close second seems to be MeisterR, though all the reviews for the MeisterR's seem to be for older versions with lower spring rates (9kg/7kg) not the ZetaCRD they sell now with a 12kb/6kg spring rate, though I can't find a single person on any car forum who says they didn't love their MeisterR's. I emailed them to ask about spring rates and what they recommend if comfort is the top priority.
Runners up appear to be the BC, D2, or Ksport setups? (in terms of comfort).
Any coilover owners want to chime in with their experiences?
Lastly, I'm fairly certain $1000'ish is not a feasible budget for any sort of air suspension setup, but I'm not really well versed and thought I would throw the question out there just incase. I would imagine bags would be the most comfortable ride, but between price and finding a place to put the compressor/pump it's probably not going to happen. Someone please prove me wrong, lol.
You can customize it even with an external reservoir.
WHOA. This wasn't even on my radar. Dual springs, custom spring rates, pillow ball top plates, they tailor it to what you want, but a competitive price point? You can even choose the anodize color!
Then I noticed you can upgrade it to an all-included airbag setup which puts it basically around the price of those Teins, but with bags!
Have you ever owned anything from Ceika? I must admit I'm not familiar with them, but perhaps they were never big on any of the cars I've owned. Do they have a good reputation/build quality/etc?
I wonder if anyone on here has used them before, I'm very interested now.
I know a lot of Porsche 996 owners has them. I know another person here installed them. I personally have BC coilovers with Swift Springs from 2017 only to discover Ceika after my install... I was interested in the external reservoir even though this car doesn't need it. But it does bring a little more prestige than a regular coilovers I guess.
I know a lot of Porsche 996 owners has them. I know another person here installed them. I personally have BC coilovers with Swift Springs from 2017 only to discover Ceika after my install... I was interested in the external reservoir even though this car doesn't need it. But it does bring a little more prestige than a regular coilovers I guess.
Thank you for posting this.
There were a lot of good reviews in my research of the BC coilovers with Swift Springs.
Maybe some owners will chime in. After tweaking the Ceikas to just the way I'd want them (not including air), they only come out like $160 more than the MeisterR (without pillow top plates), or 245 with them. and $60 more if I decide I can't live with light blue, lol.
I have some thinking to do now.
Are the camber plates even needed? I already have 30mm RCAs which correct the geometry from lowering if I understand them right. (I bought them to clear big brakes and lower the car originally)
I would definitely go with the camber plates especially on how deep you've already went with your mods although I'm not sure how the RCA would play with it. This will help with fitment of any wheels/tires in the future. There's handful of reviews and videos about Ceika quality and performance just not specific to our cars.
Air bag system doesn't have a track record of being reliable - even the system Toyota uses on their LS460 is prone to failures. Though comfort, adjustable is unmatched with a correctly tuned air system. Air cup systems is one thing I have yet to look into.
There were a lot of good reviews in my research of the BC coilovers with Swift Springs.
Maybe some owners will chime in. After tweaking them to just the way I'd want them (not including air), they only come out like $160 more than the MeisterR (without pillow top plates), or 245 with them. and $60 more if I decide I can't live with light blue, lol.
I have some thinking to do now.
Are the camber plates even needed? I already have 30mm RCAs which correct the geometry from lowering if I understand them right. (I bought them to clear big brakes and lower the car originally)
You might need camber adjustment for the front. The Sage RCA you have can do 1-2 degree adjustment for the rear. Your front RCA doesn't have any camber adjustment.
This air cup system looks interesting.
We can get the the whole thing for 2 grand. Need some reviews and reading.
I was thinking about MeisterR myself but I replaced all new shocks recently and the car drives great. Maybe that tax refund I just got might fit the bill
I would definitely go with the camber plates especially on how deep you've already went with your mods although I'm not sure how the RCA would play with it. This will help with fitment of any wheels/tires in the future. There's handful of reviews and videos about Ceika quality and performance just not specific to our cars.
Air bag system doesn't have a track record of being reliable - even the system Toyota uses on their LS460 is prone to failures. Though comfort, adjustable is unmatched with a correctly tuned air system. Air cup systems is one thing I have yet to look into.
The LS430 air system was quite good and reliable except when run out of spec. My 04 UL went 130k miles / 12 years before I sold it without any issues. Adding the controller to manually control height is what leads to premature failure. They were not designed to handle this.
You might need camber adjustment for the front. The Sage RCA you have can do 1-2 degree adjustment for the rear. Your front RCA doesn't have any camber adjustment.
This air cup system looks interesting.
We can get the the whole thing for 2 grand. Need some reviews and reading.
I was thinking about MeisterR myself but I replaced all new shocks recently and the car drives great. Maybe that tax refund I just got might fit the bill
The problem I'm having in the rear is that under heavy compression (dips on the highway) the rubber hits the plastic around the screw that sticks out and connects the fender liners together towards the back if you run your finger along the edge of the fender. Kind of hard to describe, but I think the only solution is to raise it up about a 1/4" and/or have suspension that doesn't compress so much.
The fronts don't rub often, but every so often on some weird road terrain you'll hear it... another 1/4" there would probably solve that too, though it's barely noticeable. It's the rear that happens too often for my taste. I probably should have known better than to be so aggressive with my wheels/tires without an adjustable suspension, but I guess I underestimated just how much lower 30mm was with the RCAs.
A full airbag kit for 2g sounds amazing, but I think my limit is around a grand for this (thank you stimulus check!). I've been letting the tail wag the dog with this car, lol (big brakes made me buy wheels and tires, wheels and tires are making me buy coilovers, lol). Plus I don't want to part with what little trunk space there is, so mounting all the hardware for the airbags would probably be an issue.
I've always been jealous the LS430 came with air suspension from the factory, and also adaptive cruise control! Do they have the parking sensors too? I wish we could retrofit that from the EU/JDM SC's.
The problem I'm having in the rear is that under heavy compression (dips on the highway) the rubber hits the plastic around the screw that sticks out and connects the fender liners together towards the back if you run your finger along the edge of the fender. Kind of hard to describe, but I think the only solution is to raise it up about a 1/4" and/or have suspension that doesn't compress so much.
The fronts don't rub often, but every so often on some weird road terrain you'll hear it... another 1/4" there would probably solve that too, though it's barely noticeable. It's the rear that happens too often for my taste. I probably should have known better than to be so aggressive with my wheels/tires without an adjustable suspension, but I guess I underestimated just how much lower 30mm was with the RCAs.
A full airbag kit for 2g sounds amazing, but I think my limit is around a grand for this (thank you stimulus check!). I've been letting the tail wag the dog with this car, lol (big brakes made me buy wheels and tires, wheels and tires are making me buy coilovers, lol). Plus I don't want to part with what little trunk space there is, so mounting all the hardware for the airbags would probably be an issue.
I've always been jealous the LS430 came with air suspension from the factory, and also adaptive cruise control! Do they have the parking sensors too? I wish we could retrofit that from the EU/JDM SC's.
Simple solution for the rear, get rid of your spacer or get a thinner one.
Or another way is to increase your negative camber, but your rear tires won't last long.
Simple solution for the rear, get rid of your spacer or get a thinner one.
Or another way is to increase your negative camber, but your rear tires won't last long.
I don't have a spacer on the rear (I tried in the beginning, but that had to come off). The wheels are 19x10 ET25 with 285/35s. I stuffed that wheel well, lol.
The red circle is where the screw is on the inside, the plastic mount for the screw sticks out a bit.
Maybe negative camber might help, -2 degree and a flat screw ? That's pretty bad rub.
I just look at mine, if I lower, I might be in the same boat.
Currently I have KYB in the rear which might help because it's 1 1/2 in taller than stock. It'll hit the bump stop before the tires hit the fender.
My rear offset is 40 and 9.5 width.
Maybe negative camber might help, -2 degree and a flat screw ? That's pretty bad rub.
I just look at mine, if I lower, I might be in the same boat.
Currently I have KYB in the rear which might help because it's 1 1/2 in taller than stock. It'll hit the bump stop before the tires hit the fender.
My rear offset is 40 and 9.5 width.
When I had the fenders rolled/trimmed, they thought it was rubbing on the plastic surrounding the screw, but now that I went under there with a light to take a pic, it looks to me like maybe it is rubbing on the actual screw, which would really suck. Here's a pic of the screw mounted and then taken off, the black on the screw makes me think it is what is rubbing.
BUT, that is actually good news because I'm going to see if a flat screw makes it better.
EDIT: I have no idea why some of the pictures are turned the wrong way, the original pictures look correct on my end.
The screw head + washer measures 5.12mm (.2"). I'll go to home depot tomorrow and find the flattest screw that fits. Is this #stancelife? lol
I'm thinking a Truss head sheet metal screw might be the ticket (pic below). I could try a flathead screw, but I might have to modify the plastic mount to sink it and I definitely don't want to break that.
I haven't been on the sight for awhile, so not sure of all the mods you have done, but wanted to ask if you're still using the stock shocks ? If so, that could be the major issue. After I lowered mine, I would always warn guys on the forum, if they did any type of lowering, the stock shocks would let you know with some rubbing occasionally. Also I noticed you were running a 35 series tire, a 30 series might eliminate this also...........good luck & let us know what setup you decide, I'm thinking about changing my lowering springs out, for coilovers or an airbag setup. Problem is, I haven't had an issue with the springs & they have served me very well
04-17-20, 11:21 AM
Let's revisit coilovers (and airbags)!
