Where can I find more info and spec about the JRZ Adjustable coilovers? never heard about them before.

^They are suspension company that builds setups fr club racing up to full race specs. They are almost the same as Moton.

http://www.jrzsuspension.com/index.php?id=16,10,0,0,1,0

KWs do not ride harsh, but handle very well. Just don't get agressive with the compression damping setting. I've had JIC on my '94 Miata in the past and the KWs were far less damaging to the ride, but that was when JIC wanted to put 10k front springs on a 2200 lb car.

One of the reasons it's hard to say what is best for the street is a) everyone has a different objective, b) almost none of us have had the chance to test all these systems, c) street performance is a bit of an oxy-moron. You can be on the street with a killer setup and be "beat" by somebody with a crappy setup just because they are willing to take more chances than you. Darwinism at work.

If the OP is looking for a performance-oriented system that can make back-road romps more fun, not punish you on the daily drive, but still play well for solo or track work on street tires, then KW, Bilstein, and Ohlins are all good bets. As others have stated, be careful with the spring rates - I wouldn't reccomend going much beyond the stock KW/PSS9 rates for the above described duty.

Stance, JIC, Tein will all work just fine as well, although it sounds like perhaps Stance got a little aggresive on the spring rates. I've heard good things about JICs with the "soft" spring rate on the new Miata, which shares the suspension design with our car. The racers here may cringe a little, but if you are not racing then it doesn't matter if the setup doesn't have the pedigree and/or is a little slower.

Personally speaking, I can't reccomend the KWs enough. Geat dual-use setup.

Good point. I don't want to spend more than $1500 so the KW's are a little out of my range.

I found a set of JIC-Magic FLT-TAR (soft setup) for $1,580 . Would that be a good option?

The spring rates are 8k front, 5k rear. (450lb/281lb)

If you go with JIC, I'd suggest getting the 8k/5k springs, as opposed to 10k/7k. But, I've not run the JICs on an RX-8 so take my opinion with a grain of salt. However, the higher springs would work better with R compounds if you ever want to do that.

Just a tip, KW's are crazy expensive in USA for some reason. Money can be saved if you order them from Germany.

I doubt it'd make sense once you figure in shipping. That's a big, heavy box.

Maybe but its worth checking =)

I will definately go with the lower spring rates. It only make sense for a street car.

Like I said...Your not tracking the car. Just get some cheap Megans. You'll be happy with them.

I don't just want to lower my car. I still want my car to handle well.

KSpeed?

Are you asking me a question? :yelrotflm

My point is, how much of a background do you have with coilovers? Because if the answer is none. You will still like the Megans, and they will handle well for you.

Honestly I don't think you will be pushing your car enough to make buying the PSS9's or something else in that price range worth it for you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/03-up...Q5fAccessories

They are cheap!

I can't find any info on kspeed coilovers for the rx8

i take megans over the ksports any day...even though I dont think there are much of a difference...

Listen I dont feels like reading this whole thing. GTG to take care of something right now. But My opinion Just get what ever coilover you can afford with DAMPER adjustment and 6kg-4kg springs(something soft). Lots of kits come with 10kg springs and up, and thats to stiff for the street imo. and thats it folks. I prob should have read the entire thread someone prob said this already.

Topgear your my boy and all. But the Megans are definitely cheap. But not shitty.
I've hit some pretty big pot holes here in NYC, traked the car, auto-crossed, MT raced, etc etc etc, and never did I have ONE problem with the Megans. Why they get a bad rap IDK. It is what it is.

Quik experience. I had Super Street Teins on my 240sx, and hit a pot hole. All the liquid inside the shock came out and it blew. They were only 3months old. I've had my Megans now for 3 years. I've thought about getting Stance coilovers, just because im a lable hore sometimes, but I just cant find a good enough reason too.

I've started with the basics to get an idea of what I wanted down the road...
They are not worthy after you have put some harsh mileage on them IMO. I use KW's and will be switching to Ohlins.

Judging by what everyone has mentioned, I would go with Stance GR or KW's if you think about spending a little more money. But like TOP GEAR has mentioned, you might not notice to much of a difference if you are not pushing the car....:dunno:

I agree with you, IMO, I think megans are more forgiving, IDK. Maybe it's just me.

i have heard one thing about the stance set up. That is if you already have the big Racing Beat front end links, then the coilover will rub agaisnt it--the end link has to be ground down so it will clear. Anyone else seen this?
I am thinking about getting the stances but havent ordered yet.
OD

^Not always true. I have the RB Front sways with RB endlinks. And they do not rub on my Stance GR+ Coilovers.

nice --thanks for posting. i did see pics of one--but dont know what they adjusted to their ride height or any of the varibles,
OD

^I'm pretty sure the one who posted pics was on some PT Sway bars. When he set them to full stiff, the endlinks would rub. But if it was at the softest, or middle setting, there was no rubbing.

I haven't seen any coilovers with spring rates that low.

So far I am leaning towards the JIC FLT-TAR because the specs are pretty much identical to the KW v3 for only $1580 new.

I can't find a new set of KW's under $1900.

One question, which will help the op and i.

Are the megans > stock.

will they handle better than stock form on the track?

just a simple yes no. they are cheap, they lower, aren't too harsh. what i'm looking for too.

i don't want to lower the car and lose the performance, if i wanted that i would chop my springs in half.

So I just realized the first question to ask yourself is:

1. How much do you want to lower the car?

2. What is the priority? Ride quality, Performance, Style

3. Ride Quality is very subjective so it can only be evaluated on an individual basis by establishing that person's suspension experience for comparitive purposes.

4. Keep in Mind, 90% of the guys out there probably haven't tried all the coilover options so take each opinion with a grain of salt.

5. BEST THING YOU CAN DO IS RIDE IN A LOCAL PERSON'S RX8 WITH GOOD CONGIDITION LOW MILEAGE COILOVERS. MAKE A LIST OF

LIKES AND DISLIKES

Post up the list and it will serve as an extremely useful tool to isolate what's best for your needs.

6. MAX BUDGET, OF COURSE YOU WANT TO SPEND THE LEAST POSSIBLE BUT SET YOUR MAX BUDGET AND GET THE MOST VALUE OUT OF THAT.

Rishie

I will tell you in terms of ride quality I don't think there is better than the Teins entry level stuff dollar to dollar comparison.

I've been in RX8's with

Tein, Zeal, HKS, Greddy, Megan, Stance, JIC

I believe all the inexpensive coilovers, aside from Tein, will ride better than stock in certain conditions. It will not ride better than stock over expansion bridges, or possibly at slower speeds. High speed freeway is real nice. AMAZING RESPONSIVENESS TO STEERING INPUT. Linear spring rates will assist in predictable weight transferance and responsiveness.

Rishie

I have the racing beat sways and endlinks in front and no rubbing. Like topgear said... it only rubs if you have the pt adjustable sway and setting it full stiff.

Just installed the Bilstein pss9. I can't imagine anyone needing a softer ride. Big handling improvement over stock without a harsh ride. With revalving options should you get more serious into racing.

http://www.bc-racing.co.uk/vehicle-check.asp?manID=8&modID=37
 

what about these?

used set of KW V3s for sale

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-parts-sale-wanted-44/sale-polaks-part-out-189332/

the specs are only 10% of the story

nobody will criticize you for not being able to afford better, but you'll leave yourself open by rationalizing it with BS

the large RB endlinks are a waste of money, you don't need larger endlinks

thanks what i needed to know.

nice knowing im buying performance and bling

Not saying you should but the tein basics are good for the money and do improve handling, ride height adjustable as well. I used to have them and had put about 20,000 miles on them with no issues. After a while they do start to feel softer but never close to stock.

Awesome feedback on the Basic.

And as a reminder I have one set of Tein Basic on clearance from last year's xmas special.

Rishie

I think the short answer to this is "almost certainly, yes." The stock dampers are quite soft, and probably at least partially worn out on your car. Installing Megans gives you fresh dampers, lower ride height, and higher roll rate (i.e., less body roll) which will almost certainly yeild greater mid-corner speeds than a stock setup, as long as you don't go too low. Also, you will be able to dial in more negative camber than stock, and that helps as well.

Now, a more realistic question is wether or not a set of Megans will outperform a set of Koni yellows on stock springs w/sway bars (I think these two setups are price-comparable). I'm guessing the answer is still yes, although over imperfect pavement (i.e., street situations) the Konis may have the upper hand due to superior damping. I say "may" because I've no experience with the Megans.

The only way to know for sure is to setup two cars and compare. It would be an interesting test.

Why stock springs? Tein S-techs are commonly paired with the Koni yellows and can be gotten for $180. You'd be looking at $1k for the Megans on average, and $780 for the lowering springs + Koni's (throw in $300 for those sways if you want to even things up).

^Reasonable point.

I would guess that besides ride quality comparison between a spring and shock combination and the coilover, you'd have to consider any other features the coilovers provide too. The Megans are height adjustable (according to their specs anyways), which may appeal a lot to some drivers. I personally would just leave the height alone in a car (provided I am not too low), but that's something that should not be discounted in comparing these suspension parts.

A disclaimer to my statement is that I do not say having adjustable features automatically makes it better. I've seen many people say Bilstein shocks are very good shocks and are very well made. After all, having adjustable shocks/coilovers that do not have good quality control would end up making things worse.

True. It just depends on how well, or poorly, Megan executed on the damper design & construction. I used Tokico D-Specs for several years, and, despite the fact that they have a more simple-minded approach to solving the damping problem than Konis, they actually work quite well, and absolutely should be considered a performance enhancing mod. I see ne reason the Megans couldn't pull off the same stunt, but as I stated earlier, I have no experience so cannot make a direct comment.

But yes, if the Megans (or whatever other brand) can't keep the tires hooked up with the pavement, it doesn't matter what your dynamic negative camber is, or where your CG is - your car will handle like stink.

Hah! I actually really want to get Tokico Dspecs myself, maybe I'll ask you for your opinion privately when I have time. I was tempted to try some of the cheaper coilovers, but even at their cheapest they cannot compare to the price of springs and shocks replacement.

And I think having something that is easily fixed (i.e. I heard Koni's can be sent right back to the manufacturer to be revalved if something goes wrong) would be pretty important if your local roads are complete shit. Even though shocks and coilovers are supposed to last the lifetime of your car, bad roads (like the roads in NY) could easily depreciate that life. I don't know if that's something most people look out for, but I keep it in my mind.

I can easily endorse the D-Specs - I used them with stock springs. 4 or 5 turns back from full stiff and they have a great ride/handling quotient on the street - you car will have less roll, dive, and squat, and will almost feel like you have stiffer springs installed but without a ride penalty. At full stiff they could easily handle full-on R-compounds while autocrossing.

This is always worth considering - both Koni & Bilstein are rebuildable, which you might do for maintenance or performance purposes. I think some other brands are as well, such as JIC. D-Specs are not.

In fact, I am currently considering some custom built, double adjustable Bilsteins, made by FatCat Motorsports, to replace my KWs. These are not cheap but I am literally looking for that last 1% of performance at the Solo II national championships this year.

Thank you for this information. I have been comparing D-specs with Koni's and Bilsteins.

i am looking for coilovers but i dont care so much fro the heigt but is important for me to be friendly on the street and i want a good respond in the travk while drifting
I am bettwen tein monoflex Kw v3 and hks hipermax3
does anyone using these coilovers? Or someone to propose any coilover with similar quality ?

^Out of those three the KW's would be your best bet. The others don't even come close.

GeorgeH has the the KW's, he's witten lots of reviews on them, do some searching.

fatcat currently has a set of my Bilsteins getting ready to be re valved =) im opting out of the adjustable option tho, but i am having schrader valves put in so i can have that option in the future

As I've stated in the past, the KWs are a great dual-purpose setup. Fast but not overly stiff. Well made. And there are enough adjustments that you can challenge yourself in terms of learning about setup.

The biggest downside to the KWs is that they do not have a good solution for adjusting the rear rebound damping. They do not have a cable, nor do they have plans to produce one (I've asked). So, the rear rebound is pretty much "set and forget." The good news is that with a coilover setup with appropriately choosen spring rates, the need to stiffen/soften the damping when switching between street and track is less. With stock springs, you use the rebound adjusters to add transitional stiffness, an while it works OK, you do end up in an overdamped state, which is not optimum (usually) for performance. With stiffer springs, you pretty much want to shoot for critical damping and just leave it. Having said that, I did settle into a routine of adding two clicks of rebound at the front while autocrossing, and removing it for street driving. Still nothing like the changes I used to make with the Tokicos on stock springs, where I would add a ton of damping while racing.

However, with the KWs, you can adjust compression damping on the fly, so you can add and remove transitional stiffness between events. It's just a little different approach than with single adjustables.

FatCat makes great stuff too. I just pulled the trigger on a set of their double adjustables to replace my KWs, which I will put up for sale in a few months. This isn't a dig on the KWs, but I am looking for very small margings of improvement now so getting a set of dampers that are specifically valved for autocross is worth the money for me. But even their non-adjustables are good. coldflame, I'm sure you will be happy.

I've drove Lionzoo's car that has a similar setup, we're using 400/280 springs and adding coilover sleeves to them, i would have liked a set of revalved pss9s with custom springs but that was too expensive considering the cost of the revalve. As for adjustability, as much as i like to tinker with the car, i feel for a casual track driver like me its a little bit of an overkill, plus i believe a car thats setup properly with the correctly valved shocks shouldnt need a whole lot of adjusting. I would have settled for non height adjustable as well but its nice being able to corner balance the car. As far as drop goes im probably just gonna lower it 1.5 inches max. As much as i love that slammed look i don't want looks to compromise handling.