While a bottom coil over system may have performance qualities of a good shock/spring combo while being ride height adjustable and all that jazz. It will not have the reliability of a high quality shock/spring combo.

 

I would start progressively. Sway bars can do a lot for body roll. If you aren't happy after that, start looking at springs and struts.

That way you can get a good feel for the car after each mod, and you can save longer also.

 

exactly, from the tons of reading I have done lately, put most of the lower end (and even some expensive ones) on a shock dyno and the graphs are all over the place for each shock. Whereas typically Koni's and Bilsteins are usually fairly consistent and they can be revalved professionally to suit your car whereas many of the cheap coilover kits cannot.

read this:

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets6.html

then this:

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets18.html

 

i think you should get coilover sleaves on your oem shocks

 

I'm told that the HD are fine for "up to a 1" lowering". Anything more than that use the Sports.

 

Keeping the tire in contact with the road surface, particularly over irregular roads, is ALL about the damper and how well it is matched to the spring rate & unsprung mass. So, in the absence of compelling test data, the smart money would be on good dampers with mild springs over cheap coilovers. Just keep your wheel weights reasonable and you will be golden.

When I installed Tokicos with stock springs I was very pleased with the improvement in handling, subjectively speaking. Don't underestimate what a good set of shocks can do for the car.

 

Tokico d-specs struts/lowering springs are a good match. I have used them on the street and track and they perform well and are easy to adjust. The spring rates are also high enough that they will improve braking by reducing noise dive.

I now have KW V3 coilovers and while the KW's perform better on the track, it is mostly due to corner balancing and fine tuning them to my driving style, and car set up. Right out of the box you wont notice any difference.