Good street setup, help!! (Whats your setup??)

RalliartRsX · May 18, 2006

Well, I have been delving into suspension research for a little over a month now and I think I have come up with a few (granted, very few) choices.
- Springs/dampers - KTS coils (still accpeting options)
- Wheels - 16x7 or 16x8 with +30 or below offset (Really dont want to run anything bigger for the simple fact of price)
- Tires - Ehh, many choices. But, I have had a very good experience with the Azenis sport (215 type), Or ES100 from yokohama or Toyo T1-S(R). Really want to run atleast 205-50 (but much prefered 225-50 all around for some serious grip)
- Suspension components - This is where I need help and have no clue.

After a few weeks of searching for coil reviews, I came to the KTS finale. But, since there are so many other things involved with the suspension on strut type cars (I had a 4 wheel independent setup on previous ride), there is still a bit more tackling involved (subframe bushings, TC rods, tie rods, camber arms, etc), I am still stumped on what else is needed for a properly setup daily driven setup (And this is sans various strut, lower arm, power, etc braces).

Once the car is lowered over an inch beyond factory ride height settings, the geometry becomes distorted and needs to be corrected. The toe is which I am most worried about for the simple fact of increased and uneven tire wear.

But, what do you guys recommend/use on your daily driven 240s??

Goals: Have a nicely setup street driven suspension, good grip, predictable and smooth. I wont be doing any 'touge' or whatever its called as all my spirited driving (or atleast most sans on-off ramps) will be relegated to auto-x and (money permits) HPDE, period

Sorry for the long post, I am just extra anal when it comes to my suspension setup and any car

P.S Will be looking into running atleast a VLSD and also accepting recommendations on wheel offsets/wheel width for good flushness but not some super low offsets to put unecessary loads on wheel bearings. Thanks

KiDyNomiTe · May 19, 2006

OK well I wont bother getting into what I have because its pretty different that wat you are looking for.

I would suggest STANCE ofver KTS. Pricewise they are similar, but IMO STANCE is valved better, but that doesnt seem to be one of your key factors. SO the other factor is support, if your KTS blow you are somewhat out of luck, with STANCE you can get rebuilds...

On other suspension I would suggest getting RUCAs and rear toe arms. That is the bare minimum, those two are the main things that you will have a problem aligning after lowering. I would also suggest getting t/c rods, not so much for the adjustment but rather for the performance, it will make your car feel much better.

Tie rod upgrade really isnt necessary unless you plan on tracking it a lot and/or lower it a lot. Stock rods should hold up just fine and adjustability should be fine too. All the other suspension peices are expensive or pointless unless you want to rid of your stock bushings.

On wheels, 16s suck. Tires are hard to get in good sizes. IMO I would choose 15s or 17s. 16s look good but at some point you will get picky about your tire size and it will be hard with 16s. but on offsets 16x7 +10 16x8 +20 is the easiest way to play safe for you.

Nismo240x · May 19, 2006

KiDyNomiTe said:
if your KTS blow you are somewhat out of luck, with STANCE you can get rebuilds...

KTS Coilovers can be rebuilt. This is straight from the SPLparts.com website. "Shocks need servicing? Replace with all new shocks for $550. For the price of rebuilding other shocks (Tein, JIC, etc) you can simply swap in new shocks with no downtime and no shipping hassles."

KiDyNomiTe · May 19, 2006

same deal with stance, but i think its $600 all together ($150) a shock), dont remember exactly...

byhi · May 19, 2006

i take you have an s13?

RalliartRsX · May 19, 2006

!!! RPS 13 CHASSIS SETUP !!! sorry

Funny enough, Stance was also a very high on the list as the rebound/bound action was very well matched with the 8k/7k rate. This was observed from both in and out of car experience taking notes of just how quickly the car settled after a bump without being overly damped. Also, high speed highway damping was very good and not very agressive. Mid-low speed was also very smooth and not very clunky or notchy. But, the reason why I went with KTS is because I might be running into a good deal from someone local. If not, then, stance it is. I just was not sure on the rebulding aspects of these coilovers as compared with the KTS zero down time waiting for a rebuild.

Wheels, well, I have pretty much figured sizing already as I wanted ro run 225/50 all the way around in either Falken Fk451, ES100, Hankook Z212 or Toyos. So that is pretty much well taken cared of. I am also looking into stretching the tire to have a more predictable sidewall, but, I havent delved into this aspect of tire/suspension tuning too much, so only time and research will tell.

I am not looking into anything drift related, but more of a predictable and linear everyday suspension that is not too rough and damping on the dampers are good with something like 8k/7k rate. If I need rotation, I will adjust with requisite whiteline adjustable (sway) bars. I really dont see the need of ungodly amount of spring rate on the street really. I was also messing with the offset calculator as well but I will have to take measurements to put into this to see what it comes out as. But, again, those size and offset recommendations were also being eyed by me as I was comparing the rota grid 16x8 +10 and +20 offset for flushness without crazy offsets. But I guess comparable width and offsets can be used throughout wheel diamaters to achieve the same results across the board, correct??

As for other components, strill fairly lost, go figure:gaylaugh

Thanks for all the responses guys. Keep em coming:thumbsup

BY the way, anywhere to get good prices on the Stance setup with 8/7 springs?? I was quoted around 1200 from a reliable source. Can they be had for less??

KiDyNomiTe · May 19, 2006

the 1200 price is from tf, there are some group buys here and there, dunno what they offer. AutoRnD and MSL have GBs, and some say enjuku is cheap too...

They all come with 9/7 and 8/6 springs. And they are "zero down time" rebuilds.

I would go with 16x8 all around if you are gonna run 225/50 all around. Easier on tire rotation, and more balanced.

go240 · May 19, 2006

rucas and toe arms in the back, tension rods and tie rods in the front

rear sway bar or a full set of sways - that rear bar is like a coathanger lol

and maybe save for something better than a vlsd. i have a vlsd in one car and a welded in the other, i'd take the welded over the viscous any day

raen419 · May 19, 2006

go240 said:
rucas and toe arms in the back, tension rods and tie rods in the front

rear sway bar or a full set of sways - that rear bar is like a coathanger lol

ha, you haven't seen the stock, or rear aftermarket sways on a Miata....lol
mine is like....3/4", har har har

technically when it some to suspension, depending on how low you go...you only need the rear toe arm, not both. and if you slam, you need adjustable front and rear lower control arms....but that's for people who knows what they're doing.

btw, this is the first "knowledgable" thread i've seen in a while.
good info.
go KiDyNomiTe!

RalliartRsX · May 23, 2006

Thanks for all the replies guys!!

Heres an update:

Well, decided to go with 15inch wheels and call it a day. I love how the 17 fill the well, but I have to think long run. I will be in school and not have extra cash laying around so if something happens (hit a large rut or something) I probably wont be able to afford replacing the wheels. Plus, I readily have access to tires for cheap in 15 inch variant as compared to 17 inch.
But, suspension mods will be put off for a while as there are other issues to attend to currently in the suspensions (name, tie-rods). So, will still be doing loads of reasearch and such. But, I think I also have made another choice(or narrowe ddown selection). Stance or KTS coilovers it is

raen419 · May 23, 2006

Good deal.
Glad you thought about tire pricing before you bought wheels. Most people do it the other way around.
I have some tie rods you might be interested in....lol

RalliartRsX · May 24, 2006

Send me over the info of the tie-rods as I need both inner and outer tie rods as well.

Anybody got an exhaust for sale?? Currently my catback consists of 6 inch of piping from the cat-back. No good and loud as fawk!!

KiDyNomiTe · May 24, 2006

i have a muffler for sale if u wanted to make a custom exhaust...

RalliartRsX · May 25, 2006

Sorry will pass. But thanks for the offer though.

Good street setup, help!! (Whats your setup??)

RalliartRsX

KiDyNomiTe

Nismo240x

KiDyNomiTe

byhi

RalliartRsX

KiDyNomiTe

go240

raen419

RalliartRsX

raen419

RalliartRsX

KiDyNomiTe

RalliartRsX

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