£1500, Replacement dampers or coilovers?
Discussion
I have a bit of a project on the go at the moment: a very cheap Impreza P1.
The original struts are a bit tired, they have done 83k miles and as part of a general refurb/refresh I'll be looking at replacing them.
Thing is, oem prodrive spec dampers are hard to get and very expensive. Decent coilovers are the same money.
Here is where I have to show my ignorance - is the only difference between the two that coilovers are one unit with the spring and are generally adjustable for height, rebound and compression? It's primarily a road car and the original setup is fantastic - reasonably soft sprung but with excellent body control. That combined with 17" alloys and 45 section rubber give a great ride on crap roads and incredible grip and adjustability which I don't want to lose.
How easy will it be to replicate oem settings on coilovers?
The only car on coilovers I've driven was an evo 4 and it was rock hard, ok got very smooth roads but limiting on the nadgetty, badly surfaced back roads around here. Definitely don't want that...
The original struts are a bit tired, they have done 83k miles and as part of a general refurb/refresh I'll be looking at replacing them.
Thing is, oem prodrive spec dampers are hard to get and very expensive. Decent coilovers are the same money.
Here is where I have to show my ignorance - is the only difference between the two that coilovers are one unit with the spring and are generally adjustable for height, rebound and compression? It's primarily a road car and the original setup is fantastic - reasonably soft sprung but with excellent body control. That combined with 17" alloys and 45 section rubber give a great ride on crap roads and incredible grip and adjustability which I don't want to lose.
How easy will it be to replicate oem settings on coilovers?
The only car on coilovers I've driven was an evo 4 and it was rock hard, ok got very smooth roads but limiting on the nadgetty, badly surfaced back roads around here. Definitely don't want that...
Lefty said:
It's primarily a road car and the original setup is fantastic - reasonably soft sprung but with excellent body control. That combined with 17" alloys and 45 section rubber give a great ride on crap roads and incredible grip and adjustability which I don't want to lose.
You've answered your own question.Well i know but what I was really wondering is if it's easy to replicate an oem setup with aftermarket coilovers?
If the original struts were £100 each as per normal 2000 uk Imprezas it would be a no-brainer but they're hard to get and bloody expensive. I don't mind spending the money - it's whether it not I'd benefit from coilovers or would they "spoil" the cat for my intended use?
Cheers,
Iain (suspension f
kwit)
If the original struts were £100 each as per normal 2000 uk Imprezas it would be a no-brainer but they're hard to get and bloody expensive. I don't mind spending the money - it's whether it not I'd benefit from coilovers or would they "spoil" the cat for my intended use?
Cheers,
Iain (suspension f
kwit)Edited by Lefty on Sunday 17th February 15:28
Lefty said:
Well i know but what I was really wondering is if it's easy to replicate an oem setup with aftermarket coilovers?
Cheers,
Iain (suspension fkwit)
Yes, just choose appropriate spring rates - bet a bit of googling will tell you the standard rates.Cheers,
Iain (suspension f
kwit)Edited by Lefty on Sunday 17th February 15:28
Hi. I had similar decision to make with my Accord. OEM spec were same (ish) price as the base model BC coilovers.. The units on the Accord are 'coilover' type as standard, so the design is the same, couldn't decide so I went for the BCs almost as an experiment; I found that I can pretty much replicate the OEM ride, however I have a slightly harder setup with a little less ride height than standard, replicating more like the OEM Honda sport suspension setup. I would say that the car handles better overall, maybe has lost some composure over poor surfaces though. I certainly don't regret buying the BCs - if I ever get round to doing a trackday in the Accord, I can tweak the settings to suit.
Herman Toothrot said:
Yes, just choose appropriate spring rates - bet a bit of googling will tell you the standard rates.
^^^^ This... forgot to say in my post that I called BC and took their advice on spring rate based on my use of the car. Lots of folks express dissappointment at coilies harsh ride but they often don't take the time to check and select appropriate spring rates. 
Read the Impreza forums to find which make / model suits your needs there is a HUGE difference in aftermarket dampers and price does NOT help.
I've had probably 20 different sets on my MX5 and many of the very expensive Jap ones adjusted from very hard to immovable I found the mid range ones better, Tien Super Street were better (for me) than Tien Flex and the Konis gave the most adjustment from Track hard to street softer than std.
I've had probably 20 different sets on my MX5 and many of the very expensive Jap ones adjusted from very hard to immovable I found the mid range ones better, Tien Super Street were better (for me) than Tien Flex and the Konis gave the most adjustment from Track hard to street softer than std.
The orginal P1 dampers are Bilstein's and were specced by Prodrive and were superb on that car (used to have a P1 wr) the Bilsteins transformed a gen 1 Impreza, back to back an RB5 and P1 you could really feel how good the Bilsteins were. The Jap spec Sti shocks are useless for UK roads.
You will be able to get the originals rebuilt but they are quite slow turnaround and not cheap.
If going after market AST do some fantastic shocks for Impreza's. I had a set on a Spec C and a type 25 from Lichfield, with some whiteline anti roll bars, the AST are probably the best upgrade you could for an Impreza, but not cheap (get a price from Powerstation on supply fit).
P1 one is a great car and deserves some good shocks/bushes to feel it at its best.
You will be able to get the originals rebuilt but they are quite slow turnaround and not cheap.
If going after market AST do some fantastic shocks for Impreza's. I had a set on a Spec C and a type 25 from Lichfield, with some whiteline anti roll bars, the AST are probably the best upgrade you could for an Impreza, but not cheap (get a price from Powerstation on supply fit).
P1 one is a great car and deserves some good shocks/bushes to feel it at its best.
kambites said:
Am I missing something. Surely the standard Impreza uses coil-overs already? I though all modern cars did with a new notable exceptions like the Corvette with its clever transverse leafspring thingie.
Of course, the spring actually sits over the strut but they are separate units, not strictly "coil overs". I think.Edited by kambites on Sunday 17th February 17:02
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