Coilovers or Quality Shocks & Springs

[V8 Disco]

Hi, advice needed please - my car's original shocks are now beyond their best and will be replaced this summer - do I go for BC coilovers (advantage seems to be adjustability - esp. ride height) or just quality shocks (Koni?) and new springs (Eibach?). Price difference seems minimal, some friends say coilovers will be too harsh a ride, hence my concern.

Car is an '03 Accord CL7 Type-S 2.4, it's my daily drive but I enjoy 'pressing on' when conditions permit and might be tempted to try a track/airfield day or two this year if there's any money left after replacing my suspension!

Edited by V8 Disco on Tuesday 13th March 22:24

[V8 Disco]

Thankyou for the replies - I like the idea of being able to adjust between a firm ride for an occasional airfield day and a softer one for driving to work etc. Whether I would actually get around to it is another matter!

As for ride height, I think a small (25mm max) drop would improve the car's appearance - I have owned it since new and the standard ride height is a bit '4x4' - so the ability of the coilovers to be adjusted for this would appeal too.

Main concern was that I would ruin the ride completely with coilovers - presumably the manufacturers will have selected a suitable spring height and rate for my car, so I guess having adjustable (compression) damping would give me some degree of control over that?

I spent some time messing with preload/compression/rebound on my Ducati years ago - to be honest, on the road I struggled to feel much benefit from the standard settings, however replacing the Accord's suspension with standard gear is more expensive than the upgrades, hence the question..

[V8 Disco]

Thanks for the suggestion - however I have read that standard shocks with shorter springs will damage the shocks - any truth in this? IIRC the argument is that the shock is partially compressed the whole time due to the shorter spring length. Can't see why this should damage the shock, but have read this in several places..

[V8 Disco]

Hi, thought I'd update this as I fitted.......... BC Coilovers this weekend. Initial impressions are that the ride is a little firmer but not by any means uncomfortable (I sought BC's advice here and on their recommendation went with 8/4 kg springs rather than the std 10/5), and subjectively cornering is improved - very flat but otherwise with a similar feel to the car had when new. I dropped the car a little and am running the damping midway between hard and soft so will have a play with that setting next.

Thanks for all your comments and opinions - in the end, the BC's adjustability was the deciding factor.