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c/o setup for the streets of LA

1675 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  acejoker
I drive through LA every day, and the roads are my worst enemy. I normally go over 7 sets of railroad tracks (some of them with the wood planks right before and after them) dodge potholes like i'm in a war, and big 18 wheelers break the pavement apart so badly the city is constantly patching holes every rain season.

I'm looking for a set of full coilovers that will withstand this kind of beating. Something that is rebuildable locally. I plan to occasionally autox and r/r with the car also. What do you guys recommend?
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Koni yellows w/ground control coilovers. Best setup for the money IMO. I got talked into getting them when I spoke to a guy who runs a miata race shop. You can make them fairly soft for daily driving.. and make them race ready when you go race.

Your not going to find a shock/spring setup thats going to be super super comfy for daily driving and rip up the race track. You have to make a sacrafice somewhere.

If your really looking for something for daily driving only, then get some stockers.
I don't mind a rough ride as long as it doesn't damage the subframe. I used to drive a car with 4 busted shocks all year round so I already know how rough it could be, anything is better than what my old susp setup was.

I've looked into the Tein's but hear mixed reviews about them. Also looking at the latest GB on this forum they don't look like they will be any lower than 1200.

vtecmx5: how much did you pay for your setup? how low can you go and how do you like it on the track?
No one else with any other recommendations? I know alot of people here are from cali, cmon guys!

BUMP
I live in San Diego, but my drive to work is filled with potholes and road imperfections. With that said, I have ZERO complaints with my Tein Flex set-up. I'm a believer now!

It got to the point where I got used to the spring rates that came with the Flex (7k/6k, 392,336) so I just installed stiffer front springs (9k, 504#) to reduce some unwanted body-roll. Keep in mind my car is super-slammed with 13inch Rota RBs and there is still plenty of suspension travel. I have YET to bottom out. The only thing negative I can say is that speed bumbs taller then 3 inches WILL scrape the muffler,frame,ect. But I stay away from strip malls anyways so its hardly a concern for me.

I've also ridden/driven various cars with stiffer springs rate without any problems. Its all about the shocks baby. My old set-up of AGX/Tein springs was OK, but was too under dampened, causing it to bounce everywhere. Its a night and day with quality shocks like Koni or Teins. The old adage of "You get what you pay for" applies.



This was before the fender-roll where the tire would rub onto the fender, even with almost 2 inches of fender gap! Which prompted me to get stiffer springs. I'll post pics of the fender roll later but after I got the fender rolled Bill Wilner and I went around the block for a test-drive and I intentionally went over dips faster and steered TOWARDS potholes. The suspension sucked them all up nicely. Highly reccomended.[/img]
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yeah, I have the flex aswell.

Really nice.

I love it.
I'm not completely sure if the Teins are rebuildable locally. Can someone confirm?

Tein's may win it for me....
Yes, they can be rebuilt locally. Keep in mind if you want to go with higher spring rates then what they come with, it will need a revalve for anything higher then 2k. But you shouldn't need to. I'm running 9k fronts (a little over 500#) and 6k rears (332#) and its PERFECT. Comparable to the "hot set-up" of Koni race shocks with GC kit.
Tein IS local. so you don't need to use another shop in LA.

I'm not a huge fan of them, but other people are. I personally would probably use the Koni/ground control set up before I bought Teins.
Tein is located in Downey, CA

It's all about personal preference. Try to test drive or ride in someones car.
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