Coilovers- long term reviews

[Unamused]

Thinking about doing coilovers but having a hard time finding long term reviews. Have found many "honeymoon" phase reviews. Currently looking at Bilstein PSS10, Fortune or their direct counterpart Broadway, or KW2.

Want a setup that will be for daily driving and no track use.

Was going to go the way of Bilstein B8 coupled with Eibach lowering springs, B12 (Pro-Kit) - Suspension Kit, but read after installing reinforcement plates the drop was negligible.

[Fenrir]

Ohh boy this is going to be a fun thread lol.

So I have the Weitec Hicon GT setup. It's equivalent to the V1 series from KW. I can chime in if you like. Much of the experience would translate to the V2 but, that model offers more adjustable options than my GT/V1 set.

[Vas]

Want a setup that will be for daily driving = Bilstein PPS, KW V1, Koni Yellow + H&R Sport Springs or Eibach

[Unamused]

Fenrir, Very interested to hear your feedback.

[Fenrir]

Fenrir, Very interested to hear your feedback.

Can do!

The Weitec Hicon GT coilover is height adjustable but has a locked dampening rate. These have been on the car since I purchased it about 5 years ago. Since then I've clocked a little over 40k miles with the car. The system is the same as the KW-V1 system save that mine uses galvanized parts. Outside of that, they're twins.

Ride:
Overall the ride is very comfortable. The suspension was newish (had about about 5k on it according to the owner) when I got the car. The suspension has retained a firm but comfortable ride for the last 40k miles. With good tires, it communicates the road surface well without attempting to break your back.

Pot holes will feel like you hit a city bus head on. But the system has enough give that I've yet to have an issue the few times one has caught me off guard. Dirt/gravel roads haven't been as issue. I go down those as little as possible though.

Overall the ride has been described by passengers as very comfortable. The road surface translates but doesn't jar or rattle you. The only time the ride has given me trouble is on heavily pot marked roads or rough rail crossings.

I found myself noticing little changes in the road more often. However, I was coming from muscle cars and heavy sport sedans into this car. I might as well have gone from sending telegrams to telepathy for the handling difference.

The suspension feels tight overall but can be a bit jarring over surprise bumps or aggressive rumble strips. Nothing too bad but it will wake you up. The trade off is that the ride is glass like when the road is good (most highways). It won't rattle your teeth though. Just keep an eye out for surprises. It doesn't necessarily like them.

This setup uses linear springs if I remember correctly. Meaning you won't bounce on bumps, like progressive springs. They smooth out the road and absorb most imperfections. Train tracks are the bane of my life though.

Handling:
The system is a very good setup for a daily driven street car. The car remains planted in corners and doesn't dive or "search" with the front end under braking. It feels light on it's feet and easy to relax in. It also allows for a very sporty ride without compromising the ability to chill out and let the car eat the miles ahead. It's communicative and makes the car feel very responsive to input.

All in all, because of the design and spring setup mentioned above, the car drives like it's on rails. It's totally planted with very little body roll. For handling, it makes for a very forgiving suspension system. Especially if paired with some good tires. This shows up in spirited backroad driving or simply accelerating / decelerating from an overpass.

Emergency maneuvers are easily recoverable. A great deal of that depends on a myriad of factors and drivers. But not having a car that wallows like a whale and goes where you point it helps.

Reliability:
The suspension is very tolerant of daily driver abuse. Four cross-country road trips, many track days, and lots of bored driving around New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and Arizona racked up some hours on it.

So far, aside from the standard E46 components, the only parts I've needed for the KW/WEI setup have been new rear adjustable spring perches. The old ones cracked and failed. The only downside to that was they temporarily lowered the rear to uber tucked levels. I found I kid of liked the look. So I just lowered the new perches until they allowed me to tuck a bit but not rub or affect the performance.

Fin:
All in all it's shrugged off rust, held up to the mileage with some common sense care, and has been a wonderful experience.

Take this post with a pinch of salt. Much of this also depends on tires, bushing, mods, the alignment of the planets, and the power of Grayskull. That said, the only modifications to my suspension are the WEI-GT system and Z4M FCABS. OEM everything else. It's served me well as a suspension system that allows me to dip into two lifestyles. For a track rat, it's a great entry level system that holds it's own. For a daily, it's smooth, reliable (in my experience), height adjustable, and feels great.

Hope this helps.

[JPMo]

anybody else want to review their setup? I'd love to hear about Bilstein PSS B14 or Fortune auto?

[az3579]

I have PSS10's and have had them for 3.5+ years and approximately 82k miles. They are just as awesome as the day I installed 'em...

They are (for a performance setup) quite comfortable. I love the ability to adjust the shocks for when I go to the track. I also drove my ZHP with these installed for following 2 Connecticut winters and there's not a spec of rust on them or even on the threads. There aren't any leaking shocks, either. So far the reliability has been on point and am very happy I spent the money on them. Let's not forget that Bilstein offers a lifetime warranty on them so when one fails, they'll send me a replacement.

[JPMo]

I have PSS10's and have had them for 3.5+ years and approximately 82k miles. They are just as awesome as the day I installed 'em...

They are (for a performance setup) quite comfortable. I love the ability to adjust the shocks for when I go to the track. I also drove my ZHP with these installed for following 2 Connecticut winters and there's not a spec of rust on them or even on the threads. There aren't any leaking shocks, either. So far the reliability has been on point and am very happy I spent the money on them. Let's not forget that Bilstein offers a lifetime warranty on them so when one fails, they'll send me a replacement.

Thank you, that's great to know! Im honestly not planning on tracking the ZHP, at least certainly not often, so I'm currently debating getting the adjustable setup. Im sure I'd be more than happy with just height.