Coils/suspension setup you prefer?

onevia drift wrote:For $800 i would say Megan tracks/Megan streets.

I daily'd tracks a few years back... It's borderline back breaking.....
I have heard good things about streets too tho.

I dont know much on who slls a great coil for cheap aymore. I havent looked into it.

From what i know now, Megans, Ksport, and Godspeeds are around that price. Not sure on much else

Megan Racing Coilovers:
Impressions, Thoughts and Opinions

When I heard about the Megan Racing Coilovers, and having friends that have test-fit prototypes for their products, I knew they’d be good. So without hesitation, I snapped up the chance to buy a set of coilovers from them for about the same price as the KSports I bought a month before.
Before I go into a review on these, one needs to realize who I am. I’m just a guy in college. I don’t drift. I don’t autocross. I take corners very fast, and drag race. My previous car was a Corvette, so suspension stiffness is relative to me, and my girlfriend isn’t one of those bitchy ones.

First Thoughts
I paid for my coilovers on a Tuesday night. On Friday afternoon, the UPS guy came up the stairs with the coilovers. This was lightning fast shipping courtesy of Megan Racing. At first, I was surprised by the weight of the package. My KSports were just over ½ the weight. I knew something was different, and when I tore into the box like a kid on Christmas, there it was; welded steel construction. With budget coilovers, I was expecting cheap feeling aluminum mounts as with KSport/D2. Also, there were pillow ball mounts on the rear shocks. This wasn’t even an option on the KSport/D2, and even front PBMs were an additional $80. I was really impressed. Plus, they were pre-assembled. No building on them required. The 32-way dampener’s key is attached, which is one less piece to lose! (Does it work? I don’t know. I don’t have a shock dyno)
First Thoughts: 10/10.

Installation
That weekend, I removed and installed the Megan Racing coilovers. People seem to buy suspension based on color, aesthetics, and pictures of the installed product. For the first two groups of people, you’re idiots. For the last group, even though a shock inherently must mount at points A & B so I personally don’t see why pictures are required, my camera died. I was hoping to get my car in the air one more time this weekend, but a more important issue came up. So I don’t have pictures of the mounted coilovers. Maybe I will in another week.
After removing the gaudy orange KSports, I bolted up the front shock. But my S14 set’s McPherson mounting plate’s bolt holes were not far enough apart. When compared to the KSport’s McPherson mount, the holes were 1/8” too close. I solved this with a Dremel tool, a spare car, and a trip to the store for 3 grinding bits. After 40 minutes of grinding (yes, if I would have had a bench press, I would have used it), the mounting brackets fit.
The rear studs on the upper mounting plates are longer than stock/KSport studs, and the rubber dust cap will not snap down over them. This isn’t a serious issue, but it made me wonder why there were so many installation issues that could or should have been corrected before shipping for sales.
Installation: 3/10.
*I’m told that this has been corrected for S14s.*

Initial Reaction
These coilovers were less stiff, and less bouncy than my KSports could hope to be. Even with the 8/6 spring rates, the ride was really comfortable. The ride is perfect for my tastes. Stiff and nice for my girlfriend’s taste, and “Really stiff” to my buddy Braxton, who owns a Civic Hatch. As I said in the intro, stiffness is relative.
Initial Reaction: 8/10. It lost a few points for the bounciness.

Long Term
It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve installed these. The coilovers have settled ¼-½ an inch. This has made the ride much softer than initially. I will be re-raising my car when time permits, and if I have a camera available, I’ll snap some pictures. The bounciness has all but subsided. The ride is still too harsh for Braxton, and Brandi and I think the ride is nice for every day. My one issue that has popped up is that occasionally, when making a left turn, my passenger-side rear shock clunks. Tomorrow I plan on double-checking all mounting points, and recounting the threads. I left the coilovers at the preload that they were shipped with. I’m thinking a it needs a bit more in the rear.
Long Term: 8/10 due to the newfound occasional clunk. Tomorrow, if something simple fixes the clunk, it’ll be a 10.

Comparison
When comparing one coilover to another, I think that price ranges should be used. And $200 seems like a perfectly reasonable price range. So in the $700 to $900 price range, the coilovers that I have experience with are: Tein basics ($799), Tanabe Sustec Pro S-OC (6/4) ($799), KSport/D2 ($750), and Megan Racing. ($850)
Tein Basics: A step up from a spring/shock combo. 6/6 spring rate. Only height adjustable.
Here you are paying for a great ride and name. These come with helper springs, making these the ultimate coilover setup for daily driving in my opinion.
Megan Racing: 8/6 spring rates. Single valve shock setup. Awesome construction. In my opinion, my favorite ride all around. For daily driving only, I’d buy Tein Basics. But for a good mix of comfort and performance, I’ll take these.
Tanabe: Good ride. I’d rate these slightly behind the Megan Racing coilovers. 6/4 spring rate. Also only height adjustable. Dual valve shock setup. These have a good ride due to helper springs again, but sharp bumps (like a pothole) are pretty bone jarring once you’ve passed the helper springs. If you don’t hit potholes, for daily driving, these are #2. For performance, once you pass the helper spring, it’s like you’ve bottomed out the suspension. It’s not a nice transition, and I’ll take the Megan Racing coilovers over them.
KSport/D2: Utter crap. I had an issue with the camber adjustment bolt sliding from where I set it to full negative camber, which caused rubbing. When I HAD to drive, I installed wheel spacers so I wouldn’t rub, and drove carefully. These were stiff, bouncy, and clunked badly. The clunking is from the front, and is either the pillow ball mount needing a better lubrication, or the springs being too preloaded have been known to cause it. The sliding camber bolt I will fix by making a blockoff plate, and eliminating all of the slot, leaving a bolt hole. The stiffness is because KSports were offered in many spring rates, and I really don’t think they were re-valved for each rate. When I ordered 9/7 and an extra set of 5kg/mm, I didn’t receive the extra springs, and couldn’t revert to what the coilovers were supposedly valved for (7/5). I also put a mere 20 miles on my car with the KSports due to the camber issue, so some of the bounce and harshness *might* go away. The 1-year warranty associated with them is a joke, because KSport USA’s website lists the address the same as TrixRacing, who has up and left dozens of people on NICO without cash or coils.

What would I like?
First off I’d like a new set of McPherson mounting plates from Megan Racing. I think that myself, and anyone else who has had to elongate the bolt holes deserves a new set, in the name of safety and customer service.
Next up, I think if helper springs were an option, I’d really look into them. After taking some rather long joyrides in my friend’s cars with the coilovers with helper springs, my car feels much, much more stiff. That feeling goes away after a bit, but getting out of the Tein Basic s13 and into my Megan Racing s14 is an eye opener. Please don’t construe this as the Megan Racing is too stiff. It’s not. I like it a lot. But a good set of helper springs with a decent transition, and these coilovers would be HOT.

If anything pops up, or I snap some pictures, I’ll stuff them into this thread. Aside from picture questions (Look at online pictures from retailers. They had a professional take those pictures. And when they’re installed, they go from the one mounting point to the other. It’s not hard to mentally picture), if there is something I haven’t covered, ask away.