Worth while investing in coilovers before I get a cert?

[Mr-Paulio]

Hi team, I am sure this has been asked plenty before. But perhaps not relevant to my circumstances. I will have to get a cert soon for the V6 engine swap and bucket seats. And have just started to wonder if it's worth while investing in coilovers now for the AW11?
I don't want to find I want them later and have to get a new cert.
I have TRD lowered springs. And camber plates (which are a problem ATM, but that's another story)
But I like the idea of having more adjustment. Especially as I plan to track the car a bit.
That said I have no experience with coilovers.
I am interested in your thoughts regarding this? Also experiences, recommendations.
Anyone using coilovers on the track?
Anyone using just lowered springs?
My other concern is will I need to space the wheels out if I us coilovers? Currently running 205s which are quite close to the strut.
Thanks in advance for your advice!

[*84vvt]

Talk to your cert guy
He will tell you what needs a cert and whats doesn't
If you are thinking about coil overs buy the best you can afford
I have BC golds I'm not overly impress with them on the street as they don't have a huge amount of travel
and I can pick a wheel up on some corners (read wheel spin) with out trying to hard .
on the track they are good .
My spring choice is a bit hard I feel (can rember what they are srry )
looking at fitting some softer spring in the near future.
http://www.mrpltd.co.nz/product/mrp-coilover/

[Benckj]

Coilovers are great for the track but not so good as a daily driver. All depends on your intended use and if you can tolerate having your fillings knocked loose on NZ roads. For compliance purposes it is best to get all work done first so you only pay for one $600+ inspection.

[Mr-Paulio]

I guess as much as I plan to track the car it will probably get used more on the road. Weekends and club runs. Not a daily. And I wouldn't want to change springs regularly. Roads are bad out my ways in the country. So perhaps best to just stick to what I have? Hmm, food for thought.

[Benckj]

I wonder if you could borrow some coil overs to have on when inspected then swap out afterwards? This would cover you but obviously wold need a nice AW owner to loan you a set and I'm not sure what the implications are if certified for them but are not installed. There was a used set on TM but believe they for a SW20.

[clawnz]

Question!

Coil overs come in all sort of types it seems. Does that mean some of them are not adjustable spring rate?
The ones I fitted to my SW20 are adjustable spring rate as well as many other settings.
No they are not a hard ride at at all, on close to the softest spring rate.
Remember I took the other lowered set up off due to being too hard and vibrating the interior mirror down even on motorways.
That was hard and horrible for an old guy like me. The street D2's are great in my opinion. And I do tend to drive fairly hard. Ask Charlie.
The car behaves very well in corners, driving it to the max.

I just got a warrant with coil overs, and HID headlights.
I even asked the guy about the aftermarket steering joints, HID's and shocks. He was not too worried.

[GDII]

I wonder if you could borrow some coil overs to have on when inspected then swap out afterwards? This would cover you but obviously wold need a nice AW owner to loan you a set and I'm not sure what the implications are if certified for them but are not installed. There was a used set on TM but believe they for a SW20.

If you like to void your insurance then sure you can do that. They put a height +/- 5% on the cert plate so even if you do run coilovers you have to set the height and can't really change it.

Coilovers are usually stiffer than normal or lowering springs but do not always feel that way. Something like SW20 TRD soft springs are 3kgf/mm from and 5.5kgf/mm rear but a coilover running 5k and 8k springs can feel softer. Damper rates come into play when adjusting stiffness too. You can have a soft spring with stiff dampers and it will feel stiff or a stiff spring with soft dampers and it will feel soft.

What do you want from the car? Adjustablity of dampers is good so can go soft for road use and then stiffen it up for track use all with the same spring rate. Sure it's not ideal but better than not having it. You can get adjustable dampers for normal struts but mostly only the rebound adjustment. Some coilovers will allow bound and rebound adjustment while others only give rebound. Adjusting your damper settings can change the cars handling to make it better for track use. Stiffer rear dampers can make it turn in better.

MRP (Manon Racing Products) do a good AW11 coilover like what Colin said. You can order them with the spring rates you want and maybe custom valving. These are also height adjustable using the shock body rather than using the spring perch and messing with the spring preload. BC gold allow for this too.

For me using a spring and shock combo is best but I don't have any certifiable mods yet but I'd be in the same boat when this does occur. Decisions decisions.

[GDII]

Question!

Coil overs come in all sort of types it seems. Does that mean some of them are not adjustable spring rate?
The ones I fitted to my SW20 are adjustable spring rate as well as many other settings.
No they are not a hard ride at at all, on close to the softest spring rate.
Remember I took the other lowered set up off due to being too hard and vibrating the interior mirror down even on motorways.
That was hard and horrible for an old guy like me. The street D2's are great in my opinion. And I do tend to drive fairly hard. Ask Charlie.
The car behaves very well in corners, driving it to the max.

I just got a warrant with coil overs, and HID headlights.
I even asked the guy about the aftermarket steering joints, HID's and shocks. He was not too worried.

I assume you mean adjustable dampers?
And fail for the WOF guy. Owell.

[clawnz]

No! Phil, you can adjust the spring compression as well on the D2's
Dampening has at least 12 setting to adjust that.
Camber adjustment and ride height.

[GDII]

No! Phil, you can adjust the spring compression as well on the D2's
Dampening has at least 12 setting to adjust that.
Camber adjustment and ride height.

You'll have to explain that because a spring is only ever one rate. Do you mean preload? Very different things.

My one rate comment relates to the fact most coilovers use a single rate spring rather than the lowering spring type with different coil shapes.

[rocco26]

I had bc golds on my n/a sw20 and they have transformed the handling . In my mind they are best upgrade you can do . Yes ,depending on the cost ,plus cert fees they are an expensive,but you can always take them with you and the next owner gets the cert plate. Everbody wins. It's a no brainer .

[Gleshlich]

Let me know if you're after BC golds. Can get a nice price on them

[Troyhaima]

mrps coil overs are worth it. got them on my aw. they are bloody brilant. specialy on chch roads. got them set ups o its not to rough on rd but still good on the track.

[Mr-Paulio]

Sooo much information here! So much to consider. Thanks guys!!

I guess I may not make the run next weekend as fitting coilovers and getting a cert and wof in time maybe tricky! Haha.

But yes I believe in doing things right the first time. My car will most likely get more road use. But I'd hate to find I need/want coilovers for the track and have to get the cert again.
At this stage I am not sure what I may want/need performance and set up wise from my suspension. But I guess my concern was that I may not get that from the stock set up.

[GDII]

The stock setup will probably not be best for track use but ask yourself this. Are you chasing down laps times and fully converting your car to a track racer and using it for something like World Time Attack?
You can get adjustable dampers that don't need a cert and the TRD springs would be quite good however is the V6 heavier than the 4AGE? The rates for the TRD springs might not be good for it.

However now is the time to do this mod and if you can afford the cost of coilvers then do it. MRP or (Fortune Auto which you can get from MRP) or BC golds. There are others around but those are just the more well known names, not necessarily the best either.