mike88se

I saw a couple of cars here that looked great on Eibachs. Now I read a post that Eibachs will have an undesirable effect on a manual transmission car and sure enough the cars I was looking at were auto transmission.
If this info is correct that's too bad because I can pick up a new set of Eibachs locally for $100.
Other spring choices... Vogtland about $180 shipped.
Tein S or Tein H about the same price as Vogtland.
I haven't found any info comparing Vogtland on an auto vs a 6 speed. So many people use Tein I'm guessing they are fine on a 6mt.
Koni Sport dampers... $560 shipped... can't go wrong here apparently on price or quality. I saw KYBs and Tokico blues priced higher than that.
Total price on springs and dampers about $760 shipped.

Coilovers... $540 shipped for Tein Street Basis or $640 shipped for Tein Street Advance.
So I can save $120 or $220 and get good results?
I have zero experience with coilovers so I'm going by online research. Is there $100 difference between Basis and Advance?
My objective: some low for handling. Strictly for everyday use with occasional trips to Texas hill country back roads for fun. No interest in slamming or stance.
So far it seems that the advantage of coilovers is slight. The install looks a little easier. A little more adjustability... mainly in ride height.

Sorry if this seems like old questions but if someone would care to organize all known info on spring/shock combinations and coilovers then questions like this probably wouldn't come up again.

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

the 6speed transmission weighs considerably less than the auto, so the front of the 6speeds sit higher than they do on the autos. So people usually suggest coilovers or shocks with perch settings (like the Koni) that allow you to drop the front like 0.8" more.
The tein SS or advance is more like $1,100. I've had the basis and they rode great. Enough adjustment for me and very comfortable, but no dampening adjustment. My only issue was they were noisy. I always had annoying squeaks and couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Others have had similar issues.

mike88se

Thanks. So I suppose Eibach springs and Koni dampers would work if I lowered the front with the Koni's adjustable perches.
I saw a Tein SS kit on heeltoeauto.com for $1237 but the Tein Advance is call an evolution of the SS on the tein website. But the Advance is available for a little more than half the price of the SS. Confusing.
So Tein Basis: no damping adjustment $540 shipped
Advance: 16-way Damping adjustment with over 200% increase in damping force change over SS (according to Tein) $640 shipped
Tein SS: $1300 shipped?
The SS and Advance can be used with EDFC but I have no interest in adding to the weight of my car.

I could get Eibach/Koni for $660 or Vogtland/Koni for $760 shipped.
Or Tein Advance for $640 shipped. Plus something for rear camber if I use coilovers?
Basically I'm trying to find out if there is any big advantage in coilovers vs shocks/struts given the fact I'm not interested in going real low.

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

the advantage is just full height control.

After having coilovers and not wanting to be that low again, I'm looking to grab some koni shocks in the future. Lifetime warranty, dampening and rebound adjustment, small height adjustment.

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

the advantage is just full height control.

After having coilovers and not wanting to be that low again, I'm looking to grab some koni shocks in the future. Lifetime warranty, dampening and rebound adjustment, small height adjustment.

mike88se

I just spent a couple of hours reading anything that didn't look like fanboy (moar low!) or biased (as in trying to sell me something i don't need) and your first sentence pretty much sums up everything I found. I don't need a fine tuned suspension when I'll likely spend little if any time on a track. I'm not going low enough to need fender rolling just because it makes a car look cool parked. I'd spend less upfront on the Tein coilovers but then I might need parts to correct camber and end up spending as much or more than springs and struts. Now I just need to find some pics of CLS6's with various types of springs and Koni dampers and see which looks best and how it rides if the owner mentions it.
Thanks

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

you also don't have to slam it with coilovers. I can't remember offhand the minimum drop with tein coilovers, but it's not very low. When I had them, I was about 1-2 finger gap and didn't have a camber kit. The rear camber was just within spec.

mike88se

I'll keep that in mind. I've only found one pic of a CLS on Vogtland springs so far but I don't know if it was manual or auto. Those spring may be a little too low.

Adam Kovach

iTrader: (1)

if you use the koni yellows with the 2 different spring perches, you can eliminate the possible rake.

Stephen00TL

I have h&r sport springs and koni yellows and the ride height is even. I didn't have to use the lower perches to level it out.

mike88se

Thanks... with your stock wheels that is helpful. I'll get the Eibach springs if they're still available. I'm on the fence about the Konis. I might see how the blues hold up but I know there is a good possibility they may not. I'd thought about doing just the front until I realized the rear suspension also had the damper inside the spring. I've never owned a car w/ a suspension like that. The top priority now should be replacing the cv axles. The clicking seems to be getting worse. I'm trying to figure out if there are any transmission seals I'll need to buy and anything else that's needed other than the axles and new transmission fluid.