CLpower

sooo


looking at Koni adjustables and H&R's along with some 18" BMW CSL replicas in flat black, and transmission and motor mounts


or KW V3 coilovers (fully adjustable, ride height and dampening)





Which would you do

Crazy Bimmer

I have had so many different suspension setups. Spring/shocks and coilovers.

Hands down spend the money on the coilovers. The ride comfort is outstanding and they match up better for improved handling compared to springs/shock combo.

Im on pss9s now and looooooove them. I did that before i even thought about wheels.

MarbleGT

Do you really need all of the adjustment?

Its nice to have, but im sure those coilovers are $$$. Personally, I like to play around with settings, i'd say go for the coilovers.

CLpower

I would love it, but I wouldn't use the height adjustment in all honesty. I'd set it somewhere leave it and then mess with the dampening.


that said, the koni's have "some" adjustment to them. One thing that also is a very slight turnoff is the front strut is an insert, meaning I have to cut up my stock strut, and insert the koni.


This car is a daily driver that see's a good amount of spirited canyon driving and the occasional track day.

Costco

I'm actually debating it.... KW V3 coilovers for my Z28. Buuuuuut, strangely enough, there aren't many F-Body people with coilovers at all, let alone the KWs. So I'm not sure what to expect... plus they are serious $$$$$$. I'd love to have virgin wheel gap but I might get bored and I don't know how to corner-weight myself, and don't wanna pay a specialty shop for corner weighting and all that every time I mess with my suspension.

I'd forego the whole transmission/motor mount combo, assuming you're going polyurethane.... unless comfort is at the bottom of your list. Yes, your tranny moves less when you're flooring it and shifting but I think that's because your whole car violently trembling at idle tricks you into thinking like that.

KW Coilovers would be twice as much as springs/shocks for the s/s combo I'm looking at, Koni adjustables with Strano springs. But will the KWs be worth twice as much to me, not including the cost for the multiple alignments? That made the decision easy. Plus I can adjust toe/camber myself correctly with springs and shocks only... so no coilovers for me.

godfather2

if you don't need it, don't spend the money. i personally sold my tein coilovers for a shock/spring setup because i wasn't making full use of the hardware. the new setup suits me just fine

fsttyms1

Id get the H&R and Koni (or Bilstein if available)

phil2

pedder's extreme>*

CLpower

hell........no


I know Pete, Mike White, and Frank pretty well.........but I also know why Pedders has zero following down south

CLpower

Motor Mount is a good move, it'll solve A LOT of slop that's in this cars drivetrain. I can live with a little extra vibration.

Costco

^to each his own, I'd still go with springs/shocks... an extra G or so is a lot to work with!

and do you have pics of the CSL reps? I don't know, putting OEM rims from another manufacturer on your car is kinda funky.

hemhaw

Scott, I agree on the diff cushion, tranny/motor mount. One of the few things I didn't like about the goat was the big clank on take off. It felt like it had enormous spline clearance.

Bryan

CLpower

these are 19's, i'd be doing





[/QUOTE]

CLpower

SSMTL01

Looks good! It's pretty hard to find wheels that fit the GTO right?

bigman

Costco, dont bother with coilovers. If you are looking for a great combo without adjustability, get some Strano Springs and matched Revalved Bilsteins. If you want adjustability, go with Strano springs and koni's. The best part about Strano's springs and revalves is that he has spring rates and dampening depending on what you want from the car, and other mods you have done. Also dont forget subframe connectors. And get some rear lower control arms with relocation brackets while your at it. With that setup, the car will be track ready with a set of tires.

CLpower

impossible......no one makes a GTO specific wheel, we use BMW fitments to get by (unless you want to go customs ala CCW, etc)

CLpower

Ordered Koni's and H&R's

joerockt

Are those Breytons?

CLpower

no, BMW CSL Replicas




BTW, this is really a big step for me (buying suspension), i'm so picky about things that I've spent 3years trying to find the right decision when it comes to suspension. I've been like a girl in a shoe store that can only buy one pair of shoes.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

I didn't want to spend the extra money on the coilovers right now and opted for the neuspeed shocks/springs for the teggy because

1) My main concern was if I bought coilovers and a shock went out, I'd have to get it serviced and the car would be non-operational while the shock was being serviced.
2) I won't be making a lot of adjustments to it since it's a daily driver
3) As cool as it would be having coilovers, i'm not looking for the best handling car, just something that's sportier than stock and shocks/springs do just that. combine the shocks/springs with some sways and tie bars and that's more than enough for a daily driver and if I want to track it, it's still a decent setup.

I can't wait to take a stab at installing all the gear this weekend.

joerockt

Great choice...They will look sick on the red...

CLpower

Yea, I forever thought I wanted the best handling car.....but then I realized I just wanted to be a better driver. I've spent a lot of time canyon carving with completely modded GTO's and I hold up with them and in a lot of cases am faster.

I would then drive there cars and realize while yes I'm quicker then in my car...it was just a lil' to rough for my case (daily driver, lot of traffic, etc). Decided this will be the best bet. Still can't believe it took so long, I had over $1000 in bushings for this car before I even bought it and had them installed day 2

LIPPSTUH

iTrader: (2)

there's a company known on the e46fanatics forum which sells replicas, but i'm not sure if they sell other bolt patterns.

they're located around irvine, company owned by irvine graduates... PM me so i can find out for you

CLpower

Yea, Velocity Motors makes the wheels, they are out here. I'm buying them from European Auto Source in Santa Ana........


I think either them or Modbargains are where the E46 guys are buying them.


My bolt pattern and off-set is the same as the BMW

Crazy Bimmer

How about...

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138470
or
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126208

CLpower

e90's offset is wrong for me..........and I have zero interest in 19's

CLpower

btw, so the springs and shocks are ordered, camber kit will be purchased later today.


I'm going to do that first and then see hwo it looks on stock wheels.




How do you think a yellow pinstripe around the CSL's would look?

CLpower

okay, wheels are on hold, just got a price quote for suspension install


the rear camber bushing require 3.5 hours of work (which I know is true). The front strut is an insert so it has to be cut out

joerockt

Yellow? Why yellow?

joerockt

I'd love to get these for my TLS, but it seems Breytons are BMW only:

Breyton Race GTS

CLpower

it's different, also thinking about orange

joerockt

Maybe if you had yellow or orange trim somewhere Otherwise it would just look out of place on a red car

Costco

Speaking of CCWs there's this guy on the LS1tech calendar who has a GTO with the same red color as yours, and he had the mirror polished 505As.... some of my favorite CCWs btw, screen name is Josh99TA if you wanted to see

http://ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=905127

Already saving up I had my mind set on Stranos with Konis a long time ago. I was just wondering, if only I had the money.... and I actually got black/polished ZR1s and Vredesteins from tomzwheels. They're great! thanks for telling me about them, great prices and the tires kick ass too.

I look at UMI and Strano's stuff everyday....

CLpower

yea, Josh has a hot car, I think I may have helped convince him to paint them black w/ a body colored lip

Costco

^yuck, I just saw that thread. Ah, to each his own though.... but I guess you wouldn't want the same wheels that he has

CLpower

no, i just don't want to spend $4K on wheels


would rather have a blower

evilone

+1 for coilovers

LIPPSTUH

iTrader: (2)

oh nice yeah its velocity. update us with pictures...

i'd say go coilovers, everyone with springs always wished they bought coilovers

mattg

I really like the way the CSL rep's look on the GTO.