GC Coilover kit+Konis

[trakhoar]

Just curious if anyone pieced together this combo.

GC Kit-$425
Koni Yellow-$600

So for about a $1000 you get ride height adjustment and rebound adjustments with the ever popular koni yellows.

Otherwise you can do the full GC coil kit which adds the upper caster plates ($1600) or the kw v3s ($1900) but still need to add mounts to those as well.

Seems like a decent budget coil setup. Main use for the car is commuting (10 miles each way) and a handfull of track days (Thill, laguna, sears) per year

 

[Sky Render]

Height adjustment doesn't do much for you unless you insist on having your car corner-weighted (which is of little benefit unless you're a seriously competitive driver). Lowering the car by more than an inch or so screws up the suspension and steering geometry, as well. The Ground Control kit isn't even a coilover setup in the rear; it simply adds an adjustable spring perch.

You're better off getting good adjustable shocks (Koni Yellows or Tokico Ds) and good stiff springs.

The only advantage of the Ground Control setup is the ability to get different rate springs. Even then, every time you swap the front springs out you'll need to realign the car...

 

[trakhoar]

I wont lie, part of the height adjustment want is for cosmetics, which is the main reason im entertaining it. Most of the full "coilover" kits for the S197 are also just an adjustable perch in the rear.

The other option is the fortune auto kit, which is a full coilover in the rear.

 

[Sky Render]

I wont lie, part of the height adjustment want is for cosmetics, which is the main reason im entertaining it. Most of the full "coilover" kits for the S197 are also just an adjustable perch in the rear.

The other option is the fortune auto kit, which is a full coilover in the rear.

If you're just worried about aesthetics, do whatever you want. Remember that lowering your car also increases your negative camber. You technically need to realign the front suspension every time you raise or lower those coilovers.

But how low do you want? This is my car sitting on Steeda Ultralites:

Those springs lower it by about 1.5", which is the theoretical limit before you need to start adjusting bumpsteer, control arms, etc.

 

[WereWolf]

looking into adjustable ride height stuff and my googlefu found this
http://www.autotuningstore.com/Mega...ang__From_2005__To_2012--product--675264.html

 

[Sky Render]

looking into adjustable ride height stuff and my googlefu found this
http://www.autotuningstore.com/Mega...ang__From_2005__To_2012--product--675264.html

Chinese knockoff junk.

 

[WereWolf]

Chinese knockoff junk.

the price seemed a bit low compared to other stuff.. but what about these guys
http://thmotorsports.com/i-132626.a...USTANG&utm_campaign=GoogleShoppingSeanVehSpec
i mean there "sposta" be from germany lol

and these steeda ones aren't actually adjustable ride height are they?http://dagostinoracing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18570&currency=USD

sorry i am a little out of it was up really late last night finishing a paper

 

[Sky Render]

Good call.

ST coilovers are actually made by KW. Basically, it's a Variant 1 KW coilover without the "Inox" treatment. ST coilovers are great if you just want height adjustability and don't need to worry about corrosion!

 

[trakhoar]

No desire to run the Megan/BC coils, for the same price id rather stick with the GCs+Coils.

The ST kit you posted does not have any dampening adjustment which is why I originally ruled it out vs the GC+koni combo where I can at least adjust rebound

THe Steeda kit you posted, that price is for just the fronts, add in the rear kit and its $1600, at which point id rather spend a bit more and just get the KWV3

Im already on the steeda ultra-light springs, and the rear of the car looks jacked up like a nitro funny car. I dont plan on lowering the front much more than it already is.

As the title says..anyone with experience with the GC/Koni combo? I know they are/were all the rage with the honda and miata guys

 

[foolio2k4]

GC/konis look to be a decent setup for the price.

Fortune Autos entry level shock is slightly more (probably a couple hundred bucks more) than the GC, but has everything you need + true rear coilover setup.

 

[trakhoar]

I contacted fortune auto already and they said they only make the 510 series and dreadnaughts for the S197, so entry price point is $1500 or so...or $1700 for the mullers, where you can get swift springs with custom rates. But yeah..i guess its the gap between around $1000 out of pocket or $1500+

 

[foolio2k4]

Oh...i was quoted around $1300.

$1500 is a big jump.

Their dreadnaughts look so sick. They are coming out with a double adj w/ remote reservior for S197 that is suppose to rival JRZ. But i was told the price point was close to $3000-$4000.

 

[coyote5o-cnj]

I had Fortune Auto on my Evo X, they are a great company who truly take care of you, the customer. I loved them on my X real solid products, especially for the price. On a side note my only question really now that I have the Mustang is if your front strut have camber plates on the top how do you adjust them since the top of the strut underhood block off access to the top of the strut.??

 

[Scrape]

I have been looking at the same kits you posted here and the GC-Koni combo seems to be the best deal for the money short of that I would just go full out and get the KW V3 kit. If you want the best then go Moton. Because of my experience with KW V2's on my last car I am leaning towards the V3 kit for the Stang.

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk

Do it once. Do it right. That's my theory.

 

[Chim-Chim]

Just curious if anyone pieced together this combo.

The only advantage of the Ground Control setup is the ability to get different rate springs. Even then, every time you swap the front springs out you'll need to realign the car...

I've been running the GC kit for a few years and have been very happy with it. First on Tokicos, now on Konis (when the Tokicos were blown). Main reason was to be able to (1) run linear rate springs; and (2) to be able to play with spring rates. And of course, corner weighting is indeed another advantage.

Realign after every spring swap? As in loosen the camber plates and adjust like I do every time I am at the track? That is a nonissue...

 

[Sky Render]

The Fortune auto kit places the coilovers where the stock rear shocks are, right? You realize the top rear shock mount is not designed to withstand the forces created by having the springs there? It's just a flimsy piece of sheet metal! People that have run that coilover setup on road courses have deformed the rear portions of the chassis from that, unless it's heavily reinforced by a roll cage.

EDIT: see this thread:
http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69139

It's fine if you only want to run on the street, but then why do you need a rear coilover setup for that? A better solution for the rear is to use a "standard" setup (that KW and almost every other coilover manufacturer uses) along with a Watts Link.

Realign after every spring swap? As in loosen the camber plates and adjust like I do every time I am at the track? That is a nonissue...

It's not a nonissue for everyone. Not everyone has access to camber adjustment gauges. Though if you're swapping springs around all the time it's probably a good idea to have one.

 

[jymontoya]

Whoa Whoa Whoa!!!

There's a lot of bad information flying around here. Gotta love the interweb :/

First-

The GC/Koni combo will work fine but is a compromise over their custom kit. The reason is that by utilizing the normal perch (not cut), you cannot get a tall spring in there, and you limit your working travel by introducing coilbind earlier than needed. As Chim-Chim has pointed out though, it can still work pretty well. Another option if you don't care about shock adjustability would be the H&R Coilovers ($1100), which are Bilsteins.

Second-

Sport springs are NOT 'Good STIFF SPRINGS' they are barely an upgrade when you are open tracking. They just don't have the rate needed to control the car appropriately when aggressively braking from 120+, and handling high speed sweepers. Perhaps they work OK when dodging cones, but not on a real track.

Third-

True coilovers in the rear DO NOT cause deformation of the rear shock mount on these cars, THIS IS AN INTERNET MYTH. It is reinforced by an angle adapter that displaces the load to the VERTICAL sheet metal, which is plenty strong for the car on the track. The reason you see racecars with reinforcement bars as part of the cage is just to further stiffen the chassis, something you need every bit of in head to head racing. For open tracking, the rear coilovers work fine without any other reinforcement than comes with the kits. Give Griggs, Cortex, Moton... a call if you don't believe me.

 

[foolio2k4]

 

[trakhoar]

The Fortune auto kit places the coilovers where the stock rear shocks are, right? You realize the top rear shock mount is not designed to withstand the forces created by having the springs there? It's just a flimsy piece of sheet metal! People that have run that coilover setup on road courses have deformed the rear portions of the chassis from that, unless it's heavily reinforced by a roll cage.

EDIT: see this thread:
http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69139

.

No offense man, bu do you have any personal experience with this design and did you even read that thread?

Pretty much everyone in the thread who ran the full coil, said it had been a non-issue and they were just boxing it in as a precaution, not because they had deformed it in the past. The one guy who had seen deformation, well that car didnt even have a rear coilover. And those are full on road race guys, while im decently fast around the track, I wouldnt be pushing the car nearly as hard as those guys.

 

[trakhoar]

Thank you chim chim and jymontoya, just the real world type of information I was looking for.

Also your experience with the cortex kit highlights the usefullness of ride height adjusment beyond just corner balancing. Being able to shift rear/front grip without swaping springs is definately a benefit, even for moderately paced guys like myself