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- MP5T / 944
Get TEIN-SS
Then you can set it to whatever you want..
Then you can set it to whatever you want..
Installing my Goldlines and Illuminas this weekend. w00t!
- Thread starter MrDiggler
- Start date
Brian MP5T said:
Coilovers? I'm pretty certain the spring rates are going to be that much higher. I bought my 323 GTX with GC coilovers on it and I absolutely hate the ride. The Tein SS would give me a lot of adjustability though. Hmmm.
Another update: I put over 300 miles on the car yesterday doing an appraisal and driving to the Titans game (Go Titans!). This gave me a lot of seat time on every type of road, including some killer mountain roads I hadn't seen before. I'm getting more used to it, but still not sold on the combo. I'm getting rubbing front and rear when taking tighter corners hard, and the steering feel is still iffy. While the center of gravity should be lower now, there's still about as much body roll as before, which I didn't expect and it contributes to the rubbing. It could have something to do with progressive springs and may explain my weird initial turn-in feel. I also found out that the handling balance has changed... hello oversteer! I'm sure if I was a better driver and on the track I'd be tickled pink, but for me on public roads it's probably not the best idea, especially if the road were wet.
I had all the same negative experiences when I had the sportline/ illuminas. I tried all the shock settings and still was not happy. I gave up and went with the KW coilovers. They are 340 lb/in in the front and a progressive rate in the rear. The ride is firm but not stiff, maybe like setting 1 or 2 on the illuminas when driven normally. When pushed the shocks seem to get stiffer (dunno) so it always feels perfect.
It still has a little bump steer but its less than the sportline combo I had.
I am finally happy.
It still has a little bump steer but its less than the sportline combo I had.
I am finally happy.
srd555 said:
I'm glad to know I'm not alone here. I was starting to think I was crazy because I never would have guessed I wouldn't be happy with this combo. I finally got to take my favorite off ramp tonight and I'm not sure that I'm any faster around it than before. There's a bit more drama now, as the suspension doesn't ever fully settle down like before. It seemed to keep squirming/wiggling above 8/10ths of the limit.
Could you ever hear your Illuminas? Ever since mine have been on, I hear a squish noise or high pitched whoosh from the right rear on any significant compression.
Yeah, I thought I was going crazy too, because when I came on here everyone said it was the geatest setup they ever had. I think the problem was the shock valving. If you set it to were it was comfortable to drive @ up to 4/10ths, then it was very squirmy/bouncy @ > 5/10ths. Mine for instance was set @ 2 front 4 rear with 36psi in the front tires and 30psi in the rear. This set up felt comfortable on the street and gave the best turn-in response (almost an oversteer) in the first half of a corner, the second half would have a balanced feel. This same setup however, would have a squirmy/bouncy/wandering feel when driven at or above highway speeds especially when you hit multiple bumps with high frequencies, eg. expansion slots on a bridge. When I upped the front shocks to 3, the car did not want to turn and the front wheels would skip over bumps.MrDiggler said:
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Still haven't switched out the combo. Thought I'd give it a fair shake, and I'm honestly not 100% sure what I want to do yet. I'll probably put the stock setup back in, but I'm really getting used to the look of it sitting 2" lower!
That said, I'm still not too enthused with this combo. I still think it rides like s***, and I don't think it handles any better than before.
That said, I'm still not too enthused with this combo. I still think it rides like s***, and I don't think it handles any better than before.
MrDiggler said:
My suggestion is to give the Megan Racing springs a try if you can. They will sit the car higher for better front suspension geometry for less lean and are stiffer. Pretty much most of the lean will be eliminated. Your car will feel like a train. It'll be a good combination for the illuminas. However, they are STIFFER still than the goldlines and the ride will be a bit firmer as I've went from Goldlines to MR.
Thanks for the info. So, my front being lower might have a lot to do with why I'm not happy with the non-linear turn-in, etc.? Are the Megans too stiff for HP struts? Any pics of the stance after the install?
MrDiggler said:
I'm pretty sure that because the front end is too low where the control arms are almost parallel is the major problem here. I would think that the HP struts will not be able dampen MR springs well, especially in the rear. My illumina has to be on 3 or higher in the rear to be able to control the MR Spring well. I'm not sure how a 3 setting on the illumina compares to the HPs.
here's a pic of the stance;
Cool, thanks man. I've been meaning to email Tokico and ask them (in layman's terms) what the differences are between the HP and the Illumina as far as performance. I'm aware of the obvious differences but I'd like to know if there is any setting on the Illumina that roughly corresponds with the action of the HP's. My guess is they don't really overlap, meaning #1 on the Illumina is still a bit firmer than the HP, but we'll see what they say.
There's no email address I could find for them, but I just got off the phone with Ray at Tokico in L.A. Apparently he was involved with the suspension testing on these cars a few years ago, and he said that the HP would correlate to about a 1.5 setting on the Illumina (for those who don't know, you have to set them in increments of 1). This also means they do overlap a bit with the HP. At least I have a reputable reference point now, and with my most recent Illumina settings in the 1-2 range, it would appear that my ride quality problems are not due to big differences in the struts. On that note, he also went on to say that they noticed that the MSP in particular didn't take well to being lowered too much and street driven, at least with their struts, because the ride quality deteriorated severely. He indicated that to maintain a decent ride quality and handling feel on the street, the MSP needs to keep as much of its suspension travel as possible. I'm sure this holds true in general for most cars, but it was surprising how distinctly he seemed to remember how the MSP behaved during their testing, so it apparently made an impression.
Either way, I'm glad for the info, and will probably keep my Illuminas, and therefore keep some adjustability. Now I just need to find a set of springs to my liking, and I bet they don't exist. I'd like something with the design and spring rate exactly like the Racing Beats, only with the front .75" lower than the RB when compressed.
Either way, I'm glad for the info, and will probably keep my Illuminas, and therefore keep some adjustability. Now I just need to find a set of springs to my liking, and I bet they don't exist. I'd like something with the design and spring rate exactly like the Racing Beats, only with the front .75" lower than the RB when compressed.
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MrDiggler said:
For whatever difference it makes, the megan racing springs are stiff but don't drop the car as much as the goldlines, as CustomMSP pointed out. My friend got some iluminas and megan racing springs on his P5, with the struts set to 4 in front and 3 in back, the ride i went on didn't feel any worse than my stock setup. But of course i'm not as familiar with it as someone who drives the setup every day.
I've thought about it, but I'd be cutting off the flat-wound load bearing part of the spring to do it, and that worries me. If I knew for sure it wouldn't be a problem, I'd go for trimming them just a bit.
jmv said:
Yeah, mine wouldn't be terribly noticeable to most passengers until I hit a sharp pavement transition or even a shallow pothole. Then it wants to knock your teeth out. Since I get about 20k miles a year of seat time on all kinds of roads, I unfortunately notice even the slightest changes in the ride & handling.
CustomMSP said:
Yeah, I guess I didn't clarify. It's hard to tell in the pic on page 1, but even the end with the round wire is formed to go straight for half a turn on so on my RB's. I studied cutting it, but if I do the coil wire will be forced into the spring isolator pad at an angle, with most of the load carried right at the tip of the end I just cut. It may not matter, and I'm going to study on it some more. Tonight I gotta figure out why I'm getting a knocking from the right rear under susp. compression. Arrgghh.
