Can you get a better ride with coil overs

I have stock springs with one coil cut and Tokico D ajustable shocks but want a better ride. Can you get a SIGNIFICANT better/smoother ride with coil overs, if so what brand is best for this. Wanting to keep it 1 1/2" lower than stock like it is now.

Ive tried H&R sport springs, the ride was a little worse than stock. There was no change in ride with the one coil cut from stock springs.

If you're happy leave it alone. Especially since you don't want to go any lower.

But to answer your question, yes you can. Even more so with a set of adjustable shocks/struts. I have MM coilovers and to me they ride about the same as the H&R race springs I had. But I also thought those road decent for what they were. I'm currently lower than the H&R's as well. The handling got better too IMO.

Maybe you should look into bags if you're wanting a better ride. I imagine you could really dial them in.

Thanks 01Yellercobra for your reply. --Just want to stay with the 1 1/2" drop with better ride. according to M&M you get better handling and ride because of stuff they say doesnt make much sense to me, like they talk about the difference between spindle pressure and control arm pressure. Dont want to mess with air ride with tubing and pump and price that comes with it. --------So if any one here has experienced a better ride with coil overs and what brand I would like to hear about it. Lethal Performance offers Viking Coil overs but havent heard much about them.

I helped a buddy put Vikings on his car a couple weeks ago. He's still dialing it all in, but he's very happy with them. Funny thing is he thought my car rode on the rough side and I think its on the soft side. Just goes to show how different people are.

A buddy of mine described coilovers as having the same ride, but feeling tighter control. Hard to explain, but makes sense once you drive a car with coilovers.

Most of the change is in the front. Easiest way to think about it is a lever. In a stock set up the spring is about halfway between the spindle and control arm mount. Hard to turn a ratchet halfway up the handle. The coilover moves the spring to the spindle. Now you're pushing the ratchet from the end of the handle. Doesn't take as much force and you have more control. That's why front coilover springs are on the lighter side. Doesn't take as much force to control the tire.

For the rear the spring is essentially in the same location. To me the main advantage is being able to set the height right where I want it in this case.

Sounds like maybe going with just front coil overs would work. My ride height in the back is right where I want it anyway

FIREBALL said:

Sounds like maybe going with just front coil overs would work. My ride height in the back is right where I want it anyway

Click to expand...

Ive seen MM pretty regularly recommend just coil over in the front and standard coils in the back, definitely not a must have

Front only coil over is NOT gonna make ur ride feel better imo. And u need to go with a coil over that has adjustable settings other wise ur coil over will simply NOT be a better ride!

If I rode around with my Vikings on drag race settings it would drive like a giant pile of shit and I would want to drive it straight off a cliff!

I change the compression and rebound for the street but only if u have all (4) to adjust and there is a LOT of adjustment and if u play with it u will get it perfect for the street and it will ride OK but not great. Remember, they're job is to get traction not make ur ass feel better.

So be prepared to spend a decent amount of money on good DA coil overs otherwise u will be severely disappointed in ur purchase and they are not cheap and neither is the install if ur not doing it urself.

Go with Viking.

FIREBALL said:

Sounds like maybe going with just front coil overs would work. My ride height in the back is right where I want it anyway

Click to expand...

Well..I know everyone has their ideas about what is best..MM can give guidance on that..although I think they are much too safe in that they generally recommend 150# effective spring rates delta between front and rear springs CO...I think 100# delta is better.

Me..konis or bilstein..I says...

The only thing I would add is to make sure that the effective CO rate for the front mates well with the standard position coils in the rear that you have in there now.

Otherwise If you go for a large rate CO spring in the front...and stay non CO in the rear, the rear spring is going to be some big honking afco or griggs springs to get a good front to rear spring balance.

MM will make sure of that stuff for you.
Coil-Over Suspension Frequently Asked Questions
Guide to Choosing Spring Rates and Dampers

Just use the above to get educated...but call MM for guidance and recommendations.

Keep us posted.

M&M has the only front kit that will fit my Tokico Ds and with many spring# choices. In many of M&Ms write ups and Q&As they sure make a good case for a better ride and handling using their front coil overs (but I guess as to be expected from any company)

Fireball, what part of Cali are you in? If you're anywhere close to me we can figure out a meet up and I can take you for a spin in my car. It won't be exactly how you want it, but it should give you an idea.

FIREBALL said:

M&M has the only front kit that will fit my Tokico Ds and with many spring# choices. In many of M&Ms write ups and Q&As they sure make a good case for a better ride and handling using their front coil overs (but I guess as to be expected from any company)

Click to expand...

The g35 coupe and 350z is like that and handling is great..I agree.

And actually my Audi is configured like that as well.

01yellercobra said:

Fireball, what part of Cali are you in? If you're anywhere close to me we can figure out a meet up and I can take you for a spin in my car. It won't be exactly how you want it, but it should give you an idea.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer we are approx 450 miles apart. Im going to give the M&M coil overs a try in the spring---making sure I get a spring that is lower in rate.

shurur said:

The g35 coupe and 350z is like that and handling is great..I agree.
And actually my Audi is configured like that as well.

Click to expand...

That sounds good but not sure what you mean by configured like that------like with coil overs or with M&M coil overs?

If your term means a smoother ride then i would go against any coil over setup. Personally i have not been in a car that had an actual better ride with coil overs vs a well match shocks and struts and right spring combo.

Personally id recommend the Eibach pro kit for 03/04 cobra with some Koni yellows. If your Tokico D have low miles you can use them too.

me32 said:

If your term means a smoother ride then i would go against any coil over setup. Personally i have not been in a car that had an actual better ride with coil overs vs a well match shocks and struts and right spring combo.

Personally id recommend the Eibach pro kit for 03/04 cobra with some Koni yellows. If your Tokico D have low miles you can use them too.

Click to expand...

This also shows ride can be subjective. The cars you've been in might have had bad set ups. Or were set up more for the handling aspect.

IMO Eibachs suck. Had them on two different SN95's and an S197. The ride in was horrible IMO.

FIREBALL said:

That sounds good but not sure what you mean by configured like that------like with coil overs or with M&M coil overs?

Click to expand...

Sorry..I meant they come with OEM Front COs and OEM standard separate spring/shock combo in the rear as part of their suspension system.

01yellercobra said:

This also shows ride can be subjective. The cars you've been in might have had bad set ups. Or were set up more for the handling aspect.

IMO Eibachs suck. Had them on two different SN95's and an S197. The ride in was horrible IMO.

Click to expand...

Right..I basically haver the 2000R suspension..with H&R race springs, Koni SA sports on the front and Bilstein B8 sports on the back..she is a rough ride IMO...but what I wanted.

01yellercobra said:

This also shows ride can be subjective. The cars you've been in might have had bad set ups. Or were set up more for the handling aspect.

IMO Eibachs suck. Had them on two different SN95's and an S197. The ride in was horrible IMO.

Click to expand...

I agree ride is very subjective. Coil overs in my experience are great for the track, sucks for the street.

IRS cars ride much better on a proper setup coil spring setup.

The SN95 SRA naturally had a crappy ride just like the fox. Any setup you were doing was for better handling.

The S197 actually start off with a much better platform and just doing quality shocks and struts alone improved the ride.

me32 said:

I agree ride is very subjective. Coil overs in my experience are great for the track, sucks for the street.

IRS cars ride much better on a proper setup coil spring setup.

The SN95 SRA naturally had a crappy ride just like the fox. Any setup you were doing was for better handling.

The S197 actually start off with a much better platform and just doing quality shocks and struts alone improved the ride.

Click to expand...

The 06 was my wife's car. It came with the Eibachs and stock shocks/struts. The ride was meh at best. We installed the Koni oranges and it was a noticable improvement, but still wasn't the greatest. But the car sat how she wanted.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the coilovers for track only thing. The coilovers were probably the best suspension mod I did IMO. Similar ride to the H&R's and better handling.

01yellercobra said:

The 06 was my wife's car. It came with the Eibachs and stock shocks/struts. The ride was meh at best. We installed the Koni oranges and it was a noticable improvement, but still wasn't the greatest. But the car sat how she wanted.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the coilovers for track only thing. The coilovers were probably the best suspension mod I did IMO. Similar ride to the H&R's and better handling.

Click to expand...

What springs are you running up front? I bought a used MM coilover setup here on the site and they came with 350# springs. I just sent an email to MM asking them what springs they recommend front and back for my car/suspension setup. My rear springs are H&R SS.
I'm thinking I'd like to try the 300#, but let's see what MM suggests.

98 svt said:

What springs are you running up front? I bought a used MM coilover setup here on the site and they came with 350# springs. I just sent an email to MM asking them what springs they recommend front and back for my car/suspension setup. My rear springs are H&R SS.
I'm thinking I'd like to try the 300#, but let's see what MM suggests.

Click to expand...

I'm running a 300lb spring up front with 475xs in the rear.