- Now I don't know about you guys but for me
suspension is really one
of the very first things
that I want to modify when I buy a new (to me) car.
Even before I get wheels and tires
I want to get that thing sitting
just right, handling really, really good
and sorted for some (mumbles).
Anyway, there are so many different ways to go
about modifying your suspension
at varying different price points.
So it's no wonder that one
of the most asked questions that we get here
at Fitment Industries about suspension
are how to choose the right suspension
set up before you ride.
Should you go with coil-overs over lowering springs?
Which coil overs should I get?
When are lowering springs even appropriate?
Or should I just go all out
and bite the bullet on some air suspension?
And is the extra money for premium brands worth it?
Well if that sounds like something you're curious about
then stick around because today we're going to talk
about how to choose the right suspension for you.
But before we get into all of that stuff
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Let's get started.
So we're going to go through this one
from some of the least expensive options
and move up through the more expensive stuff.
Starting with you guessed it, lowering springs.
Now lowering springs are an interesting one.
They really seem to have this stigma
of being a cheap cop-out or that lowering springs
just aren't going to handle as good
as some of your coil-overs.
but I'm here to tell you that that is not the case at all.
Lowering springs are a great option
for those that don't want
or that don't need to be able to freely
adjust their ride height whenever they so choose.
I personally chose H&R Super Sport lowering springs
and I bought Pro Damper shocks
for my Mustang for a couple of different reasons.
I didn't need to get the car dirty, nasty low.
A 200 lowering spring is plenty
for the car and the combination
of performance oriented shock still handled better
than stock without sacrificing a lot
of ride quality.
With that it's not ever going to be a show car.
And even if I were to take it out to Road America
the was set a coil-overs isn't going to change
the fact that these cars have a suspension geometry
that's been used since 1979.
And they aren't really competitive
at anything no matter what you do to them.
And I don't plan on keeping the car forever.
So I didn't want to blindly throw a bunch of money
on suspension that I realistically wouldn't utilize.
This goes especially for some of your more niche vehicles
where in entry-level coil-overs
start getting really, really expensive
because it's not a popular platform to modify.
From there you have cars
that come with really, really well
engineered suspension from the factory.
Which most modern sports cars do.
From F-550 Mustang, GPPP magnetized suspension
all the way up to your Porsche 911 GT3
the suspension components are usually adjustable
through the vehicle.
They're very expensive and very, very good at what they do.
So changing those wouldn't really be worth it.
But if you want to take it to the next level
and pull a little bit of ride height out of the car
without going too far, lowering springs
are perfect option for cars
with adjustable suspension in the factory.
So if you fall into either of those categories
I highly urge the use of a lowering spring.
It's a great way to extract extra performance
without sacrificing quality or your adjustable suspension.
Coil overs on the other hand are
such a good way to take a car to the next level
from a performance standpoint and an aesthetic standpoint
and cater to both sides of that in nearly
infinite directions.
Starting with your super
entry level, unbranded eBay stuff
that's more get low than it is increased performance.
And I really can't recommend these to anybody.
A lot of these products don't last very long
and they tend to be poorly made with a high failure rate.
If that's the only route you can afford
I totally understand that.
We've all been there including myself
but I would recommend a lowering spring set
up 10 times over any of the unbranded stuff
because 9 times out of 10 it's really not worth it.
Moving into the universally good value coil-overs
that I recommend for most people and most vehicles.
These are going to be your quote, unquote
"entry-level coil-overs" worth spending money on.
Starting around 7 hundred dollars and not really exceeding
the 12 hundred dollar price point.
These are going to be your BC racing BR series
TEIN FLEX Z Silver Neomax
and your Function Form type 1 and 2, Fortune Auto
500 series.
And then you're kind of starting to get
into your KWV 1 and your really popular applications
all of which are fantastic
choices for (mumbles) vehicle.
Even though I consider these entry level
this segment is made
of coil-overs that are built
with quality materials, have a quality standards
and a really decent warranty.
A spring rate in damping system that matches your vehicle.
And you're gonna get some Castro Camera plates
if your application allows
but probably one of my favorite parts
most of these come with adjustable damping
which is just absolutely wild to me.
Anyway, when people ask me which-coil overs to buy
I always recommend these.
You really can't go wrong
with an entry-level brand name coil-over
for a street car that you beat the hell
out of on and off the track.
Especially with the adjustable
damping that you can change before
and after the track day.
They just offer so much value for the money.
But if you do want to take your coil-over game
to the next level and start getting your adjustments dialed
in on a more precise level, or maybe even
start taking competition a little bit more seriously
this is where you're going to want to start looking
at some more serious hardware.
I'm talking about your KW V2
and V3's. You're fortunate level 5, 10 series.
And even the Dreadnought Pro 2.
BC Racing's RMDS and ER series,
Silver's Neo Max 2 weigh in.
These are essentially your mid-tier
performance stuff that's going to have
progressive dampening
and sometimes even a remote reservoir
to allow you to adjust rebound and compression
damping separately.
These are going to start
around that 12, 13 hundred dollar mark
and then start getting into your low 2 thousands.
Now for me, I think even these can be a little bit
of overkill for your average enthusiast
who's not going to be tracking the car,
especially if you're not being super competitive.
But this is a great way to get an edge
on your competition without going full balls
to the wall with suspension technology
and keeping your budget kind of in check.
However, if you do want to go balls to the walls
and you have the skills to extract every last bit
of performance out of your car,
race tier coil-overs are a must have.
I'm talking about the best of the best.
Like your Fortune Auto Dreadnought 3 Way's.
Your KW V4 and V5's to BC Racing HM and ZR series.
Your Moton Motorsport's stuff.
This is really serious hardware.
These products are gunna introduce
not only rebound
and compression damping, but high and low
speed compression adjustments, inverted dampers
and just quite literally taking every single detail
into account to extract the most technology possible all
in the name of performance.
But it will cost you.
You're looking at starting
in the low 2 thousand dollar range
and reaching as high as 7, 8, 9, 10 thousand dollars
for your really high-end brands like Moton.
This is really reserved for some really serious competition
but is it cool to see products like this
come to the door.
It's just mind blowing
on how far suspension technology has come.
I mean come on, inverted shocks
on the friggin coil-over
that's some literal race car that you can just go
and buy, it's wild.
And last but not least
one of the most expensive and popular suspension choices
on the show circuit, it's going to be air suspension.
Air suspension is such a fun
and cool way to modify your car suspension.
I mean, come on
it's a nearly infinitely height, adjustable suspension.
It lets you air the
out and slam your car on the fricking payment
lifted up to drive down the street with an aggressive stance
or lift that to like a Silverado truck bed pool party.
So you can get through the rough streets or even
do some off-roading.
Which I wouldn't really recommend I guess.
It makes cool noises
and becomes an entire display point of your vehicle.
So what's not to love.
Well a lot of your naysayers will say
that the system is a little bit too complicated
and unreliable which really isn't the truth.
Anytime I've ever actually witnessed an issue
with air suspenders it has been
on the fault of the user not the system.
Oh so your back ruptured, cool.
Yeah you can see where your tire
was rubbing on the back.
No wonder it ruptured or you have a line leak.
Yeah, the fitting wasn't sealed correctly.
And my favorite when someone uses some sort
of scissors like cutting tool
and they have a smashed and unevenly cut line
going into the fitting.
That's never going to hold air.
And my favorite one is bags handle (mumbles).
Now I'm not going to sit here and lie to you
and say that air suspension is going to handle equally
to a mid or a high tier coil around the track.
But if you think for any reason that air suspension
won't still provide confident handling
and take the abuse of a track day.
You're completely wrong.
With that so long as you follow
the proper maintenance procedures
like draining water out of your tank and human climates
or with harsh temperature changes,
you're not going to get water
in the system or freeze your lines in the winter.
It's as simple as that.
Now I've personally never ran air suspension
any of my vehicles but I've installed it a few times
and I've driven a bunch of cars with it.
And it's always been super awesome.
There's just such peace of mind
being able to adjust your heights on the fly
and as lame as it might sound airing
out at the car show or airing out at the gas station
because it's such a fun
and a funny thing to do that gets a lot
of reactions and strikes up really fun conversations.
If you've ever considered it and shied away
I highly recommend just go for it.
Now cost here is going to be a bit on the high side
the cost of going all out
on air struts tanks, pumps management, controllers.
You're looking at about 3 thousand dollars and a buck.
However, this air suspension thing doesn't seem to
depreciate a whole lot which is pretty cool.
People who convert their cars back to stock
and sell their air suspension
usually get about 70% of their money back.
And the same can be said for a vehicle gaining about 70%
of the value of what they spent on that suspension as well
which is pretty awesome.
That means play your cards right at the end of the day
your cost to experience air suspension on your ride
really isn't the worst investment you can make on a vehicle
which is still pretty cool.
So if you're really looking
to make an impression, utilize the function
of an adjustable height on the fly
and still be able to take your car to a track day,
air suspension's probably for you.
So what are your thoughts on the different tiers
of suspension?
Which one do you have your eye on
and which ones have you tried?
Let me know in the comments.
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FitmentIndustries.com.
I'm Sean from Fitment Industries.
SEANB.FI find me on Instagram.
Thank you so much for watching.
Peace.