Peace CB7ers! First let me apologize because I will have to post pics later , I know. But 1 I am posting this from my phone without the pictures, and two I have not quite put together a pic hosting site . I am semi reluctant to as well (after watching "hunted" on CBS I am more paranoid about my internet footprint). But I still want to contribute, and provide members with constructive feedback to help the community!!
Anyways, I wanted to give a review for a new brand of coilovers on the market. They are made by Gecko Suspension Systems based in Taiwan ���� . I know I know I can hear it now, those Taiwanese companies...they make some boo-boo products, but before we jump to conclusions I would like to give an honest review.
Background:
So in looking for coilovers, my goal for the car was to achieve a two-ish inch drop, increase cornering capability, have adjustability, without back wrenching/sphincter tightening stiffness. I also wanted a quality unit theat offered durability, collars that would not seize (though the car will not be drive. In the winter) and a reasonable price point. As a comparison, I was a hairs breath from purchasing fortune auto 500 coilovers, but just could not come up with the "scrilla �� to pull the trigger ��". With that said I stumbled across The gecko series coilovers which are supplied by ShadowFabrication in NC.
About the coils:
Ok now for the good stuffs! So before I decided to get these I trolled around the forums looking for comparisons at price and reviews. Needless to say the rep for Taiwanese companies was a huge deturent so i delayed my purchase for some months to research.
As a comparison the coilovers use all the same internal components as Tein coils, NOK seals and oils, the coils use steel tubes and bodies as opposed to aluminum which is going to reduce their ability to seize. The strut bodies are also manufactured as one peice showing a higher end manufacturing of the actual product. The geckos can also be fully rebuilt from your garage as the components offer a simple design and no specialty manufacturing features that require them to be sent out.
The coils come in two classes: g-street, and g-racing. The differences will be camber plates and the level of 24 vs 32 dampening.
Spring rates can be custom matched to your desire and purpose, which was also a huge plus for me.
In terms of price they fall right between $950-$1100 for the two classes, placing them at the same price point as Megan, BC, D2race and just under FortuneAuto.
This does place them above FuncForm, race land, black works, Yonka, Godspeed truhart etc. making them a more expensive purchase. Spoiler: they are worth it.
I will be posting a video below of a similar review with more information as well as a visual of what they look like (video was done by shadow fabrication).
Ride quality and review:
As a commparison I will use two cars that I have ridden in recently: My brothers car: 91 Toyota MR2 turbo on koni yellows with Eibach springs & infinity g37s on airlift performance bags with auto pilotV2.
Before I purchased the coils I called shadow fabrication to speak with them as they had been running the racing series on an e36 pro car. I believe for drifting. They were very helpful with their information and honest in their feedback. And I received my coils in about a week from ordering.
Grip: 8.5
Dampening: 8.5
Stiff/Soft: 8.5
Ride quality: 8.5
Drop: 10
Ease of install: 9
In comparison to the ride quality. It falls somewhere I between the two. My cousins grip on the bags was as close to a 10 as I could think. With the auto pilot v2 it is unreal for bags! Basically the the computer takes measurements of the pressure and car height and adjusts at some rediculous rate to reduce body roll and maintain grip. He lost the back end once in the middle of a turn due to wight transfer, and his unfamiliarity with the road. Even in that moment the car maintained a considerable amount of grip and it was easily remedied given the situation and location.
- for some perspective I live in rural Maryland with many hill and winding roads (rally reminiscint). Very fun to drive on but can dangerous, if you don't know them;at times as the reduce to narrow/no-center line roads. I used to have a 4wd ram pick up and lost the backs end on that during the winter ❄️ = full 360. That had less to do with the road and a lot with conditions but it did take place on one of the sharpest hairpins back there-
Back to the review: the geckos on the cb7,to my surprise, seem to be a tad softer than the eibach koni combo, with the added ability for damping and spring rate/height adjustment (both can be adjusted separately). The receive road imperfections very well for coils and are not hard on your back at all. My bushing set up might also aid in this regard but all things said and done I am highly satisfied with my purchase!
My settings for the road are 13 clicks to stiff from soft and about 4mm of preload front and 6mm preload back. The ride has been exceptional as I do not even feel the need to reduce the stiffness. The car rsponds very well in heavy cornering (I have been practicing left foot brakeing), has considerably less body roll, and has yet to lose grip.
The only gripe I had was that the coils did not come with brackets for the stock brake lines. But this did give me an opportunity to test my creativity for a remedy. I used a hose clamp to secure a cork gasket between the clamp and the body. I then used two zip ties to secure the line to the clamp.
Conclusions:
My hope is that this review will provide the community with yet another option for coils. It is also to show gratitude to the manufacturer and distributors for providing a great product and service at a great price point. I will be doing a similar review on the Hardrace products I use later. In would like to see this brand gain some exposure and a strong customer base to help them have a stronger foothold in the industry as they have truly provided a great product that is not very well known.
If anyone else has used their products please let me know what you think and help spread the word. Their may be group buy opportunities available in the future. If there are any specific questions that I over looked ASK! Let's get this discussion rolling!!
Thanks
Peace ✌️
TheSnigg
Anyways, I wanted to give a review for a new brand of coilovers on the market. They are made by Gecko Suspension Systems based in Taiwan ���� . I know I know I can hear it now, those Taiwanese companies...they make some boo-boo products, but before we jump to conclusions I would like to give an honest review.
Background:
So in looking for coilovers, my goal for the car was to achieve a two-ish inch drop, increase cornering capability, have adjustability, without back wrenching/sphincter tightening stiffness. I also wanted a quality unit theat offered durability, collars that would not seize (though the car will not be drive. In the winter) and a reasonable price point. As a comparison, I was a hairs breath from purchasing fortune auto 500 coilovers, but just could not come up with the "scrilla �� to pull the trigger ��". With that said I stumbled across The gecko series coilovers which are supplied by ShadowFabrication in NC.
About the coils:
Ok now for the good stuffs! So before I decided to get these I trolled around the forums looking for comparisons at price and reviews. Needless to say the rep for Taiwanese companies was a huge deturent so i delayed my purchase for some months to research.
As a comparison the coilovers use all the same internal components as Tein coils, NOK seals and oils, the coils use steel tubes and bodies as opposed to aluminum which is going to reduce their ability to seize. The strut bodies are also manufactured as one peice showing a higher end manufacturing of the actual product. The geckos can also be fully rebuilt from your garage as the components offer a simple design and no specialty manufacturing features that require them to be sent out.
The coils come in two classes: g-street, and g-racing. The differences will be camber plates and the level of 24 vs 32 dampening.
Spring rates can be custom matched to your desire and purpose, which was also a huge plus for me.
In terms of price they fall right between $950-$1100 for the two classes, placing them at the same price point as Megan, BC, D2race and just under FortuneAuto.
This does place them above FuncForm, race land, black works, Yonka, Godspeed truhart etc. making them a more expensive purchase. Spoiler: they are worth it.
I will be posting a video below of a similar review with more information as well as a visual of what they look like (video was done by shadow fabrication).
Ride quality and review:
As a commparison I will use two cars that I have ridden in recently: My brothers car: 91 Toyota MR2 turbo on koni yellows with Eibach springs & infinity g37s on airlift performance bags with auto pilotV2.
Before I purchased the coils I called shadow fabrication to speak with them as they had been running the racing series on an e36 pro car. I believe for drifting. They were very helpful with their information and honest in their feedback. And I received my coils in about a week from ordering.
Grip: 8.5
Dampening: 8.5
Stiff/Soft: 8.5
Ride quality: 8.5
Drop: 10
Ease of install: 9
In comparison to the ride quality. It falls somewhere I between the two. My cousins grip on the bags was as close to a 10 as I could think. With the auto pilot v2 it is unreal for bags! Basically the the computer takes measurements of the pressure and car height and adjusts at some rediculous rate to reduce body roll and maintain grip. He lost the back end once in the middle of a turn due to wight transfer, and his unfamiliarity with the road. Even in that moment the car maintained a considerable amount of grip and it was easily remedied given the situation and location.
- for some perspective I live in rural Maryland with many hill and winding roads (rally reminiscint). Very fun to drive on but can dangerous, if you don't know them;at times as the reduce to narrow/no-center line roads. I used to have a 4wd ram pick up and lost the backs end on that during the winter ❄️ = full 360. That had less to do with the road and a lot with conditions but it did take place on one of the sharpest hairpins back there-
Back to the review: the geckos on the cb7,to my surprise, seem to be a tad softer than the eibach koni combo, with the added ability for damping and spring rate/height adjustment (both can be adjusted separately). The receive road imperfections very well for coils and are not hard on your back at all. My bushing set up might also aid in this regard but all things said and done I am highly satisfied with my purchase!
My settings for the road are 13 clicks to stiff from soft and about 4mm of preload front and 6mm preload back. The ride has been exceptional as I do not even feel the need to reduce the stiffness. The car rsponds very well in heavy cornering (I have been practicing left foot brakeing), has considerably less body roll, and has yet to lose grip.
The only gripe I had was that the coils did not come with brackets for the stock brake lines. But this did give me an opportunity to test my creativity for a remedy. I used a hose clamp to secure a cork gasket between the clamp and the body. I then used two zip ties to secure the line to the clamp.
Conclusions:
My hope is that this review will provide the community with yet another option for coils. It is also to show gratitude to the manufacturer and distributors for providing a great product and service at a great price point. I will be doing a similar review on the Hardrace products I use later. In would like to see this brand gain some exposure and a strong customer base to help them have a stronger foothold in the industry as they have truly provided a great product that is not very well known.
If anyone else has used their products please let me know what you think and help spread the word. Their may be group buy opportunities available in the future. If there are any specific questions that I over looked ASK! Let's get this discussion rolling!!
Thanks
Peace ✌️
TheSnigg
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