How important is having adjustable dampening?

[HappyGilmore]

I am hard on the fence about what suspension setup to get. I almost dead set on getting the Koni STR.T and Neuspeed Race springs vs the FF Type 1's (Which also lack this feature). I am really not trying to race or anything, I just like being lower and having the ability to handle when appropriate. I know with the adjustable dampening you make the ride soft as needed or stiffer. What I want to know is there any real advantage to having the feature? If there isn't the I will do the cheap but reliable (Koni) means and go forth with that setup (I have a set of Neuspeeds on hand).

[Corweena]

Short version: Ditch the STR.Ts, pay the extra $200 and get Koni Yellows.





Neuspeed race springs are great, but the STR.Ts are not built to handle them. For one, the spring rates are too high. Also, the Neuspeeds give too much drop at 2.2in. The STR.T is designed for 1.5in drop MAX....1in is more ideal. A spring like Eibach Pro Kits or H&R OE Sports is what the STR.T was designed for. Small drop, relatively soft spring rate....basically an OE replacement with slightly stiffer valving. With the stiffer, shorter Neuspeeds, you're going to not only have a rough ride because the shocks are valved properly, you're going to blow them fairly quickly. Better just to spend the extra money in the first place and get the good stuff.

Koni Yellows can easily handle the spring rates of the Neuspeeds, and even the 2.2in drop isn't an issue. This is the exact kind of spring the Yellows were designed for. You used to even be able to buy them together back in the day (Neuspeed had their own special version of Koni Yellows you could buy with the race springs as a package). Also, if you ever decide you want height adjustability, sell the Neuspeeds and buy some Ground Control sleeves and you're golden. You also have damper adjustment capability, which is a bonus. Granted, its not a must have, especially if you don't ever plan to track the car, but its a nice addition to fine tune the ride characteristics for comfort on the streets.

I will never personally recommend F&F Type 1s. Granted, out of all the Taiwan/China built 1-piece coilovers to flood the market for our cars they are probably the only ones with decent quality, I just do not like how they are set up.....or any of the cheap coilovers for that matter. They have a 12kg front spring rate, which is VERY stiff, and a 6k rear spring rate....which is soft in comparison. They were basically designed to be able to dump the car, and not have a lot of front shock travel so you don't destroy your fenders. Because so, the ride isn't very balanced. The car will "porpoise" over bumps and dips.....because the front is so stiff, it levels out quickly, while the back is softer so it takes longer. It basically makes it feel like the car is rocking back and forth over uneven roads.



Just to add, I personally am running Koni Yellows, Ground Control coilovers with 10kg front and 8kg rear springs, and FFC extended front top hats. For what I spent, the quality, comfort, and performance of the setup is hands down the best on the market. Yes, there are setups that are better, but you're gonna have to spend around $1500 or so on them. The Koni/GC setup can be had for $800ish, plus $180 for the FFC top hats.

And if I were to ditch coilovers, I'd keep my Koni's and switch to Neuspeed Races. I have a friend with the setup, and it rides great, and even has a great drop. Hope this helps.

[lbus9168]

I've used f&f type 1's to great success, YMMV.

Imo, dampening is not a requirement. Its meant to be used for track to track adjustment. If you don't have the correct driving feel, I wouldn't use dampening to fix it anyway, id change the springs.

[HappyGilmore]

Short version: Ditch the STR.Ts, pay the extra $200 and get Koni Yellows.





Neuspeed race springs are great, but the STR.Ts are not built to handle them. For one, the spring rates are too high. Also, the Neuspeeds give too much drop at 2.2in. The STR.T is designed for 1.5in drop MAX....1in is more ideal. A spring like Eibach Pro Kits or H&R OE Sports is what the STR.T was designed for. Small drop, relatively soft spring rate....basically an OE replacement with slightly stiffer valving. With the stiffer, shorter Neuspeeds, you're going to not only have a rough ride because the shocks are valved properly, you're going to blow them fairly quickly. Better just to spend the extra money in the first place and get the good stuff.

Koni Yellows can easily handle the spring rates of the Neuspeeds, and even the 2.2in drop isn't an issue. This is the exact kind of spring the Yellows were designed for. You used to even be able to buy them together back in the day (Neuspeed had their own special version of Koni Yellows you could buy with the race springs as a package). Also, if you ever decide you want height adjustability, sell the Neuspeeds and buy some Ground Control sleeves and you're golden. You also have damper adjustment capability, which is a bonus. Granted, its not a must have, especially if you don't ever plan to track the car, but its a nice addition to fine tune the ride characteristics for comfort on the streets.

I will never personally recommend F&F Type 1s. Granted, out of all the Taiwan/China built 1-piece coilovers to flood the market for our cars they are probably the only ones with decent quality, I just do not like how they are set up.....or any of the cheap coilovers for that matter. They have a 12kg front spring rate, which is VERY stiff, and a 6k rear spring rate....which is soft in comparison. They were basically designed to be able to dump the car, and not have a lot of front shock travel so you don't destroy your fenders. Because so, the ride isn't very balanced. The car will "porpoise" over bumps and dips.....because the front is so stiff, it levels out quickly, while the back is softer so it takes longer. It basically makes it feel like the car is rocking back and forth over uneven roads.



Just to add, I personally am running Koni Yellows, Ground Control coilovers with 10kg front and 8kg rear springs, and FFC extended front top hats. For what I spent, the quality, comfort, and performance of the setup is hands down the best on the market. Yes, there are setups that are better, but you're gonna have to spend around $1500 or so on them. The Koni/GC setup can be had for $800ish, plus $180 for the FFC top hats.

And if I were to ditch coilovers, I'd keep my Koni's and switch to Neuspeed Races. I have a friend with the setup, and it rides great, and even has a great drop. Hope this helps.

I had two other CB's with Koni Yellow SP3 and Neuspeed race springs. So I guess I am sticking to what I know best then! Thanks for the clear and concise input. I think the GC's will be what I go with this go round, I wanted to try something different. Also this is actually for my CE1 but since it's the same as a CB best place to ask was here!

[BreckAConner]

Hey Robert, If you check my pages on my signature, I use Megan Racing Coilovers that have dampener settings on both CBs.


http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.T RC0.H0.Xcb7+megan+racing.TRS0&_nkw=cb7+megan+racin g&_sacat=0

[deevergote]

Adjustable ANYTHING on your car is only useful if 1) you know how to use it, and 2) you have a specific need for it. If you lack one or both of those, it's probably best to leave the settings up to the engineers that designed the product for your application (yet another reason to stick to quality engineered pieces, and not knockoffs...)

Koni Yellows are better for most lowering springs because of their ability to withstand a stiff spring rate and low ride height. The adjustability is just an added feature. Personally, I never used the adjustable shocks on my car, aside from cranking them to full stiff to combat sqaut at the drag strip. Even then, that was a very primitive use of a fairly sophisticated design. I lacked the need or knowledge to do anything more with them.

Remember, everything you adjust with your suspension will often have a profound effect on how the car handles. Height adjustment can affect alignment (and even minor variations from corner to corner could change the car's handling characteristics.) Dampening adjustment will change the way the car rides, turns, and stops. Again, variations from corner to corner could result in a lack of stability.
In most cases, you'll never notice the effects of small variations on a street car. That stuff will only come to light when the car is pushed to the limit on a track (or the street, but I know you're not a dummy, so you won't be doing that!)


Get shocks that will withstand your chosen springs, and give you a safe, comfortable, predictable ride. If you go with something adjustable like Koni Yellows or Tokico Illuminas (the only reasonably priced options that are good for 90% of the quality lowering springs on the market for the CB), then set them at full soft when you install them. Get an alignment, wait for the springs to settle, and then make SMALL adjustments to the dampening, being sure to keep the sides as close to the same settings as possible (front and rear can vary, depending on your needs.) Adjust, drive, re-adjust... and find the sweet spot. I wouldn't crank the Konis beyond 50%, personally. I accidentally left mine at 100% after a night at the track, and I nearly shat myself going to work the next day. Half because I was terrified, and half because my kidneys were playing bongos on my intestines.

[Domesticated]

Damp, damper, damped. The only thing moist in this conversation is shock fluid. Small changes can make a big difference in a street car. A 1mm change in a sway bar can mean the difference between understeer, oversteer, and actually being neutral. Also, I'll spend a week tuning shocks for a street car and when I dyno the shocks I can't see a difference between the changes because they're so small, but they make a huge difference in ride.

I personally haven't ridden Konis vs Bilstein shocks on our platform, but I know the Konis will be less harsh, the Bilsteins will provide more body control and be more durable. For a street car that you're not going to track, the Konis would be the better choice. Plus, you can adjust the rebound damping to adjust for body control changes from weight and spring rate differences.