When deciding how to upgrade the suspension on your car, begin by thinking about your end goals for your car. Many people begin by purchasing the TRD bushing kit. This is a great kit, but if you are planning on going “all the way” with your car, it may not be the most cost effective choice for the following reasons:
If you are planning on going with our T3 Four Links and Lateral rod, it eliminates the need for ANY bushings in the rear end of the car. All bushings are replaced by our spherical rod ends (with zirc fittings for easy lubrication and long life). If you are planning on going with Camber plates, then it eliminates the need for the TRD upper strut mounts. The ONLY bushings left that need replacement, are the front control arm bushings. These bushings can be replaced at a remarkably affordable price using the Energy Suspension bushings.
Why
do you use spherical rod ends on both
sides of all your 4 Links and Lateral
Rods?
A:
These parts are designed
as a true race part and are intended
for the serious performance enthusiast.
Using rod ends at all ends means a ZERO
slop and ZERO deflection setup. It maximizes
the responsiveness and handling of the
car at a marginal increase in road noise.
The noise level increase
when using just the Lateral Rod is negligible.
When using the 4 Links, you will notice
an increase in interior noise. The noise
level is completely livable, but is
largely dependent on the condition of
the rear differential, engine and driveline.
The 4 Link setup uses no bushings, so
vibrations and road noise will be transmitted
into the rear of the car more easily.
Highway noise is not generally an issue.
The main increase in interior noise
is when traveling of bumpy or rough
pavement.
How
do I know if the Lateral Rod and 4 Links
are for me?
A:
We suggest our Lateral
Rod for anybody! The noise comfort level
is not affected and the handling improvement
is absolutely remarkable. We suggest
our 4 Link setup for the sport or race
enthusiast. Anyone who is willing to
sacrifice a little noise comfort for
the sake of serious performance will
be VERY pleased with our 4 Link setup.
General Tips and Information About Ordering Coilovers
When requesting a custom coilover configuration or our strut shortening service, please be very specific in your request. Please let us know the following:
Which parts are you providing and which parts do you need us to provide?
Strut casings?
Coilover components and springs?
Strut inserts (Tokico HTS, TRD, or AGX short strokes)?
If you are going with Ground Control Coilovers on the front of the car, it is best to purchase them through us. Not only do we offer a lower price than GC's MSRP, but we also use a custom setup that looks nicer and offers a larger range of adjustment than Ground Controls standard setup.
When ordering Coilovers, custom spring rates are available at no additional charge. If you are not sure what spring rate would be best for you, we can help advise you based on the type of use your car will see.
The above being said, why go with coilovers? What are the advantages? Well, there are several reasons to go with coilovers:
1.
More spring rate choices at affordable prices (mix and match whenever you want)
2.
Corner balancing the car for passengers, battery, gas tank, etc.
3.
Easy height adjustability. This alone makes it SOOOO worth it. You can change in minutes to compensate for different size wheels, tires, and rims. Too low? Rubbing? Just take it up a quarter inch!
4.
Allows you to run short strokes. There really isn't any way to run sport springs and short strokes correctly together. If you lower your car 2" with sport springs and shorten the strut housings 2" to compensate for short strokes, you are now down 4" and the car isn't really drivable.
5.
Looks. Attractive parts do not affect performance, but I do admit I like my stuff to look good as well as perform well.
Thoughts on AGX vs. Tokico HTS short stroke shocks
Bang for the buck, I would say that AGX far exceeds HTS. Let's say the HTS are 10% better (which is really rather hard to quantify, unless there are serious flaws with the AGX, which there aren't) than the AGX, but the HTS are 100% more expensive than the AGX. That does leave the AGX WAY out in the lead as far as "bang for the buck".
In the past, I have always used Tokico Illuminas on my other cars (97 Eclipse GST and 91 SW20 MR2). I was very pleased with the Illuminas and felt that the "sport" ride quality and control was awesome. Both of those cars have seen serious street, Auto-X, and road race time and run coilovers at all 4 corners.
For the AE86, I decided to experiment with AGX since the price differential was so great. I have only used the SW20 MR2 front AGX and Camaro rear AGX on the AE86, with coilovers at all four corners and shortened strut casings in the front.
So far, I have been very pleased with the AGX's handling both on the track and off the track. Ride quality is not as quite as smooth as the Illuminas in all conditions, but under sport or race conditions, they work just as well in my opinion.
The dampening adjustment range on the AGX will meet nearly everyone's needs. At the softest settings, the car is almost - but not quite - cushy. At the stiffest setting, they are so stiff, it feels like you are using rocks for springs.
The only complaint with the Tokico HTS, and this is something people need to take into consideration, is that if you shorten the strut casings by 40mm, your car will have a height range of "really low" to "slammed". You will not be able to achieve "just sporty low". The super short stroke of the shock limits the range of adjustment you have with the coilovers. I know this from experience, since we have built several of the shortened strut casing coilover setups using the TRD and HTS short strokes.
AGX on the other hand (since they are not quite as short stroke as the HTS's) will allow you a slightly larger range of workable height settings on the car and possibly help you match your rear lowering springs more effectively.
The GAB and AGX shocks are indeed nearly the same - other than a little softer valving on the AGX. But remember, we are pulling these AGXs off much heavier cars (MR2, Camaro, etc.) so the valving is probably just as stiff or a little stiffer than the GAB shocks.
When it comes down to the final decision, it's all up to you. People can argue Koni, KYB, Illumina, Bilstein, HTS all day long and it all seems to be somewhat subjective.
As long as the struts work for me, are stiff enough for me, have enough range of adjustment, provide balanced handling, and don't wear out/blow out in a short amount of time, then I'm obviously going to base my decision on the price.
You can definitely tell "crappy" shocks or shocks that just "don't cut it", from the ones that do. The AGXs definitely "cut it" as far as I'm concerned.
Eibach Pro-kit Lowering springs: Street lowering, minor accent on sport handling, Beginner Auto-X)
Coilovers or TRD Japan Lowering Springs:
7kg / 5.7kg - All around excellent spring rate. Very sporty for street use, excellent Auto-X, road race or drift setup. This spring rate can do it all, and is personal choice of spring rate)
8kg / 6kg - Extreme end of sporty for street use, while still being bearable, Excellent choice for drift, good for high speed Road Race with or Auto-X with sticky tires. This is a very popular choice and has been used with good results)
10kg / 8kg - Drift, smooth track only, low HP cars, Induces minimal traction, harsh on chassis, not recommended unless you know what you are doing)
12kg / 10kg - Lunatic Drift, Crazy stiff, we will try to dissuade you from this choice and look at you sideways if you decide on these spring rates)
Anything within a reasonable balance of these spring rates will provide similar results. A slight shift up or down in spring rates is acceptable and may help dial in the exact results you are looking for.
The Coupe chassis is slightly lighter in the rear and a little more stiff. Many people adjust the rear spring rates due to the slight rear weight difference. In practical use and experience we have found that the differences between the hatch and coupe dynamics are not so extreme as to require different spring rates between the two.
This is just a general guide and in no way meant to be any sort of "gospel truth". Many people have used different setups to obtain excellent results. This is just a general guide based on our personal experience, and is only meant to help point you in the right direction.
Roll Center Adjusters
What do RCAs do?
RCAs - Roll Center Adjusters, also called "Bump Steer Spacers" - are designed to eliminate "bump steer".
Bump steer is when your wheels steer themselves without input from the steering wheel. This undesirable steering is caused by bumps in the road or track interacting with improper length or angle of your suspension and steering linkages. You can often feel the bump steer as a jerk in the steering wheel to the right or left when you go over a bump or uneven pavement.
When you lower a car it changes the geometry of the steering control arms resulting in bump steer. The RCAs return the lower control arms to their correct geometry and help eliminate this bump steer problem.
The overall effect of RCAs is a less skittish car on rough pavement with a more reliable and smooth steering input and feedback. Under extreme cornering on rough pavement, the car will handle better due to the correct geometry of the lower front control arms.
