Intalled: SWIFT Springs / 15mm spacers / Z1 Star Specs
Jan 1, 2009, 12:01 AM
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Intalled: SWIFT Springs / 15mm spacers / Z1 Star Specs
Just got a few New Year goodies for my Evo X installed:
- SWIFT Sport Mach Springs
- 15mm GP Sports spacers
- Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec tires
Here’s a brief review / impression of the parts:
SPRINGS
To start with, I would say that I am quite pleased with the overall balance of the Evo X, mine being a GSR SST with the factory Bilstein / Eibach setup (essentially your “MR” package) In particular, rebound and compression settings appear to be very nicely dialed in offering an impressive level of body control even on undulating or uneven surfaces whilst maintaining a reasonable degree of ride quality.
With this in mind, my objective was to find a solution that would lower the car slightly for an improvement in aesthetics with minimal compromise to the handling balance / ride quality of the factory package.
I will confess that this is the first time I have ever considered purchasing lowering springs. Prior to this, I have almost always bought coilovers. In the past 14 years or so, I have owned 12 sets on 7 different cars (both street and race cars) – all from reputable brands – so there have been a few expensive lessons I learned along the way. Since my Evo is intended for street use only and I was not looking for any specific changes in handling, I decided to give springs a try.
I went with SWIFT Sport Mach springs for 2 reasons. Firstly, the design philosophy for these springs seemed to match my objectives and secondly, I have used SWIFT race springs for both my race cars (although I acknowledge they are a completely different design) with pretty good results. Only slight reservation is that SWIFT only offers one application to fit both the stock GSR dampers and the Bilsteins meaning that the springs were probably truly optimized for one setup only.
I did not consider Eibach Pro Kit because after seeing them on a few board members’ cars, I felt the ride height was too low leaving the dampers with too little stroke to work with. One member from the UK showed a video of his FQ300 with these springs and body control at bumpy / high speed corners looked compromised. (although I could be wrong)
IMPRESSIONS
I’ve only driven the car for half an hour so these are just very initial impressions:
1) RIDE HEIGHT: The ride height is spot on what I was looking for so aesthetically speaking, full marks.
Before:
After:
2) BODY CONTROL: Not quite as effective as the original Bilstein / Eibach package. Whilst there is no floatiness or bounce to speak of, the car seems to slightly ‘track’ undulating / uneven surfaces to a greater degree as compared with stock. This could also be a result of the increased front rake with these springs but I am not entirely sure of this.
3) RIDE QUALITY: Slightly stiffer. Hard to quantify but if I had to say, maybe 10% stiffer.
OTHER MODS
I added 15mm GP Sports spacers front and rear. These spacers did not come with centering rings and so I had them custom made. I actually tried these spacers a while back without the centering rings and there was an annoying vibration at 100km/h+. The wheels are now closer to the edge of the fender and complements the lowered stance quite well, IMO.
I also replaced the SP Sport 600s that came with the car (which I dread) with stickier Direzza Z1 Star Specs in the same size as stock.
Will provide further updates as I get more seat time in the car.
Wishing you all a prosperous 2009!
J
p.s. my first time posting pics, hope they work...
- SWIFT Sport Mach Springs
- 15mm GP Sports spacers
- Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec tires
Here’s a brief review / impression of the parts:
SPRINGS
To start with, I would say that I am quite pleased with the overall balance of the Evo X, mine being a GSR SST with the factory Bilstein / Eibach setup (essentially your “MR” package) In particular, rebound and compression settings appear to be very nicely dialed in offering an impressive level of body control even on undulating or uneven surfaces whilst maintaining a reasonable degree of ride quality.
With this in mind, my objective was to find a solution that would lower the car slightly for an improvement in aesthetics with minimal compromise to the handling balance / ride quality of the factory package.
I will confess that this is the first time I have ever considered purchasing lowering springs. Prior to this, I have almost always bought coilovers. In the past 14 years or so, I have owned 12 sets on 7 different cars (both street and race cars) – all from reputable brands – so there have been a few expensive lessons I learned along the way. Since my Evo is intended for street use only and I was not looking for any specific changes in handling, I decided to give springs a try.
I went with SWIFT Sport Mach springs for 2 reasons. Firstly, the design philosophy for these springs seemed to match my objectives and secondly, I have used SWIFT race springs for both my race cars (although I acknowledge they are a completely different design) with pretty good results. Only slight reservation is that SWIFT only offers one application to fit both the stock GSR dampers and the Bilsteins meaning that the springs were probably truly optimized for one setup only.
I did not consider Eibach Pro Kit because after seeing them on a few board members’ cars, I felt the ride height was too low leaving the dampers with too little stroke to work with. One member from the UK showed a video of his FQ300 with these springs and body control at bumpy / high speed corners looked compromised. (although I could be wrong)
IMPRESSIONS
I’ve only driven the car for half an hour so these are just very initial impressions:
1) RIDE HEIGHT: The ride height is spot on what I was looking for so aesthetically speaking, full marks.
Before:
After:
2) BODY CONTROL: Not quite as effective as the original Bilstein / Eibach package. Whilst there is no floatiness or bounce to speak of, the car seems to slightly ‘track’ undulating / uneven surfaces to a greater degree as compared with stock. This could also be a result of the increased front rake with these springs but I am not entirely sure of this.
3) RIDE QUALITY: Slightly stiffer. Hard to quantify but if I had to say, maybe 10% stiffer.
OTHER MODS
I added 15mm GP Sports spacers front and rear. These spacers did not come with centering rings and so I had them custom made. I actually tried these spacers a while back without the centering rings and there was an annoying vibration at 100km/h+. The wheels are now closer to the edge of the fender and complements the lowered stance quite well, IMO.
I also replaced the SP Sport 600s that came with the car (which I dread) with stickier Direzza Z1 Star Specs in the same size as stock.
Will provide further updates as I get more seat time in the car.
Wishing you all a prosperous 2009!
J
p.s. my first time posting pics, hope they work...
Jan 1, 2009, 06:34 AM
#2
Photos are great. Nice post Jona!
Have you had the car aligned? Toe (which changes when you change camber, which changed when you lowered the car) can have similar effects to pulling the car one side to the other.
Spring rate wise:
Stock GSR (and I think the MR have the same rates): 3.5k front, 2.8 - 3.7k rear, 0.0" / 0.0"
Swift Sport Mach: 2.7 - 4.3k front, 2.3 - 4.4k rear, 1.0" / 0.6"
Keep us posted once you have some more seat time in the car!
2) BODY CONTROL: Not quite as effective as the original Bilstein / Eibach package. Whilst there is no floatiness or bounce to speak of, the car seems to slightly ‘track’ undulating / uneven surfaces to a greater degree as compared with stock. This could also be a result of the increased front rake with these springs but I am not entirely sure of this.
Spring rate wise:
Stock GSR (and I think the MR have the same rates): 3.5k front, 2.8 - 3.7k rear, 0.0" / 0.0"
Swift Sport Mach: 2.7 - 4.3k front, 2.3 - 4.4k rear, 1.0" / 0.6"
Keep us posted once you have some more seat time in the car!
Last edited by Smike; Jan 1, 2009 at 06:38 AM.
Jan 1, 2009, 06:41 AM
#3
I agree get aligned if you haven't. And the D1s will track the road more so I doubt it is the springs.
Also at the same nominal size the d1 is actually wider than stock.
Thanks for the pics of the spacers! Did you spacer the rear? I'm thinking with the -3 camber I'm running I'll need more agressive than +22.
Also at the same nominal size the d1 is actually wider than stock.
Thanks for the pics of the spacers! Did you spacer the rear? I'm thinking with the -3 camber I'm running I'll need more agressive than +22.
any pics of the spacers? and more pics of the car please.
Jan 1, 2009, 06:59 AM
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Guys, sorry for the confusion. Perhaps 'tracking' is the wrong word to describe the sensation. It is not a case of the the tires tramlining or following the cambers of the road - which would be toe or camber related - but rather I 'feel' the undulations more as a result of sensations transmitted through chassis / body movement as a result of a change in damping characteristics. Not quite sure if I'm describing this correctly, but basically the sensation is generally prevanlent in all lowered cars I've driven.
The car has been aligned. The lower bolts for the front struts were flipped in order to achieve a bit more -/ve camber. The car is now set at -2.1 degrees front and -1.4 rear. Both front and rear have been set slightly toe out at present as I like a bit more rotation at turn in.
J
The car has been aligned. The lower bolts for the front struts were flipped in order to achieve a bit more -/ve camber. The car is now set at -2.1 degrees front and -1.4 rear. Both front and rear have been set slightly toe out at present as I like a bit more rotation at turn in.
J
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Jan 2, 2009, 05:46 AM
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Jona, Curious why you "dread" 09 replacement tire, Dunlop SP Sport 600 and why you think the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec is a "better" tire. Both have identical UTQG, load and speed ratings of 200AA, 93 and W, respectively, so is it the actual performance due to tread design or what specifically that makes you prefer the Star Spec's?
Later, ken
Later, ken
Jan 2, 2009, 08:17 AM
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Jona, Curious why you "dread" 09 replacement tire, Dunlop SP Sport 600 and why you think the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec is a "better" tire. Both have identical UTQG, load and speed ratings of 200AA, 93 and W, respectively, so is it the actual performance due to tread design or what specifically that makes you prefer the Star Spec's?
Later, ken
Later, ken
I should've elaborated a bit further. My feelings towards the SP Sport 600 is that the grip levels are simply not commensurate to the performance of the Evo X. Like I mentioned in my first post, I was quite happy with the handling characteristics afforded by the factory Bilstein / Eibach combination but felt the tires was a let down. Even in what I would consider lightly spirited driving conditions, the limit of adhesion can be reached quite easily, which is surprisingly low.
As for the Z1 Star Spec's, I have not tried them previously but I read some reviews on Tirerack and they were all generally positive. Tirerack's [subjective, I believe] categorization puts them one category above the SP Sport 600's so although the tread wear / temperature stats appear the same, I suppose the difference in tread design and compound brings more grip. Finally, the team I race with has sponsorship from Dunlop so I got a bit of extra discount :-)
Hope this helps,
J
Jan 2, 2009, 08:31 AM
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Weather was good today, here's a few more pics as requested:
Goofygrin / Sabot: Here is a pic of the spacer. 15mm for both F&R:
Simonlam168: Yes, Hong Kong is home.
:-)
J
Goofygrin / Sabot: Here is a pic of the spacer. 15mm for both F&R:
Simonlam168: Yes, Hong Kong is home.
:-)
J
