AW11 SC Coilover Advice

Hi Forum,
 
In the past I was planning to put OEM suspension back into my adub. I have now come to terms with the fact that finding these parts in good condition is near impossible. Plus I don't want to compromise the handling of my car or make it worse than what it is now.
 
Ive decided then to go with coilovers. However never having dealt with suspension parts outside of the OEM sphere before I am a bit lost. There seems to be many styles and types and I don't know what is right?
 
Can someone advise me on a brand/ type that would work in my Aw11 and maybe give me an idea of what other cars share the same type of parts so I can maybe get some for a deal second hand.
 
Thanks.

There are a few off the shelf coil over kits for the 87,88,89 AW11. For the early AW11s MK1a even less options exist. The ones that are available are either fairly cheap and average or uber high end track only versions that cost a cost fortune.
The ones I can think of right now are:
Good ones
Toda Fightex - $3500+
Aragosta $4000+
 
Affordable ones :)
BC Racing $1200 (I have these)
K-Sports $1000+
AMR $1500+ (Made in USA)
and various other no name Taiwanese brands like Yellowspeed, D2, G4 etc 
 
Or you can make your own using coil over sleeve kits from a few different manufacturers. A couple of members on here have done this.
 
I waited for used ones for a long time. Ended up buying new.
 
In saying that there was a guy on here trying to sell a set of K-Sport coil overs a few months ago. He might still have them.

dwoodcob .
Hi Forum,
 
In the past I was planning to put OEM suspension back into my adub. I have now come to terms with the fact that finding these parts in good condition is near impossible. Plus I don't want to compromise the handling of my car or make it worse than what it is now.

Beware that none of the coilovers mentioned generally come with spring rates that are remotely close to oem, or even aftermarket drop spring rates, at least that I am aware of. Though AMR supposedly will/can supply springs w/rates of your choosing, and match the valving to them upon request, but their communication has not always been the best, and I haven't seen much written about them in the MKI community in some time. People here in the US were very interested in them initially because of their willingness to supply more normal spring rates than other coilover manufacturers, but this all happened while they were moving facilities. The length of time between communications and producing the requested coilovers wore out a lot of people, and eventually interest died off. They were a small time company, while I think all the others are significantly bigger, and that is what makes getting customized spring rates, and matching valving very difficult, if at all, from the other companies.
 
Quite often people selling their used sets are doing do because they couldn't live with the incredibly stiff ride the general coilover provides. Ask them what spring rates are in them and they generally plead ignorance, not wanting to scare away potential buyers. Unfortunately, virtually all of the mainstream coilovers were designed solely for race use. Only some of the lesser known manufacturers seem to be willing to alter rates and valving, but that generally leaves you with having to buy them new to get those rates.
 
From what I know:
a) AMR might still be able to deliver new units with customized reasonable spring rates, and matched valving;
b) Todo also can do so, but are limited in how low their spring rates will go, and of course are expensive;
c) Argus also supposedly will do customized rates and valving, perhaps quite reasonable ones, but are very expensive, and specific details are a bit hazy, as almost all their useful website info is in Japanese, and not all that specific.

dylmrt
You can always get new inserts and springs for your stock suspension if you want to try to keep the OEM feel?
 
Koni/Eibach is one of the most popular for the insert/spring combo.
 
Otherwise we can supply BC, K-Sport or any of the brands of coilovers mentioned above.

I did this, although I have an Tokico/Eibach combo and am really happy with it. 

Ground Control are definitely the safest way to go, if one must have coilovers, so to speak. The only issue will be getting springs of the proper rate and length. can be hard to find springs with rates anywhere near oem, or even regular drop spring rates, which are usually somewhere between 2-3 kg (front) and 4-5 kg (rear). The biggest plus is that you end up using oem designed struts, which are at least valved accordingly for our car, and will generally handle slightly higher spring rates without issues. The Tokico Illuminas and Koni Sports are probably the safest to use for this purpose, though the Illuminas are now harder and costlier to obtain since their reorganization. Konis probably also will handle higher spring rates a bit better than the Illuminas, at least from most peoples testing.
 
Another concern though is the total spring drop. Both of those struts will handle about an 1" or so of drop without too much problem, but going much past that and you're going past their design limits and will cause premature failure. You can always look around for specialized short stroke struts from Koni, but you'll also have to make sure their valving matches the spring rates, and car weight (a bit of work, lol). Usually after installation of Ground Controls most people end up with something not that much different than a set of regular drop springs and struts, as they will set the ride height once, and never touch it again afterwards, as it's just too much of a hassle. despite how cool coilovers sound I'd personally tend to recommend a set of Eibachs and Konis, and leave it at that. The Eibachs are a proven spring, give about a one inch drop, and have decent fast road/autox spring rates. The Konis are also well proven and offer a lot of adjustability that is easy to set.
 
As for Ceika, yes, they appear to make customized coilovers. Like some others they have a huge application list, and probably have the majority of their parts built by a manufacturer that supplies a handful of other general coilover manufacturers. I checked out their site, and the big plus is that they appear to offer a wide range of spring rates. However, various aspects as to build design and quality are unknown. They say they will match valving to the springs, at your request, but valving is not really that simple. Unless you could actually work directly with the company on designing a set for your car you will really be taking a crap shoot regarding the final product.
 
In the end the OP needs to heed their own words "Plus I don't want to compromise the handling of my car or make it worse than what it is now." Stick with tried and trued products, or live with the consequences.

Alternatively, instead of the Ground Control kits, you can get the HSD sleeve kits from Otomoto - http://otomoto.com.au/p/4116535/hsd-51mm-sleeve-kit-.html
 
This comes with all the required gear including helper springs, but you have the option of any spring rate you like from the below
 
3kg/mm (168lb/in)
4kg/mm (224lb/in)
5kg/mm (280lb/in)
6kg/mm (336lb/in)
7kg/mm (392lb/in)
8kg/mm (448lb/in)
9kg/mm (504lb/in)  
10kg/mm (560lb/in)
11kg/mm (616lb/in)
12kg/mm (672lb/in)
13kg/mm (728lb/in)
14kg/mm (784lb/in)
15kg/mm (840lb/in)
16kg/mm (896lb/in)
17kg/mm (952lb/in)
18kg/mm (1008lb/in)
 
If you find a particular rate is not what you like, you can buy a different rate spring for $120/pair.
I ran 3kg/6kg combo with Koni Yellow's and found it a nice, comfortable street setup which didn't bruise my kidneys. YMMV.