too many brands

[gelo]

hey guys
been lookign at what to get for my car
and theres just too many brands out there

what really differeniate one brand form another?
or is it purely personal choice

i mean when u put big names together like tein, bilsteins, cusco etc
what makes you make your choice?

[V-techWhore]

anythign rare is good lol.

[Zdster]

Are you referring to any particular parts (ie suspension etc) or is the question just general? I personally dont stick to a single brand but look for high quality, good value for money and a product that suits my car and my needs.

[gelo]

im talking abotu just suspension
so like
coilovers mainly
and then bars and stuff

[newmski]

the brands u said are all high quality. what makes one more appealing IMO then the other is its features,price,durability, and whether ozzy shops can/will repair them [coilovers]
like most things the more you spend the better the product..but thats not to say you cant find a bargain

[kousoku]

all the brands listed are fairly good,
however, for australian roads its sometimes good to get products that have domestic market oriented products, ie. whiteline makes some superiour products because their rates maybe be a little bit softer and hence will make better driving on normal street roads.
Sometimes companys at the pinnacle of the suspension game (And their products) may not be right for your application purley because they are not suited to our (australian) environment.
I was looking into getting some zeal coil overs which are (Well i think) incredibly high quality coil overs but was told they just aren't suited for street driving in sydney (all those pot holes)

my 2c.

[sydteg21]

for me ,some brands are designed for certain brands, like zeal for honda, others like aftermarkets one all same i think

[aozora]

Whiteline make good for value products... but their build quality isn't superb. And spring rates I believe are similar to Kings... they just market them alot more. :)
Anyway, brands shouldn't matter too much with quality aside, it depends on what you want in your suspension and application. As different company release products with different specs and levels of adjustment. So unless you know what you're doing, it can be pretty difficult... I find though, especially with coil-overs it's difficult finding a place to rebuild the dampers, especially with some of the Japanese brands.
Personally I love Cusco products but you really do pay for them...! :( Koni dampers are great and I've had no problems. Whiteline... as mentioned but still not bad. Pedders stay away from... JIC also good... Bilstein I've heard good things about... but there's so much out there, it's best to just ask around I suppose? It's all about personal experience I guess just like anything you buy.

[kid_dynamite]

When you're looking at what to get consider:
- where will the car predominantly be driven? (circuit, drag, street, etc)
- is there a minimum 'comfort' level you need?

I say this because something like Teins are absolutely beautiful on the track, but even at their softest settings are quite rough on our roads - because of their damping rates. That's typical of a lot of the Japanese brands.

Personally I believe that the Aussie built suspension offers a much more comfortable ride, as it's built to our spec. Of course my car doesn't see the track, so I'm happy with that. Figure out what you want first, then look for matching characteristics..

Aozora: I'm interested in picking up some whiteline parts for my ride, so interested in hearing what your story is about their build quality?

[ian]

you have to balance out your:

1. budget
2. application - (as kid dynamite said)
3. practicallity

And most of all, do your research well and you'll find the best one to suit your needs.

[newbie]

you have to balance out your:

1. budget
2. application - (as kid dynamite said)
3. practicallity

And most of all, do your research well and you'll find the best one to suit your needs.

i fink tats sums it up the best... also if you got people you know with coilovers/suspension goodies and similar car. go take a ride and see how it feels.

:thumbsup:

[Terry]

Tein la..:D

[gelo]

pretty good feedback

personally
i was lookign at tein SS or flex
or zeal super functions

my car sees track on a regular basis
but coilovers are still near the bottom of the list
still got alot of time to research

i was just curious as to what differeniates the different brands

[wynode]

I was just about to type up a few paragraphs then came across Ian's post and just quoting that is enough :thumbsup::thumbsup:



you have to balance out your:

1. budget
2. application - (as kid dynamite said)
3. practicallity

And most of all, do your research well and you'll find the best one to suit your needs.

[aozora]

When you're looking at what to get consider:
- where will the car predominantly be driven? (circuit, drag, street, etc)
- is there a minimum 'comfort' level you need?

I say this because something like Teins are absolutely beautiful on the track, but even at their softest settings are quite rough on our roads - because of their damping rates. That's typical of a lot of the Japanese brands.

Personally I believe that the Aussie built suspension offers a much more comfortable ride, as it's built to our spec. Of course my car doesn't see the track, so I'm happy with that. Figure out what you want first, then look for matching characteristics..

Aozora: I'm interested in picking up some whiteline parts for my ride, so interested in hearing what your story is about their build quality?


Not dampening rates.... spring rates :) Dampers control springs.... springs control bumps in the road...

If you're on a budget, Whiteline is very good value for the money. But quality wise I think there definately could be improvements... some of the swaybar links I've received are slightly mishaped and I've heard of bolts snapping in the past but I think Whiteline have long fixed that problem (I hope anyway!) :) And last time I adjusted my swaybar, I noticed the washers were bent quite a bit... But they're not major issues... but they could be a bit more heavy duty?

Buy what you need from Whiteline and if you can get them from elsewhere for similar price... I'd do so (ie. off Yahoo Japan auctions... Cusco products :D But swaybars from Cusco are really expensive and not adjustable, so I opted for Whiteline). So I bought swaybars off them and the front swaybar model they specified was hitting my sump which after alot of stuffing around, got me another few weeks wait before getting the right one... (there's supposedly two models but I think they classified them wrongly? Ie. 88 - 92 should be more specific, as mine is a 92 so I got the 92 - 97 model I think, when I ended up needing the 88 - 92 model so model/month make could be helpful but really not a big drama in the end). Also they didn't provide any diagrams or instructions on how to install them... which got me and a friend puzzled and mucking around the whole night searching the net for diagrams, a quick e-mail to Whiteline fixed that up eventually though.

My alignment guy says he never has a problem with King springs. Whiteline there's a few returns and problems (usually height related or the wrong springs packaged, another quality control thing...) but easily the worst is Pedders, almost half of what he installs, he has to return because of problems.

I've only got two Whiteline products on my car... springs (with the recommended dampers) and swaybars, and I think that's all I'll ever have... they're NOT bad (especially not bad for the money you pay), but there's better out there. Their technical support and contactability is quite good though... friendly and helpful, so no complaints there. So really just minor things...!
If you're on a budget, you really can't go past them but mix and match your parts... if there's no other parts available for your car with more adjustability or aren't rose jointed etc then go for Whiteline :) Eg. They don't offer camber tops on standard Macpherson strut setups, so I went for Cusco... etc :)
Otherwise they're good... but there definately needs to be some form of quality control put into place or atleast a better one and preferably more research put into specific cars.

I hope that helps... and it's just my experience and what I've heard so definately don't take it as though every Whiteline part will be the same :) For a Aussie brand they're doing fairly well!

[roar]

hmm whiteline... i rekn whiteline is great for the price and availability

well compared to kings i'd say whiteline shits all over them...i've had both king springs and whiteline control springs in my car...and srsly...whiteline was soo much better ride quality and handling and noise

for track...you can't go past the jap and euro brands, but for street purposes...i'd say they may not be ideal...

so really it all comes down to balance...just like alot of other auto issues..there is no best

[genk-jomblo]

anythign rare is good lol.
+1 ... extra note : also if its expensive that its good :P

haha

[aozora]

I swear this topic was longer.... ahah