CarolinaPanthers
Passed Driver's Ed
- Location
- Bethlehem, PA
- Car(s)
- 18 GTI 6mt
Hello friends,
For anyone as bored as I am, here's a little light reading!
With nothing but time on my hands and the threat of a stimulus check coming my way, I am getting closer and closer to pulling the trigger on a set of coilovers. I've all but ruled out a shock and spring combo, though a Koni Yellow set up is always in the back of my mind. Also ruling out ST X, Vogtland, et. al, to help narrow down the field. For now, the two front runners are Bilstein B14 and EQT Balanced Line Coilovers. I'm really leaning towards the EQT, but have some reservations. Bilstein is tried and true, but lacking some adjustments (for better or for worse). I can confidently say that my car will never see a track. I will not take full advantage of all the benefits of coilovers, especially for a daily driver.
So why coilovers? I had a terrible experience running OEM replacement shocks with way too low of springs on a previous car. Bought used, shocks were probably already blown. Replaced with with BC coilovers and my life got a lot better! A spring and shock combo would be enough for me to want to save up for another month and just go with the coilovers that I really want. I also know I'd be a bit annoyed if I couldn't get the ride height just where I wanted it with springs, especially knowing how much I paid. Plus, adjusting the rear Koni Yellows seems like a pain in the butt. And, at the end of the day, I guess I just want coilovers lol. Due to paralysis by analysis, can those with real world experience/cooler heads help me form a decision?
EQT Balanced Line -$1,259
Pros
Cons
Pros
Thank you in advance for your input. If nothing else, hopefully this long-winded, overly analytical, nonsensical rant provided some entertainment as you practice your social distancing.
For anyone as bored as I am, here's a little light reading!
With nothing but time on my hands and the threat of a stimulus check coming my way, I am getting closer and closer to pulling the trigger on a set of coilovers. I've all but ruled out a shock and spring combo, though a Koni Yellow set up is always in the back of my mind. Also ruling out ST X, Vogtland, et. al, to help narrow down the field. For now, the two front runners are Bilstein B14 and EQT Balanced Line Coilovers. I'm really leaning towards the EQT, but have some reservations. Bilstein is tried and true, but lacking some adjustments (for better or for worse). I can confidently say that my car will never see a track. I will not take full advantage of all the benefits of coilovers, especially for a daily driver.
So why coilovers? I had a terrible experience running OEM replacement shocks with way too low of springs on a previous car. Bought used, shocks were probably already blown. Replaced with with BC coilovers and my life got a lot better! A spring and shock combo would be enough for me to want to save up for another month and just go with the coilovers that I really want. I also know I'd be a bit annoyed if I couldn't get the ride height just where I wanted it with springs, especially knowing how much I paid. Plus, adjusting the rear Koni Yellows seems like a pain in the butt. And, at the end of the day, I guess I just want coilovers lol. Due to paralysis by analysis, can those with real world experience/cooler heads help me form a decision?
EQT Balanced Line -$1,259
Pros
- Ride height and shock travel are separate. As I understand it, going lower doesn't necessarily have a negative impact ride quality. Perhaps this is also related to ease of adjustment? (see cons)
- EASILY accessible damping adjustments - Under cowl for fronts, bottom of shock for rears. No need to take rear suspension apart to adjust. I like turning knobs.
- Allegedly, the ride is similar to OEM at full soft, and can go stiffer as wanted. Just as important, I can easily revert back to a softer setting
- Camber plates. Pretty cool, eh? Plus the price is the price - no need to factor in strut mounts and bearings. Will I mess with camber much? Probably not.
- Great customer service
- Can source different springs/spring rates if needed. Not a huge selling point for me, tbh.
Cons
- At the top of my budget.
- Divorced rear shock/spring. How tf do I set the ride height? Via the spring perch? Via the shock body? A little of both to make sure the ride height provides preload on the spring? Am I overthinking this??
- Will salty PA/NJ winters wreak havoc on the rear adjuster? What treatment should I use?
- Do all these adjustments give me just enough rope to hang myself? Ride height, damping, camber. It's easy to get lost down a rabbit hole and drive myself crazy - is perfection just one thread here, two clicks there?
- Kind of silly, but how does one get an alignment and then adjust the camber? My thought process - Set ride height, align car, pull fronts and adjust the camber, tighten, and reinstall. Pain in the ass. Does pulling the strut via the 2x4 method require a new alignment or can the camber adjustment build onto the current alignment?
- Are all of these extra features at the pricepoint masking a less than ideal damper and/or spring?
Pros
- A lot of happy users
- Bilstein knows their way around a well designed shock
- Damping already set and matched to the springs by Bilstein for a daily driver. Sounds like it is on the sportier/stiffer side and I like that.
- Corrosion resistance
- Easy enough to figure out how to adjust the height. Too low = bummer ride quality. Not looking to go crazy low anyway
- Fewer adjustments to drive myself crazy with
- Not stoked on stories of Bilstein's customer service. BUT, I can fall back on FCP Euro's warranty if needed.
- For $100 more, why didn't I just get coilovers with all the adjustments my little heart could desire?
- From what I gather, he lower you go, the worse the ride gets. Not looking to go crazy low, but I could see myself wanting just a little more low than the 30mm drop and becoming frustrated when the ride quality goes to hell
Thank you in advance for your input. If nothing else, hopefully this long-winded, overly analytical, nonsensical rant provided some entertainment as you practice your social distancing.