I am sitting at about 26 1/4" all around, but part of that is due to snow tires with sidewalls a bit too short. I am curious to see where I end up once I get new wheels and summer tires on it. I raised the rear up about 1/4" not long ago and the somewhat bouncy ride on a very bumpy road improved quite a bit.

 

I'm considering Tein Basis also. Application is really just for spirited road driving, unlikely to track. Trying to decide between Tein Basis vs a set of Swift springs vs higher quality coilovers (Bilstein B16?). I know there's quite a price difference but if Bilstein is considerably better or worth the extra money I'd do it, though I'd likely not touch the adjustable damping once initially set.

If just swift springs and new shocks/struts would provide a better ride I might go that way instead. But if Tein Basis provides similar performance at $500-600 that seems hard to ignore though I do worry about quality at that price point.

Pros/Cons?

 

Just cost wise, Swift + dampers is about 1100-1200. Ride is good, but if you have a RWD, there is some droop in the rear (AWD is flat). You won't need to get camber kits, so that's 500 savings. Tein Street Basis + camber kits puts you right at the same 1100-1200. I can't comment on swifts + Koni yellows, but the Teins ride better than swifts + stock S dampers. If you don't care about adjusting the ride and only want to dial in height, the Basis are perfect. They ride nicely, give a decent drop (not stance nation low, but aggressive sport sedan low) and are a quality, made-in-Japan setup.

 

Bump for more opinions. I was near close to going wit swifts and oem ipl dampers but saw the basis and now am leaning to them. Car is daily cruiser. Just want to close the wheel gap. Not slam just close it.

 

I would buy something with more adjustability. I was not even lowered that much at 26 3/4 fender to floor and it bounced and rode stiff as hell.

 

Does the coupe suffer the same 'droopy' butt look when lowered?

If not, Koni yellows would give you dampening adjustment. I can't imagine IPL dampers being cost effective or significantly different from the OE S dampers

 

Keep the shocks you have now (unless they need to be replaced) and just get lowering springs. That is the cheapest option to get what you want- a lower daily driver. If you are not preparing the car for track days, koni inserts and coilovers are overkill.

 

I agree with you 4DRZ. The coupes don't seem to suffer as much from the droopy rear like the sedans do. However, I would go with a spring like the Eibach's instead of the Swifts. There are a ton of pictures of both setups on the forum.

 

Just FYI, we don't have to do inserts like the WRX/STi guys, Koni makes dedicated replacement shocks for our application.

 

Nice! I had Koni inserts on my WRX and they were great for street/track. Especially when one bit the dust at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL and Koni replaced it for free under warranty.

 

Yeah, the lifetime warranty is nice, as is not having to mess with gutting the OEM shocks.

I suppose in theory the X guys could go the insert route

 

Thanks all for the help and quick responses.
I decided that if i moved away from swifts to tein then i may as well go up to BC coilovers. So i decided to stay with swift and IPL dampers and use the extra cash for ART pipes.
Thanks all.

 

How much are IPL dampers??

 

Free i have an IPL 😆

 

Or if bought new... $50,000. It's all relative.