car: DC2R
use: 90% city driving, 9% hills/winding road hard driving, 1% track
previously used: standard suspension, spoon progressive-rate springs
i decided to purchase some coilovers after going to another trackday at mallala motorsport park. i was running the spoon prog.rate springs at the time which i found were very good for the track. but the hondas equipped with coilovers seemed to be able to maintain higher speed through some of the corners, less body roll, etc. also, the adjustability of coilovers tempted me..
after doing some research i decided i wanted coilovers which had both height and dampening adjustment, with a seperaste perch for the spring and for height adjustment, meaning the spring compression wouldnt change when altering the ride-height. also i wanted spring rates higher than the 6.5F/5.5R spoon springs, but streetable (no 24kg/mm jap craziness!)
i decided on Zeal Function Xs coilovers which are the replacement for the Function B6 series. they offer 6 steps of damper adjustment, and aluminium rigid upper mount (pillow-ball adjustable uppers are of no use on the dc2r as camber is not adjusted in that way) and steel construction (the next model up in the Zeal range, the Function X, offers aluminium construction for further weight reduction).
also, i optioned my coilovers to 12kg/mm front and 8kg/mm rear Function X series springs, as opposed to the 10F/6R offered as standard.
setting:
i have spent many hours setting the car up to its current settings. (..and i'm sure i'll spend many more hours making further adjustments in the future!)
of course each height adjustment requires exact measurements to be taken,the wheels to be removed,perch/clamps loosened, adjustments made, more measurements, re-tightening,wheels back on, more measurements, test drives, more measurements, etc etc.. ie its very time-consuming! (if u want to do it right, particularly if u are as anal about these things as i am!)
currently i have settled on the following settings:
(using 17x7 buddyclub p1 wheels, 205/40 zr17 tyres)
spring rates: 12kg/mm front 8kg/mm rear Fuction X series springs
ride height front: 590mm (road-to wheelarch)
ride height rear: 595mm
camber front: ~ 3* negative
camber rear: ~ 1.8* negative
caster front: ~ 1*10' (standard spec)
toe front: -0*09' left and right (toe out)
toe rear: +0*10' left and right (toe in)
damper setting: changing all the time, for winding road usually 4/6 front and rear.
impression:
construction is of extremely high standard, kit was easily installed, and included height-adjustment wrenches. the coilover
depending on the setup, the coilovers can be quite stiff for daily driving. on a higher ride-height, and softest damper settings, the car felt slightly firmer than it did with the spoon springs. the way it is set up now, is quite stiff, but still liveable (for me!). some road undulations cause it to bounce slightly due to the firm settings. also the car tramlines more than previously.
the rear wheel lifts off the ground when crossing significant inclines eg. driveway!
on my local winding road, i'm amazed at the speed the car can carry through corners! there is less body roll, in fact it is basically negligable. turn in is amazingly sharp, the steering is very communicative. the car remains neutral to an extremely high level, then, depending on the corner and throttle position, communicates either slight over- or under-steer. however it is very controlable. under braking the front tends to dart and wander more than it did with the spoon springs. i think this can be attributed to the toe-out i'm running at the front.
the car seems to be able to carry more speed through all corners, slow-, medium, fast, tightening and opening! however due to the shorter suspension stroke of my setup, on some of the bumpy corners it seems less sure-footed than with the spoon springs. i dont think the car is any faster through these corners than previously.
i tend not to drive aggresively in the wet, but i would imagine that the shorter suspension travel and harder settings would cause the car to be slower than standard?
track impressions still to come..
verdict: fantastic!
thanks: ...to centrax auto (zeal/endless distributors in australia). they have fantastic customer service, great knowledge and support. highly recommend them! thankyou!
...also, probe auto honda specialist. (my mechanic).
use: 90% city driving, 9% hills/winding road hard driving, 1% track
previously used: standard suspension, spoon progressive-rate springs
i decided to purchase some coilovers after going to another trackday at mallala motorsport park. i was running the spoon prog.rate springs at the time which i found were very good for the track. but the hondas equipped with coilovers seemed to be able to maintain higher speed through some of the corners, less body roll, etc. also, the adjustability of coilovers tempted me..
after doing some research i decided i wanted coilovers which had both height and dampening adjustment, with a seperaste perch for the spring and for height adjustment, meaning the spring compression wouldnt change when altering the ride-height. also i wanted spring rates higher than the 6.5F/5.5R spoon springs, but streetable (no 24kg/mm jap craziness!)
i decided on Zeal Function Xs coilovers which are the replacement for the Function B6 series. they offer 6 steps of damper adjustment, and aluminium rigid upper mount (pillow-ball adjustable uppers are of no use on the dc2r as camber is not adjusted in that way) and steel construction (the next model up in the Zeal range, the Function X, offers aluminium construction for further weight reduction).
also, i optioned my coilovers to 12kg/mm front and 8kg/mm rear Function X series springs, as opposed to the 10F/6R offered as standard.
setting:
i have spent many hours setting the car up to its current settings. (..and i'm sure i'll spend many more hours making further adjustments in the future!)
of course each height adjustment requires exact measurements to be taken,the wheels to be removed,perch/clamps loosened, adjustments made, more measurements, re-tightening,wheels back on, more measurements, test drives, more measurements, etc etc.. ie its very time-consuming! (if u want to do it right, particularly if u are as anal about these things as i am!)
currently i have settled on the following settings:
(using 17x7 buddyclub p1 wheels, 205/40 zr17 tyres)
spring rates: 12kg/mm front 8kg/mm rear Fuction X series springs
ride height front: 590mm (road-to wheelarch)
ride height rear: 595mm
camber front: ~ 3* negative
camber rear: ~ 1.8* negative
caster front: ~ 1*10' (standard spec)
toe front: -0*09' left and right (toe out)
toe rear: +0*10' left and right (toe in)
damper setting: changing all the time, for winding road usually 4/6 front and rear.
impression:
construction is of extremely high standard, kit was easily installed, and included height-adjustment wrenches. the coilover
depending on the setup, the coilovers can be quite stiff for daily driving. on a higher ride-height, and softest damper settings, the car felt slightly firmer than it did with the spoon springs. the way it is set up now, is quite stiff, but still liveable (for me!). some road undulations cause it to bounce slightly due to the firm settings. also the car tramlines more than previously.
the rear wheel lifts off the ground when crossing significant inclines eg. driveway!
on my local winding road, i'm amazed at the speed the car can carry through corners! there is less body roll, in fact it is basically negligable. turn in is amazingly sharp, the steering is very communicative. the car remains neutral to an extremely high level, then, depending on the corner and throttle position, communicates either slight over- or under-steer. however it is very controlable. under braking the front tends to dart and wander more than it did with the spoon springs. i think this can be attributed to the toe-out i'm running at the front.
the car seems to be able to carry more speed through all corners, slow-, medium, fast, tightening and opening! however due to the shorter suspension stroke of my setup, on some of the bumpy corners it seems less sure-footed than with the spoon springs. i dont think the car is any faster through these corners than previously.
i tend not to drive aggresively in the wet, but i would imagine that the shorter suspension travel and harder settings would cause the car to be slower than standard?
track impressions still to come..
verdict: fantastic!
thanks: ...to centrax auto (zeal/endless distributors in australia). they have fantastic customer service, great knowledge and support. highly recommend them! thankyou!
...also, probe auto honda specialist. (my mechanic).
glad u guys liked my review.
..which would make mine feel soft.. 
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