Eibach Pro-kit vs Swift Spec-R Springs for Weekend/autocross/occasional track day

[rwense]

Hi everyone!

I'm about to pull the trigger on a set of lowering springs for my 21' but I'm a bit torn. As far as I can tell here are the specs for both:

Eibach: 4-10.8 kg/mm, 1.7"-1.2" drop
Swift: 4.8-12 kg/mm, 1.2"-1.2" drop

Can anyone chime in on their experiences with both? I primarily drive it on the weekend on backroads, highways for longer trips, and autocross events. I'm just starting to get into track days so something to help out at high speed/G's would be nice but I would expect to upgrade down the road. Also, all else is stock.

Thanks!

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[Tsuekasa]

Using swiftsprings right now for the past 2 months. I've been to 1 autocross and 1 track day event stock unfortunately haven't been able to use the swiftsprings yet on the track. I do alot of spirited driving though from what I can tell it definitely feels more planted, less body roll, it feels harder to break traction at the rear. Ride quality is definitely more stiff but not as bad as I thought. I actually feel like it's so much more stiff that I feel like I cant take corners as hard if the pavement is as smooth/bumpy because it would disrupt the car so much. Overall I think it will be a good setup for autocross/track.

 

[Rocksandblues]

I have eibach pro and I track 3 times a month. Too stiff

my times are pretty fast. Not sure if I am willing to upgrade cooling and real 3 way adj set up at about 12k

what I would need to get those last 1.1 secs on the track

 

[Evolution]

Lowering springs really arent meant for track use. Ideally, you only want the car 1/2" lower than stock. Anything lower messes with the geometry too much and will make your car handle worse. No one makes 1/2" lowering springs. The Eibach Euro springs are the closest thing at .8" drop. But they are too soft to really help out. The HKS adjustable springs would probably be the cheapest option but still on the soft side. Any of the off the shelf "lowering springs" will be a compromise in some way or another.

If you can swing it, look into coilovers. No, not the cheapest ones you can find. They will ride bad, have the wrong spring rates, wrong valving and just not work. I spent the money on Ohlins and will say, they are great! It rides almost like stock and handles way better. Probably one of the best street/track coilovers out there. There are better out there but the price jump is just huge and not worth it unless you primarily use your car at the track.

 

[3TMagnetMan]

I would say drive car stock on the track first before changing anything suspension. I have taken my car on the track with only alignment done. Very capable car from the factory stock. I would probably only do sway bars instead of springs to start off with.

 

[3TMagnetMan]

Lowering springs really arent meant for track use. Ideally, you only want the car 1/2" lower than stock. Anything lower messes with the geometry too much and will make your car handle worse. No one makes 1/2" lowering springs. The Eibach Euro springs are the closest thing at .8" drop. But they are too soft to really help out. The HKS adjustable springs would probably be the cheapest option but still on the soft side. Any of the off the shelf "lowering springs" will be a compromise in some way or another.

If you can swing it, look into coilovers. No, not the cheapest ones you can find. They will ride bad, have the wrong spring rates, wrong valving and just not work. I spent the money on Ohlins and will say, they are great! It rides almost like stock and handles way better. Probably one of the best street/track coilovers out there. There are better out there but the price jump is just huge and not worth it unless you primarily use your car at the track.

That's why Jackie Dings Supra is not lowered at all he explained that he did not want to upset the cars balance and electronics from his experience on the track.

 

[rwense]

I would say drive car stock on the track first before changing anything suspension. I have taken my car on the track with only alignment done. Very capable car from the factory stock. I would probably only do sway bars instead of springs to start off with.

I already had it out on track at Pitt Race and a couple of autocross days. Overall I agree, it is fairly capable and with my current driving level I'm sure I cant surpass it. However, I noticed that there was a lot of nose dive and rear squat so I was hoping to dial some of that out. I'd like to lessen the overall bodyroll but not get rid of it entirely.

I ended up pulling the trigger on the eibach springs and installed them the other day. I havent had a chance to go to an autocross/track event or drive really hard yet. That being said, driving around, even on cobblestone streets had me very surprised. In comfort its still quite compliant (a tad stiffer in normal mode), and sport mode was obviously stiffer but nothing unbearable. The eibach's spring rates were the more tame of the group hence why I chose them since my car is a bit of a catch all.

I appreciate the responses though! I'd love to dive into a set of KW V3s with DDC but im not ready to plunk down that kind of money just yet haha.

 

[kappa_md]

I already had it out on track at Pitt Race and a couple of autocross days. Overall I agree, it is fairly capable and with my current driving level I'm sure I cant surpass it. However, I noticed that there was a lot of nose dive and rear squat so I was hoping to dial some of that out. I'd like to lessen the overall bodyroll but not get rid of it entirely.

I ended up pulling the trigger on the eibach springs and installed them the other day. I havent had a chance to go to an autocross/track event or drive really hard yet. That being said, driving around, even on cobblestone streets had me very surprised. In comfort its still quite compliant (a tad stiffer in normal mode), and sport mode was obviously stiffer but nothing unbearable. The eibach's spring rates were the more tame of the group hence why I chose them since my car is a bit of a catch all.

I appreciate the responses though! I'd love to dive into a set of KW V3s with DDC but im not ready to plunk down that kind of money just yet haha.

Any updates? Plan on doing the Eibach ProPlus Kit (springs and sway bars) but still keeping the electronic damping/shocks stock. Have great experience on doing this Eibach ProPlus route for both the 86 & CTR. Would love to hear from you guys (application: 90% street/ 10% track)

 

[rwense]

Any updates? Plan on doing the Eibach ProPlus Kit (springs and sway bars) but still keeping the electronic damping/shocks stock. Have great experience on doing this Eibach ProPlus route for both the 86 & CTR. Would love to hear from you guys (application: 90% street/ 10% track)

Hey man! I haven't been on track yet but I've done an autocross with just the springs and just recently installed the eibach front swaybar. I've only done some backroads driving and around the city with that

Overall I'm pretty happy! I keep the shocks in normal mode to compensate for the increased spring rate and it works quite well. Overall the ride is pretty similar to sport mode (albeit I live in Pittsburgh so the roads. Especially cobblestone, are not the greatest). For autocross it has better body control and I've noticed less nose dive/lift. The front swaybar made a fairly noticeable difference regarding the front end's ability to change direction. I only have it set on the middle setting so I haven't tried full stiff yet.

The only thing I don't like is that it's a tad low for my taste. I knew that going in but now that I'm considering an 18" square setup rhat might make scraping a lot more frequent. As of now I only scrape on one corner of the slope coming out of my garage. And it's only very slight.

 

[razorlab]

With hard track use, those eibachs will be riding on the bump stops on the front, just FYI.

 

[DSG Performance]

Have you guys seen the MSS adjustable springs? I liked these better than the Swift lowering springs

 

[rwense]

Have you guys seen the MSS adjustable springs? I liked these better than the Swift lowering springs

I have but I haven't heard a ton about them. I'd assume it's fairly comparable to the HKS springs. Most likely I'll go for those or just a full coilover setup down the road. But for $250 an eibach spring setup is a pretty cheap entry even if it isn't "the best" or the most ideal.

 

[DSG Performance]

I have but I haven't heard a ton about them. I'd assume it's fairly comparable to the HKS springs. Most likely I'll go for those or just a full coilover setup down the road. But for $250 an eibach spring setup is a pretty cheap entry even if it isn't "the best" or the most ideal.

So we had a few different setups so far on our car. Right now, I have the Fortune Auto coilovers on there and they're really top compared to spring only. Prior to that, we had Swift and MSS. As far as it goes between lowering spring only, the MSS were my fav and the ride height adjustment was nice to have and of course retaining the EDC which we no longer have with coilovers.

 

[rwense]

So we had a few different setups so far on our car. Right now, I have the Fortune Auto coilovers on there and they're really top compared to spring only. Prior to that, we had Swift and MSS. As far as it goes between lowering spring only, the MSS were my fav and the ride height adjustment was nice to have and of course retaining the EDC which we no longer have with coilovers.

Ahh good to know! My main reason for going to springs was retaining the EDC since I'd like to take longer roadtrips and survive the cobblestone roads around me. However it dawned on me that despite losing EDC I can still make damping adjustments with coilovers albeit not with a touch of a button. So down the road they'll definitely be on the list.

Thanks for the insight!

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