Replacement struts for HFP suspension

[rtc975]

Struts for my HFP suspension are pretty much beat.

Can anyone recommend proper replacement struts to handle the slight drop over stock without blowing themselves to pieces after a year?

I daily drive the hell out of this thing. Well over 250k on it. Bilsteins are definitely way out of my budget and I want to keep the ride height as it is right now on the HFP springs.

Thanks!

[Powers]

Koni yellows maybe. That would be my suggestion atleast. I'd wait till someone more knowledgable like hasbro steps in though for a confirmation.

[Hasbro]

Jeez, for across the board equivalent dampers how about A-Specs? No adjusting and have a great durability record. Properly tuned to the car's chassis. That's the closest I can think of. Konis and a couple others but they require cutting and fitting. Others will chime in but my vote is for A-Specs. $600.00 shipped.

[obsoletearturo]

A-spec

[poeticfinesse21]

Everyone else has stated the only 3 options really worth purchasing.

Koni yellows - about $600 for all four shocks but you have to cut up your stock front shocks. If you're not willing to do it yourself then you have to factor in the labor to pay someone to do it.

A-spec kit - $650 shipped plus about $40 for new RSX tie rod ends and either shaving the rear shock bushings yourself or $20 for 2 new EP3 rear shock bushings and then paying the labor to have a shop press them in.

Bilsteins - $800 shipped for all 4 from eshocks.com. No cutting, no need for different tie rod ends and no need for shaving or pressing in bushings. Direct bolt on. Monotube design, tuned for the EP3 Type-R, the best choice all around. Also due to the monotube design, the bilsteins will last a lot longer than the other shocks and if you still have the car once they are blown it's only $75 per shock to rebuild them.

Get the bilsteins, they are worth every penny and they will pair beautifully with your HFP springs. The other two choices are not bad either but they're not as good and require more work to install.

[Hasbro]

I agree, it's worth the extra money. Get A-Specs to match, Bilsteins to excel beyond A-SpecsHFPs.

[rtc975]

Top hats, all the other parts necessary will fit the bilsteins?

I would obviously prefer to go that route. No issues with clunks and slop with them? Has anyone on here or clubep3 actually bolted a set of those in?

[poeticfinesse21]

Check out my bilstein thread here and on clubep3. There's a few people that have them. I would recommend getting new front top hats though just to avoid any potential play in them.

[Cheep3]

I love my Koni's and highly recommend them, but if I had the option, I'd go Bilsteins in a heartbeat!

[Hasbro]

Well, B16s with custom springs, yes. Not a fixed Bilstein. Apples and oranges. There isn't much under 2k that I would consider before a well adjusted Koni Sport set up. That means a properly prepared original strut body, Konis cut for more travel, and properly tuned custom springs.

Damper engineers/tuners generally say, in this lower price range, jdm dampers with their 32 adjustable positions are very innacurate and vary from damper to damper. Konis are more accurate but can vary, although they are much truer to form. Bilsteins, according to one tuner, are like fine jewelry, and are more consistently accurate with their damping and adjustability.

Sorry to thread jack, op.

I guess that some fixed Bilsteins and Swift Springs would be pretty damn nice for the op. What, about $1100.00 including bits and pieces? Sounds high but that's a beautiful set up that couldn't be bested for quite a bit more change.

[ep_hatcher_510]

Top hats, all the other parts necessary will fit the bilsteins?

I would obviously prefer to go that route. No issues with clunks and slop with them? Has anyone on here or clubep3 actually bolted a set of those in?

I'm running a set right now, the car is nice a solid with no noticeable noise. The struts bolts up to the OEM top hats, no modifications needed at all. If your front top mount rubber bushing is still in good shape you can re-use them but i would recommend new strut bearings for the front left and right sides.

A few notes about the bilstiens:

The fronts are B8s, they are shorten, if i remember correctly the shock housing is about 1/2-1 inch shorter than the stock parts.

The front set of the bilstiens are inverted, wont be able to use the stock rubber boot/bump stop. However they already have an internal bump stop so you are good. If you want a boot you will need to call up bilstien probably to get the correct size, i just didnt run one as you dont need to anyways.

The rear pair of the bilstiens are B6s. They come with foam bump stops, you can trim them to your desired length.

They all come with new self locking nuts and washers.

You will experience a firmer ride with these.

[rtc975]

Decided to do a full R&R on the front end of the car and will be using the bilsteins. Every moving suspension part on the front end of this thing is getting replaced. Can't stand the clunk and slop anymore. Poly bushings kit from energy, rods and ends, balljoints, wheel bearings, end links, sway bar bushings, everything is getting replaced with new to take the play out of this thing.