I have the FSD dampers with TSW V1 springs. I am considering going back to OEM dampers as I am not convinced the FSD are better for the kind of spirited/track driving I like to do. Any thoughts?
I've been using the stock springs and dampers since new. If your suspension geometry is held in place (camber plates, rear control arms, and front poly bushings) then the stock stuff is more than capable of handling a lot of spirited driving. Plus you won't need a skeleton made of granite to drive the car. Never been to a track though. My car held on very well on the Dragon and in the whole Fontana/Smoky Mountain area. The limiting factor was my 195/60/15 tires, they were spent by the end of the trip too. So in summary, I do real world spirited driving, and the stock stuff works here. Lowered cars that ride like rocks never do well off of the silky smooth track.
Go back and you'll be happy but.... but I don't know the amount of drop that the TSW spring have. The stock struts don't have a lot of motion, and springs with drop will have you bottoming a whole lot. Another way to go is to keep your eyes on the various marketplaces to buy some adjustable coil overs from someone doing upgrading/downgrading. You may have to get some springs to match your taste, but you will have a better overall package for the effort. Matt ps, my neighbor went from ultra stiff spring/koni struts to stock and loves the change. He kept his stiff sway bars to keep body lean in control. There's a lot to be said for not going too stiff. (Jerry, no comments, please....)
FSD's from what I hear simply don't do too well with lowing springs....the valves get beat to heck....so if they don't seem to be riding right..there may be a reason. If you did not change the rear links too, your suspension geometery is out of wack too bu a bit...I like to say say lowing springs are for looks, Coil-overs are for handling. If you like spirited driving, I'd go straight (sell the used spings to re-coup some $$) to coil overs, or perhaps a used JCW set up if you can find a low milage set-up.
Zippy, oh nevermind...........:frown2: Thanks to everyone else for helping. I have been contemplating the coilovers for some time but cannot justify the expense right now with the way things are.......
Well, if it's cheap you're after... just put the stockers back on and see how it goes for you! There's little cost in doing that. And you will know if you like it better or worse than what you were driving before. Nothing like real world testing to know for sure. And FWIW, I've seen complete sets of springs and struts for the R53 go for about a buck fifty, so it's not a lot of risk or cost to go all the way back to square one. Actually, when I was having my Ledas rebuilt, I put the stockers back on and while it leaned a lot more in turns, the ride on rough roads was much improved..... Matt
I am doing a brake job in a couple of weeks and plan on doing just that. From what I can gather with the minimal drop the TSW springs have the OEM dampers will probably work better than the FSD's with the driving I like to do.
This is what my compromise suspension mod is on my R53. OEM struts TSW V3 springs (lowered ~3/4" in front ~1" in back) 19mm rear sway Pretty damn good on track and street, and not expensive.
Bilstein HD might be the perfect compromise. No first hand experience (for the Mini at least). Good reviews so far though. - Andrew