Why Having Good Aftermarket Fixed Rate Dampers And Springs Is Better Than Coilovers On Your Daily Driver

‘Wouldn’t you be better off installing coilovers on your car?’

You know, it’s Christmas, everything was on sale, and one of my shocks is leaking rather badly. I couldn’t resist it.

Yes, I bought a set of TRD Sportivo fixed rate dampers and springs. I am not going to keep you waiting, it is amazing.

However, I hear some of you may question, ‘Wouldn’t you be better off installing coilovers on your car?’ And funnily enough, I did consider purchasing a set of coilovers. And this is what the shop that does maintenance on my car told me to do as well, they recommended a set of BC coilovers, and I’m told that they ride amazingly well, if well-tuned.

That’s the problem I have with coilovers, the phrase ‘if well-tuned’, puts me off.

I did try putting on coilovers on my car once before.

Don’t start typing in the comments section yet, I know what you are like. Listen. I did try putting on coilovers on my car once before. Time was 2010, my electronic suspension on my Gen 1 Alphard leaks, and the shop above offered a set of BC coilovers, and to set them up according to my liking, for a reasonable price. I didn’t hesitate. I took the offer immediately.

It was as bumpy as riding a horse.

And regretted almost immediately after I took the ‘renewed’ car on the street for the first time.

It was as bumpy as riding a horse. Of course, feeling a bit crossed and bewildered, I took the car back and kindly asked them if they could tune it to be as less bumpy as possible. They said of course, we were paid to do this.

And again, after tuning, I took the car on the road. And yes, it did improve quite a bit. The ride wasn’t as crashy as before. It was acceptable. And it did corner flatter than it did on its original ride height, having dropped the ride height by 30mm, you’d expect that as well as the centre of mass is lowered by quite a bit. So I thanked them and took the car to my grandma’s to carry her home along the way.

What I didn’t expect however, is how my grandma responded to the renewed suspension. She said that the car looked like it was nodding constantly when it went over a speed bump from outside the car. And having rode on the car for the first time, she said the ride was more like going on a boat, a speed boat, going through the middle of the thunderstorm with waves hitting the boat very hard. It was ‘unbearable’, according to her.

The car was much more stable in city driving conditions. It wasn’t crashy through the bumps, it feels like the shocks have absorbed them before they are transmitted to the cabin and into my spine, as shocks should.

And since my daily routine involves her and my parents as well, and they are elderly after all, I needed something much better suited for cruising in Hong Kong, and more comfortable. Therefore this time round, I walked away from the shop silently, to not let them realise that I turned them down.

Having turned them down, I headed straight towards the Net. Ahh the joys of the Internet, found me a shop nearby that specialises in TRD and Tom’s parts. Of course I phoned them and asked if there was anything that suits my car. They said yes. They’d recommend the TRD Sportivo fixed rates dampers and shocks, and the Tom’s 30-way adjustable suspension kit.

I wanted to do an experiment, for the sake of scientific investigation. I wanted to try if springs and dampers that fixed rates and are specifically designed for the car they are fitted on, is better than the off-the-shelf coilovers.

I told them, I’ll get the cash ready, bring on the TRD Sportivo dampers and springs.

They of course said yes, very quickly. And two hours later, the old leaky, rusty, springs and dampers were out, and in goes the new shiny dampers and springs.

When I drove out of the shop, I was astounded by how good the steering feels. Weirdly, I’d thought changing out the shocks would only affect the ride, but no, it turns out that, according to the lady that sold me these shocks and dampers, the bushes at the bottom of the shock make a huge difference. The car was much more stable in city driving conditions. It wasn’t crashy through the bumps, it feels like the shocks have absorbed them before they are transmitted to the cabin and into my spine, as shocks should. It feels as if it would’ve came out of the factory like this. And this is certainly what you want for city driving in your daily driver.

But the real big question is, how would my grandma think and what would she say. After all, she couldn’t care less about how stable the car feels after lowering the car, or how the car is tighter than before after changing out the dampers.

But the real big question is, how would my grandma think and what would she say. After all, she couldn’t care less about how stable the car feels after lowering the car, or how the car is tighter than before after changing out the dampers. Oh no. All she cares, is how comfortable the car is. She, is the real judge of my shocks.

And you know what she said? It feels better already having just drove over the first pothole we encountered. She said the ride is reassuringly firm, yet not bumpy at all. In other words, she was saying they were well damped, and feels like the shocks were specifically designed for a 2-tonne car with people on board. She was mightily impressed. And so is my Dad, and my Mum.

That is why I suggest you guys to forget coilovers first if you were going to upgrade your car’s suspension on your daily driver.

That is why I suggest you guys to forget coilovers first if you were going to upgrade your car’s suspension on your daily driver. What you want from your daily driver, is comfort first, then handling. After all you wouldn’t want to deal with a bumpy ride if you were to go through traffic right after work right? It’s like adding torture onto your already tortured body. No good. You might argue that ‘well-set-up’ coilovers are definitely better than your fixed rates dampers. After all they are tailored to suit your needs.

However you have to realise, most of the off-the-shelf coilovers are designed via a computer. Which means your car might not have been tested beforehand when they designed it. Sure if you have a, say an S2000, then the company would definitely have tested it on the S2000 because the demand for coilovers from the owners of popularly-tuned cars are so high, that they need to test it on these cars or else they would develop a bad reputation among enthusiasts. But for cars that not many people modify, my Vellfire for example, they would just enter the computer and make the spring rate suit the criteria of the car on the computer without actually testing it on the road. That’s no good because what data will tell you, is how human feel if they were to ride on the thing. And with suspensions, you can’t return them, and what you’d get, is frustrated people typing hate comments on your product.

My other piece of advice as well, is to search for tuners that specifically tune your car, or the car manufacturer that makes your car.

My other piece of advice as well, is to search for tuners that specifically tune your car, or the car manufacturer that makes your car. Mine for example, since it’s a Toyota, I headed to TRD and Tom’s. For BMWs, head for Alpine or M division of BMW; for Nissans, go for Nismo for sure. That’s how you can assure the quality of the product you get. Because by buying the part from them, you know they’ll be better than the original, and they are specifically designed for your car, and they have been tested and tuned by professionals who work on your car all the time.

I do agree though, they cost a bit more than your off-the-shelf counterpart. But for a part that is so crucial for your car to ride well and how it performs in general, I think it’s better off that you save a bit longer, and buy the more expensive part. After all, you can’t return them, you have to stick with them for however many years. You wouldn’t want to blame yourself every time you get in the car, right?