I'm in the process of trying to decide on a suspension kit for my Cupra R.

Ive had my heart set on a Weitec kit but I'm now looking at Bilstein B12's.

I'm not after going crazy low, Just want to improve on the ride and handling of the OE stuff.

Its very crashy as standard.


Some people are saying go for coilovers but I feel these are overkill for a road car,

Can I have some input from those who have experience of using both.


My LCR is a daily driver and used as the family hack so it has to be fairly comfortable.

 

I had a Cupra decked on JOM coilovers and 18s as a daily driver on a mixture of roads, was fine just a bit harsh/bumpy as you can imagine.

Same with my VW althought this seems to hop a lot, the Cupra was planted and like it was on rails.

 

I've had a Koni road kit before on a Corsa then an RS turbo, and also had a KW v2 kit on my Cooper S. The KW's were a lot better, not too harsh when softened off a little but the car handled tremendously.

 

Bilstein coilover on the road will be too harsh in London but cheeper mono tube coilover a will be fine but they are basically adjustable height cheep shocks so on track will wont dampen as well as a upside down coilover

I got HKS coilovers on my impreza and if hung over sitting as a passenger in my car would make me sick BUT at the ring or motorways/smooth roads the car stuck to the road like a dream

I fitted cheep coilovers to my exs old Astra cabrio to adjust height for speed bumps in islington and the was fine but basically a updated fast road lowering kit as the rears are progressive springs (look like pig tail)

I would never fit bilstein coilovers to a road/family car when that is the main job as proper coilovers have linear springs that are straight and harsh on small bumps and harsher on ppt holes ect

The B10 damper and eibach springs are a PERFECT kit as they are a coilover upside down damper but with a progressive spring from eibach,, best kit for a fast road car/ occasional track car that won't require height adjustment

 

JOM kit is just a cheep suspension kit but you can adjust rude height and most people deck the car so proper most owners don't realise the extra understate the car has as a result as they won't have drivers the same car with a proper suspension set up

Until I fitted my HKS suspension I thought press under steer was a noticeable issue but it solved it with a few other things and the car is planted and jims old M3 had B10 suspension and handled well on track

 

Fk coilovers are quite good had them on my mk2 daily that was a family hack would Deffo recommend

 

The fact that no one talks to a manufacture is beyond me

A coilover is perfectly suited for any use if set up correctly ! So the first thing to do is get the car the weighed and corner weighted ,Then pass this info on the the shock builder and tell them the intended use of said car so they can then valve them properly and work out the spring rates so when you adjust the damper rates they will be compliant on a road and track

 

Jay I've been on a bilstein training course and that's where I first learned about differences ect,,, they don't recommend there coilovers for road use unless you are aware they are not comfortable on the road,,, pot holed London roads they laughed at the idea as they not linear spring would work on a pot hole

Valving the shocks and rates is great but R&D do this already when making kits for the better suited for application which is why BOM, FK ect work fine on road but suck on track,,, oh and I'm sure the cheeper coilovers are the same kits restickered hence they look almost identical and have rear platforms identical for rear height

I'd personally rather a B10 kit that cheep coilovers as I prefer twin tube handling after 5 mins on use not to aerate the oil like a aero bar

 

In fairness, Joms are bottom of the barrel. I would never expect them to give a nice ride.

 

Been setting cars up for years mate and yes theres always a compromise Ginge my point is you can get them alot better with the right info

 

The bilstein B12 kit I was looking at isnt a coil over kit,
Its a shock/spring kit, Still not sure weather its suitable.

 

Who would you recommend fit a custom spec coilover and the estimated REAL cost for it

Compare that to a B10 kit on eibach springs on road and track and apart from the non adjustment if height I doubt 80% of road drives would notice

Bilstein won't custom make coilovers apart from the Motorsport devision but you have to buy a kit THEN get it remade again and then it will not be set up for London roads

I 100% agree with what you are saying for track use,,, road use all you are doing is asking a suspension company to make a decent set if coilover softer and dampen less so the suspension feels more like a progressive suspension kit

Why not just get a decent upside down progressive kit if you don't need ride adjustment,,, and on the road,, do you really ?

 

Your right, b14/b16 is coilovers,, it's b12 I'm thinking of,, sorry been 5 years since I worked for bilstein (in trade order general sales not Motorsport)

For road use that's what he recommend,, I also asked why they don't make 3 way adjustable suspension and there answer was it needs setting up to each track to work properly and most people don't know how so they just have 1 adjustment and they valve what they deem perfect compromise for most people

It honestly works though as any car with b12 and eibach springs to me I have never seen a better off the shelf compromise and not seize/ corode in a year if road use

Ill save the road use rose joint conversation for another day