New daily driver evo. older guy, more subtle build...

[daign]

Hey all. My names Dane. I am a bit older, 34, and want to put aftermarket wheels on, aftermarket stereo, tint (35% already done) and maybe vinyl the roof satin/glass black (3m satin matches the B-pillars).Heres the problem, I'm 34. I am sick and tired of driving cars around steep inclines, driveways, speedbumps. I actually measured the OEM body kit vs. the base model and decided against it because of the inch difference. The streets around east la, and where I live in Silver Lake are absolutely horrendous. I actually put air bags on my lincoln continental because I found myself hitting the transmission with manholes and whatnot.


here she is with her new 35% tint.


I have a tendency to modify every car I buy but want to keep it simply cosmetic on the evo as I already have a track toy...


A few other cars I've owned/driven etc.


1970 Austin Mini Yamaha R1 powered...



with another daily


I had one of the first 300c's in Socal so it was used for tons of product development and shows and whatnot. It ended up being a nightmare to drive because of the bodykit being so low (all the mods were free for Sema 06) I vowed to never modify a modern car so extensively again lol. This was before they became popular. The bodykit was developed on the car, the wheels were one-offs etc.



Any time I put aftermarket wheels on, I end up needing to reduce the monster truck look and 'stance' the car properly to get the look I want. I grew up driving dropped cars and heavily modded cars so I avoid the potholes bumps etc while driving so its nothing new, but I don't want it to be a nightmare...

I am considering picking up some gunmetal wheels for my new white 13 evo x GSR. I was considering some CCWs or BBSs, or perhaps something more import, like Work/Rota. Also looked at style77.com wheels? Anyone know this company?

What suspension could I put on the car to reduce the gap with 18s and still be safe driving around hollywood and whatnot.

But whats the best Street setup. I don't think I require coilovers for the street as I'd prefer a comfortable drop but know that would give me adjustability... Any of you running an aggressive stance in the LA/Hollywood area?

Any suggestions on a good balance between losing the gap without sacrificing drivability on bad streets?

Thanks for the help all!

-Dane

[Macky]

What suspension could I put on the car to reduce the gap with 18s and still be safe driving around hollywood and whatnot.

But whats the best Street setup. I don't think I require coilovers for the street as I'd prefer a comfortable drop but know that would give me adjustability... Any of you running an aggressive stance in the LA/Hollywood area?

Any suggestions on a good balance between losing the gap without sacrificing drivability on bad streets?

Thanks for the help all!

-Dane

Welcome and congrats on the new ride!

In my opinion, your best bet for a streetable setup would be a coilover suspension. coilovers allow you to control the drop while maintaining some rebound control. and in bad streets, you need something to absorb the bumps while keeping the height right where you want it to be.

[Coppi51]

Congrats on the new ride! Love the previous ones too...

Although coilovers are usually more spendy...I'd recommend that route. I daily drive my IX RS and went with the Muellerized Ohlin Road&Track setup. Way more comfortable thank the stock suspension, but really transforms the car when you want to push it. Pricey...yes. But overall they've really made the car more tolerable, have a better stance, and inspire much more confidence while driving.

Good luck!

[daign]

Welcome and congrats on the new ride!

In my opinion, your best bet for a streetable setup would be a coilover suspension. coilovers allow you to control the drop while maintaining some rebound control. and in bad streets, you need something to absorb the bumps while keeping the height right where you want it to be.

Thanks!

As much as I'd prefer not to spring for coilovers, I know they're probably my best option. I drove around Silver Lake in the 300c with JW v3 coilovers for quite a while and it made the car way nicer to drive here.

I'll have to do some research into them.

[BabyEvo69]

Welcome to SCE. Enjoy the new car. :)

Oldie cars are amazing, love them!

[daign]

Congrats on the new ride! Love the previous ones too...

Although coilovers are usually more spendy...I'd recommend that route. I daily drive my IX RS and went with the Muellerized Ohlin Road&Track setup. Way more comfortable thank the stock suspension, but really transforms the car when you want to push it. Pricey...yes. But overall they've really made the car more tolerable, have a better stance, and inspire much more confidence while driving.

Good luck!

Thanks! Funny you mention muellerized, I had already pinned their setup and read the reviews of the road/track system. Unfortunately 3500 uninstalled is a bit out of my price range. I'm not trying to dump too much money into the evo as I've got a other projects that need attention. Their Moton setup sure is amazing though!

If I was tracking my evo I'd be all over it. I run QA1s in my z28. For street duty are there more affordable options?

[daign]

Welcome to SCE. Enjoy the new car. :)

Oldie cars are amazing, love them!

Thanks they sure are amazing, but definitely take a certain lifestyle to get used to. aka lots of towtruck rides.. ut of all the evo forums out there I figure this is my best bet because all you guys/gals are local! Hell for all I know I've seen some of your cars at Supercar Sunday off topanga or in the canyons!

[GokuSSJ4]

Welcome to SCE!!!!!
awesome cars, love the Mini Cooper (old school)
have you consider doing a K20a swap???

[FUEL]

You can try some swift springs with the MR Bilsteins... comfy not too spendy and will ride just fine. It will handle those horrendous East LA streets just fine. The stance will only drop a bit BUT it will lose the "lifted" look ... "shameless plug here"
I have a BRAND NEW set of MR Bilsteins collecting dust in my garage =) They have maybe 500 miles on them before we put coilovers on our MR

BTW that Lincoln is awesome!!!!!!

[R-EVOLUTION]

Welcome to SCE

Congrats on the Evo

You have some sexy toys, love that Z28.

[Azian]

The Robispec KW V3's are ~$2,300 I believe and they ride/handle awesome!!! :) If those are still out of your price range, I would look into some AST 4100's that will run around $1,900

[daign]

Welcome to SCE!!!!!
awesome cars, love the Mini Cooper (old school)
have you consider doing a K20a swap???

Thanks, I have a passion for almost every car out there. Including gremlins, pintos, honda cvcc, Datsuns etc. I also love early JDM cars. I looked into daily driving a classic GTR but realized it would be stolen quickly and vandalized.

I did until I drove 2 a B series Vtec swap and a D Series swap. Both had the motors forward mounted of the front axle, this played absolute havoc with the wonderful handling classic minis were known for. I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole or keep it with a stock british freshly built A- Series 1275cc. My 1275cc was fast enough to get to 90mph and plenty fun, it just started having carb problems etc.

A k series is absolutely stupid amount of power in a FWD mini. First Second AND third would be useless. Sounds fun until you drive one and fight the torque steer and feel the different handling characteristics.

I ordered the subframe and started gathering parts a few weeks later. You can get a VTEC Mini for 18-20k in Socal. There are guys that build them to flip, but the market is severely niche...

I was lucky to get 25k for mine. It was a 3 year build to get it to run to my satisfaction and by then I was tired of it sadly.

After all, selling it and my Crown Vic P71 allowed me to purchase my Evo!

[daign]

The Robispec KW V3's are ~$2,300 I believe and they ride/handle awesome!!! :) If those are still out of your price range, I would look into some AST 4100's that will run around $1,900

Robispec bought KW? They used to be their own brand I thought... They did ride good on my 300c.

I'll keep an eye on the classified forums or if you guys hear about some suspension bits for socal I'll come pick them up in the Z28. Burnout and ride included :)

[Macky]

Thanks! Funny you mention muellerized, I had already pinned their setup and read the reviews of the road/track system. Unfortunately 3500 uninstalled is a bit out of my price range. I'm not trying to dump too much money into the evo as I've got a other projects that need attention. Their Moton setup sure is amazing though!

If I was tracking my evo I'd be all over it. I run QA1s in my z28. For street duty are there more affordable options?

there are cheaper coilovers, but those usually do not have any damping adjustment. some do, but not all. Tein has different and inexpensive models that are less than a couple grand.

or you can buy some Tokico blues. they have some damping and height adjustment and pair them with some lowering springs. doing it piecemeal like that puts you in the $700-800 range. but then you'd have to find the right springs with the appropriate spring rates to match the damping of the shocks.

[daign]

Some of the wheels I've been looking at. In no particular order. Everyones telling me to go gunmetal but I'm honestly a fan of gold LMs and bronze wheels as well. I dunno... Thoughts on the wheels below?

Rota Torque Gunmetal




CCWs


Work Emotion KAI CR Series.


ISS Forged Spyder (aka any multipiece gold wheel)


BBS LM (I'd do gunmetal or gold)



I'm open to suggestions. Not overly concerned about performance/rolling mass because I dont plan to track the car... So wheel width is negotiable to me. I'm not opposed to rolling fenders, done it many times with a baseball bat

I suppose coilovers are going to be a must if I want to ensure that I dont scrape in my driveway etc. Can always adjust up.

[daign]

there are cheaper coilovers, but those usually do not have any damping adjustment. some do, but not all. Tein has different and inexpensive models that are less than a couple grand.

or you can buy some Tokico blues. they have some damping and height adjustment and pair them with some lowering springs. doing it piecemeal like that puts you in the $700-800 range. but then you'd have to find the right springs with the appropriate spring rates to match the damping of the shocks.

I have damping adjustment on my Camaro. It makes not much of a difference to me. I've played with it at the track and on the street. It does soften up a bit but not by much. I've heard bad things about Tein. Whats the general consensus on best bang for buck coilovers.

searching the for sale forums...

[FUEL]

Robispec bought KW? They used to be their own brand I thought... They did ride good on my 300c.

I'll keep an eye on the classified forums or if you guys hear about some suspension bits for socal I'll come pick them up in the Z28. Burnout and ride included :)

Don't think thats true ... he takes KWs and does his own "thing" ..IE changes springs.. orders custom valving for the shocks... therefore theyre "Robispec" same with "Muellerized" ... marketing ploy ....sells more product..... however both have their accomplishments with Evo's ...go with the guy who doesn't rip you off ...just my .02
I now prefer to go super custom on my cars with a Porsche guy ...walked through the set up and my billions of questions are answered AND explained with the why and the how... happier now

[sosojeff1]

if youre going to check out Muellerized let me know. Thier shop is about 5 mins away from me so i got them to do my coilovers. Full custom to exactly how I wanted it- rides more comfortable than stock yet handles way better as well. Ill take you for a ride to see the differences and what not

[HMatt]

I think CCW's and SSR's look good on the on the X's. The LM's look a little out of place.

If you are considering all those other rims, I don't know why you would even consider Rotas since they are usually knock-offs of a better wheel. As for coilovers to control your height, I would talk to Muellerized about a set of Olins Road and Tracks. I find they ride better than the stock suspension when cruising.

Got these for sale in the classifieds too: http://www.socalevo.net/threads/2244...-75-5x114-3-25

[CRX2EVO]

Oh snap. This guy is legit folks. I've been away from OT for a long time (I know you vacated). I like that P71, I was looking at them for a while.

Congrats on the Evo dude! :h5: :wavey: