S13 Blitz ZZ-R Coilover Review

[landins13]

There is remarkably little information out there about these coilovers
and my PBM coils needed replacing so I took the risk and hopefully others will find this helpful.

1- I ordered these on a thursday with FR-Sport and had them the very next day. Great service on their part.

2- Specs: These have 44mm dampers and can be serviced with the shock being fully threaded and removable from the perches. The spring rates are 8K/6K which was a step down from the 10k/8k PBM coilovers I was running.

3- There has been a lot of debate as to where they are actually made from the few posts I found about them. The packaging and the materials all say that these are Made in Japan however I know there is still a good chance they are made in Taiwan like BC/Megan and many others.

4- First impressions: The built quality on these is great, the welds are solid with all of the brackets lining up perfectly. There is a lot of unexpected attention to details all the way from the wrenches to the actual perches. The wrenches are heavy duty steal with multiple notches to be able to attach a breaker bar.


5- Install: The spring preload was already set out the box which was a surprise and the height was actually even across all four of the coilovers. I still adjusted them to my preference and double checked everything.

6- First ride: These are significantly more streetable than the PBM Comp coils that came off the car. The dampening actually adjusts with each "click". When I first went out there were full soft and you could feel it. Bridge joints and potholes were smooth with no heavy hits. Once I made it stiffer, the dynamic changed and there wasnt as much body roll in turns. On full stiff they are still less harsh than the PBM but you can clearly feel a difference in how the car handles as well as how it takes bumps/joints in the road.

I will continue to update this as I break them in more and once I re-do my alignment.


Pros:
-Price : $800 Shipped
-Quality : These feel very well made with great attention to detail
-Dampening: The dampening actually works unlike other budget coils
- Rebuildable

Cons:
-Rear upper mounts are re-enforced rubber
-Not a lot of support / information available
-Instructions and documents are all in Japanese

Pics:

[landins13]

Follow up after putting some miles on and getting an alignment.

First and foremost the ride comfort on these is great, the valving actually responds to the changes you make with the dampeners. On full soft the car is comfortable and smooth over bumps/bridge joints but does feel less planted.

With the settings dialed the other direction the car is significantly stiffer and you feel all those bumps/gaps in the road. The car handles very well with slightly more roll in the rear compared to the PBM coilovers I was running previously. I will say that even with the dampening full stiff my car is no where near as bouncy especially in the front where the PBM coilovers did not seem to handle the weight of my 1jz very well.

The alignment made all the difference in the world and I am extremely pleased with these coilovers overall. For the price I cant imagine anything better on the market since these are less expensive than BC/PBM/Fortune/Stance or any of the other better known brands around the 1k price point.

[t66-240]

Thank you for your review.

Did you get the spring rates customized?

FRsports.com list them at 8/6 for spring rates.

Thanks!

[Esserz]

Nice review, I've never actually felt dampening changes when turning the knobs in regards to lower grade coilovers as well.

[TheRealSy90]

Fix those pictures I want to see what they look like lol.

[landins13]

Originally Posted by t66-240

Thank you for your review.

Did you get the spring rates customized?

FRsports.com list them at 8/6 for spring rates.

Thanks!

FRsport lists them as 8k 6k but blitz USA lists it as 9k/6k but then blitz Japan lists them as 8k/6k so idk...

http://www.blitz.co.jp/partsnavi/sea...category_ids=1

[Charleyr1]

How are they a few months later?