Ractive Coilovers
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Ractive Coilovers
can someone tell me if they have ractive coilovers or if they know anyone with ractive coilovers, are they a good buy or are they just garbage and why shouldn't i buy them? i am hearing mixed things and i want to get coils so what kind should i get...are the ractive ok?
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First post huh? Welcome to 7thgen!!!!!!!! 
Sleeved coilovers in general suck.
Get true Coilovers like Tein SS or B&G. Then you would be rockin'!!!
Sleeved coilovers in general suck.
Get true Coilovers like Tein SS or B&G. Then you would be rockin'!!!
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Rep Power: 412 To explain this you need to understand what a coilover is..........
A coilover suspension is simply one that has the shock body located within the space inside the coil spring (as installed on the car). This is the best design possible because the shock is moving in the same plane as the spring, which ensures that it can most accurately control spring movement, plus it's usually the lightest. In our double wishbone suspension systems, the shock's only job is to control spring movement, so it makes sense that Honda equips all of their performance cars with coilover systems.
The popular catch phrase "coilover" is only applied to systems that are sold complete with both shocks & springs (and sometimes upper mounts), but the truth is that every spring or shock you install on the car will function in a coilover system. Here's the basic breakdown as far as you are concerned: Honda uses almost exclusively the coilover setup on their current cars.
Aftermarket spring manufacturers like Ractive simply one-up their design by adding height adjustability to the system. This comes in the form of threaded shock bodies and adjustable spring perches, we generally refer to them as "sleeved springs". There are also shock manufacturers like Koni who one-up Honda in the shock absorber department by offering adjustable shocks, which are adjusted usually by a **** somewhere on the shock body or rod.
Then at the top shelf of coilover designs, you have companies like Tein who one-up everybody else by offering a complete & ready to install coilover package that is adjustable in several different ways (height adjust, rebound adjust, compression adjust, whatever they throw in) and comes as a properly matched system. These are the systems we refer to as "true" or "complete" coilovers. Usually these shocks are rebuildable and offer custom valving options, and the company usually has a variety of spring rates available for you. If these are the best systems, it's simply because they are the most complete.
The only system that offers a better garaunteed match between spring & shock are usually the stock units (which of course are not stiff enough and have no adjustability). What I am getting at here is that just because you get springs from one manufacturer and shocks from another does not mean that you won't have a kickass ride, it just means that there is more possiblity of mismatching one part to another. As we have pointed out many times, the simple Eibach Pro Kit & Koni adj. shocks combo seems to whoop *** on many other street setups without costing an arm and a leg (relatively speaking).
Wheeeeew........that was a lot of typing
A coilover suspension is simply one that has the shock body located within the space inside the coil spring (as installed on the car). This is the best design possible because the shock is moving in the same plane as the spring, which ensures that it can most accurately control spring movement, plus it's usually the lightest. In our double wishbone suspension systems, the shock's only job is to control spring movement, so it makes sense that Honda equips all of their performance cars with coilover systems.
The popular catch phrase "coilover" is only applied to systems that are sold complete with both shocks & springs (and sometimes upper mounts), but the truth is that every spring or shock you install on the car will function in a coilover system. Here's the basic breakdown as far as you are concerned: Honda uses almost exclusively the coilover setup on their current cars.
Aftermarket spring manufacturers like Ractive simply one-up their design by adding height adjustability to the system. This comes in the form of threaded shock bodies and adjustable spring perches, we generally refer to them as "sleeved springs". There are also shock manufacturers like Koni who one-up Honda in the shock absorber department by offering adjustable shocks, which are adjusted usually by a **** somewhere on the shock body or rod.
Then at the top shelf of coilover designs, you have companies like Tein who one-up everybody else by offering a complete & ready to install coilover package that is adjustable in several different ways (height adjust, rebound adjust, compression adjust, whatever they throw in) and comes as a properly matched system. These are the systems we refer to as "true" or "complete" coilovers. Usually these shocks are rebuildable and offer custom valving options, and the company usually has a variety of spring rates available for you. If these are the best systems, it's simply because they are the most complete.
The only system that offers a better garaunteed match between spring & shock are usually the stock units (which of course are not stiff enough and have no adjustability). What I am getting at here is that just because you get springs from one manufacturer and shocks from another does not mean that you won't have a kickass ride, it just means that there is more possiblity of mismatching one part to another. As we have pointed out many times, the simple Eibach Pro Kit & Koni adj. shocks combo seems to whoop *** on many other street setups without costing an arm and a leg (relatively speaking).
Wheeeeew........that was a lot of typing
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Rep Power: 0 oh cool thanks man....uh so i think i pretty much got everything you were saying i'm gonna look into the higher end coils like koni and stuff you were suggesting but what your really getting at though is that it wouldn't matter if i get the ractive then...the car would not be hurt by them...it would just well i guess not perform as well as it could....right..?
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Rep Power: 412 Just sleeved coilovers can for for around $200 USD.
True Coilovers like Tein SS for for $1200 USD.
Much more expensive i know.......but you get what you pay for. Even if you did get the Craptive...oops, I mean Ractive you should also get aftermarket Shocks. That would cost you around $550 USD.
If you do get Sleeved ones, I suggest Ground Control over Ractive.
True Coilovers like Tein SS for for $1200 USD.
Much more expensive i know.......but you get what you pay for. Even if you did get the Craptive...oops, I mean Ractive you should also get aftermarket Shocks. That would cost you around $550 USD.
If you do get Sleeved ones, I suggest Ground Control over Ractive.
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Quote
[hr]Originally posted by: cambo
my god......flyriceracer02 actually sounds like he knows his stuff. simply a m a z i n g ! ![IMG]i/expressions/demon.gif[/IMG][hr]
[hr]Originally posted by: cambo
my god......flyriceracer02 actually sounds like he knows his stuff. simply a m a z i n g ! ![IMG]i/expressions/demon.gif[/IMG][hr]
[IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG]
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Rep Power: 0 hah ya man you do know your stuff he's right! uh thanks a lot well i'm gonna look into all this before i actually get anything because i still have until spring to do it but thanks for all the tips i'm sure they'll come in handy once i get my coils!! thanks bud!
i think another thing he was wondering about was what's the difference in quality between say the Ground Controls coil-overs and the Craptive ones? He asked me yesterday and i said that the GC's use Eibach springs which are most definatly of higher quality than the ractive springs. I said that it means they'll be better over time (lifetime warrenty) and they won't sag. can you add anything?
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Rep Power: 412 I agree...Ground Controls are a very good coilover to get. At this point, anything is better that Ractive. I don't like any of Ractive's parts, they just seem to be cheaply made.
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