Testing Three Differently Priced Coilovers Shows That More Expensive Is Not Always Best

And thanks to YouTube, car enthusiasts can check such a thing out and learn how a car's driving characteristics change in relation to the investment made in a good setup. The guys over on the Overdrive channel decided to showcase that by testing three sets of coilovers, ranging in price from £500 ($620) all the way to £3,500($4,336).

Most enthusiasts are probably already familiar with what a coilover suspension is, or at least have an idea, with some already having such a setup on their car. Still, there are those few that need to learn what it means, so let's go into a quick overview.

The term itself could do a better job explaining what this type of suspension is, as most modern setups involve a coil (or spring) mounted over the shock absorber. The main difference is that they work as one unit instead of two separate parts, thanks to a thread on the shock absorber and a nut at the lower end of the spring.

At the bare minimum, this sort of design allows individuals to adjust the ride height of their vehicle. This particular quality of a coilover setup has a knock-on effect, as springs do not deform linearly. Once a spring starts compressing, it exerts more force in the opposite direction, making it harder to compress it further and, in turn, increasing the stiffness of the entire setup.

But such a system can alter other aspects of a vehicle's dynamic. With a more advanced coilover setup, the compression ratio and rebound of the shock absorber can be adjusted. In layman's terms, the rate at which the shock allows the spring to compress and decompress are parameters that can be changed, similar to what an air suspension can do, but less prone to issues. This kind of change in the setup can also be used to affect the balance of the car under braking and acceleration by creating a difference in stiffness and compression ratio between the front and back. Such adjustments are instrumental in helping a driver make the car fit their preferences.

With the boring physics out of the way, the findings from the video remain to be discussed. And they might be worrisome for people who are at the start of their car enthusiast journey. Of the group of threex people who drove the car, including a professional racing driver, none was too impressed with the cheap coilover. Granted, if the vehicle to which they are fitted is an old beater, even an inexpensive set of coilovers can be an improvement. But if placed on a somewhat capable car with a sport suspension, spending the money isn't worth it, which is something I had the chance to experience myself.

It's when the video got to the middle-of-the-road option that things got interesting. All three drivers agreed that it felt premium and that the cheap sportscar used for testing, an NC Mazda MX-5 Miata, provided more feedback. So much so that one of them said there's little difference between the middle option and the top-end coilovers. The other two were able to tell right away, but that does not take away from the fact that even a mid-range set can drastically improve how a car handles.

They can make it fit enough for a track day as most while providing a blast of an experience when driving a car on twisty roads or serpentines. The expensive option might be the best one for track-day enthusiasts with dedicated builds or someone who is active in motorsport. But the mid-range version was surprisingly capable, hitting a balance sweet spot between performance, price, and daily usability, making it the most financially reasonable choice for the average petrolhead.