By The ToyoBaru twins (or triplets, depending on who you ask) were an overnight success for Toyota and Subaru, the automotive aftermarket, and fans of small sports cars worldwide. Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT86/FR-S Owners alike love their cars, praising the zippy 2.0L flat-four boxer engine and six-speed manual gearbox, and drifty-when-you-want-it planted-when-you-don’t rear-wheel drive handling. Like any car with wide aftermarket support, there are many different styles out there: some owners are going for full-on track builds, while others are turning their ZN6/ZC6-chassis cars into stanced out lowriders with giant wheels and more camber than that building in Italy.
Whatever setup you’re going for, the most complete overhaul of your car’s suspension system is a coilover suspension kit. These kits include replacement dampers, springs, and mounting hardware. This more advanced suspension system allows for adjustable ride height and dampening as well as other fine tuning. This allows for decreases in body roll, better ride, and smoother transitions in corners.
Where Should I Start?
The first part of selecting a set of coilovers is to figure out how and where you’ll be driving. Are you looking for a system for street use, or one for high-performance driving experiences and track days? Time attack, drifting, and drag racing all benefit from different components. Manufacturers may offer unique systems for several of the areas listed, or have a single product targeted at one of the driving modes mentioned.
As always, when you consider making any changes to your suspension, the factor you need to consider first is the tires. They are the vehicle’s only direct link to the road. The coilover kit you select should be one tuned to the type of tires that you’ll be using. For example, street coilovers take best advantage of ultra-high performance summer tires. Performance coilover systems designed for track use are more aggressive to pair with slicks or DOT-R tires. These tend to ride tighter than most people will be comfortable with on the street.
For track days, a set of moderately-priced coilovers, combined with larger diameter sway bars with adjustable links are a great starting point. As you learn the characteristics of the car over laps and laps of track driving you can begin to make adjustments – one at a time – to optimize the set-up to your car, tires, and driving style.
More Low-ness
For the ZN6/ZC6, coilover kits are available from a ton of reputable, high-profile brands. BC Racing makes one of the most popular kits for the FRZT86. Their BR series coilover kit offers 30 levels of adjustable damper preload. This gives you a lower ride height than stock, giving you a low center of gravity and getting rid of wheel well gap. The BR series coilovers are designed for road and light track use, so if you want to go low on the street these are a great place to start.
Track Ready
If you’re looking for flatter cornering and a world more tunability for track events like 86 Cup, check out CounterSpace Garage’s CSG Spec Flex A coilovers built in cooperation with Tein. These coilovers are based on the street-ready Tein Flex design, but with special valving specced for track use on the ZN6/ZC6.
On a Budget
In the early days of the FRZT86, Bilstein B14 coilovers were a popular suspension upgrade for track racing. Nowadays, their technology is a bit dated, but combined with Verus camber plates or a good set of camber bolts you can put together a great double-duty road and track suspension setup.
Many drivers won’t reach the limits of their stock suspension setup, and it’s important to make the distinction for yourself of needing an upgrade versus wanting one. Coilover setups are a significant undertaking, and the most drastic change to your vehicle’s performance short of completely altering the suspension geometry. If you’re looking for the ultimate in ride height adjustment and handling tunability for your Scion FRS, Subaru BRZ, or Toyota GT86, coilovers are the right place to go. For coilover kits and more, check out the Motoroso Marketplace!
