AMS Coilovers??

We are speaking from direct experience on Z's that have used the Tein, HKS, SPL, Powertrix, AMS etc. We have installed most all coil-overs on the market and unless tracking the Z seriously (rare occurance) you will be very hard pressed to notice 'significant' variations on the 'street'. Unsure of how many Z's you have driven with all the various coil-overs/systems on the street but this is our direct experience and sorry if the info is troublesome.

Regards,

Vuk@AMS
www.amsmotorsports.com

 

Can understand if your not wanting to spend the sort of cash that a new set of mono-flex requires but have you actually checked the other yanky sold options? You can buy the powertrix now in their group buy & have them air shipped for less than the ams list price. Both the spl & powertrix options are also mono-tube design.

As I said earlier, I'm sure these are a perfectly fine coilover option & a geniune alternative to others in the price bracket but Vuk you cant honestly be saying they're as good or better than items that cost 2 or 3 times the price. The extra money goes into the damping unit, all the internal stuff that people cant see.
If your going to be making crazy claims like that your going to need some independantly performed shock dyno results to back it up.

 

Hey Tim! I've never been one to skimp when it comes to spending money on my Z! :zlove::zlove:........so the TEIN's are definitely not out of the question!

This all came about because Vuk made me a VERY generous offer to match the ZNATS special price on the AMS units because I was buying quite a few other things in the Parity Sale!

I just want to make it clear that Vuk is in no way pushing these coilovers onto me!......he has also offered me a great price on a set of the TEIN Monoflex! .......& is more than happy for me to go with either option??

A few of the Canadian guys have had some great things to say about these AMS coilovers though!..........so they must be doing something right!

 

Thanks guys for all the input!........even though there has been some great comments from the Canadian guys regarding the AMS coilovers!.........& even though some might think I'm wasting my money!...........I'm just going to stick with my original choice of the TEIN Monoflex!..........I'm sure I'm gonna love 'em regardless! :zlove::zlove::zlove:

 

The majority of lower end coilovers are dual tube designs. Which while fine for road cars are really under matched for any track work. They heat the fluid quickly and become ineffective.

Monotube shockers and a different level all together better valving and rebound settings make them a class of their own.

If the AMS shocks are dual tube designs. They are not even close to Tien Monotubes

 

Pretty sure they are mono-tube tekky, and so are a lot of the cheaper coilovers these days. While its definately a step in the right direction it doesnt mean they're as good as the higher end stuff like mono-flex or hipermax 2's though.

 

Monotube design.
http://www.amsmotorsports.com/shop/...race-dampers-japanese-pillow-ball-mounts.html

 

When you refer to the higher end, are you not refering to the more expensive alternatives? I understand the old addage that you get what you pay for but it also follows that as non exclusive track car would I be able to discern the difference anyway? I've found that one of the major reasons why AMS can offer most of it's products at a lesser price is due to the inventory they order/carry. This allows them to set price points lower than their competition. When I looked around at what I thought were comparible alternatives, the AMS coilover seemed the wiser choice. I must admit that one of the other caveats that sold me on them was that AMS also carries the rebuild components for these as well. I don't believe you'll find that option from either SPL or PowerTrix. I wouldn't want to imagine what I would have to do if I needed some after sales repair/replacement from those brands.

 

Yes of course, higher end = more expensive. I only made that distinction though as Vuk is claiming the ams coilovers perform just as good if not better than stuff that costs 2 or 3 times the price, which just isnt right.
But as I said above, the extra money for the higher end brands goes into the damping unit, you can make a coilover that looks nice & flashy for stuff all money, its just annodising aluminium. Pillowball mounts are also fairly simple, only difference is where they source the spherical bearings, again not much price difference relative to the whole unit.

When I last upgraded my coilovers I could feel the difference. Going from HKS hipermax's to the hipermax 2's was a noticable difference & that's starting from a decent set anyway. Yes the new one's ran a slightly softer spring rate so was generally more compliant but you notice other things too, like how they responded to bumps. The rebound on the new ones is loads more linear than the oldies & the car skips around a lot less as a result. Keep in mind even the good street coilovers are mostly rubbish on the track, looking through the motorsport section on skylinesaustralia most guys have coilover budgets of $5-$10k & very few of them are running japanese gear, its mostly the euro brands or custom aussie stuff like mcr.

As for the pricing no its not because they order x amount of parts, its because they're built to a price (at least with the coilovers). Dont get me wrong thats not the worst thing in the world, as I've said I'm sure they're an excellent option in that price bracket & like pretty much everything else in that bracket are made 'to their specs' by someone else.

As for servicability thats fair enough in your case as ams is local to you but for us ams, & everyone else, isnt so it's not such a determining factor. Plus local suspension place's here can rebuild & revalve pretty much any brand.

As a side note I almost upgraded my hks's last night (again), missed out on a near new set of Aragosta's by 1000yen ($13!), spewing! Note they didnt need upgrading, idle time leads to money spending

 

Correct,

Ohlins, Bilsteins, Proflex/MCA or Penske are where its at. But at 6K-10K not really warranted for a street car.

So obviously there are coilover's and then there are COILOVERS !!

You pay for what you need.

 

Very good points indeed Lidz. I think we're both on the same page in most aspects.
Of course not being a regular track person I can't comment on the potential capabilities of the higher end models. I do agree a good portion is dependant on the valving. I know that all to well when trying to get my Marzocchi shock for my Ducati re-valved. I looked to a company in Australia (White Power?) for solutions.
I know Vuk was intent on providing a good quality coilover when he started his coilover project. The majority of his customers would be the average Z owner who might do the occasional track visit and who might also be a daily driver Z. His search basis lied within his persoanl experience with the HKS Hypermax II's that he has run on his own Z for years. I believe he found a happy medium when he found a coilover worthy for the AMS label.
I agree that products from Ohlins, Bilstein, Border Racing, Moton, Cusco, JRZ, JIC, Zeal carry some high power badges and carry a corresponding price tag to match. When I was shopping around for coilovers my wish list focused on Zeal (Function B2), Border Racing (Aragosta) and JIC Magic (FLT-A2). When Vuk said he was going to be carrying a nice coilover soon, I held off for his product instead. I have no idea if those high end coilovers would have been a good choice for me considering that 95% of my driving is on the road and not the track. Those that do track their Z's regularly would be able to attest to the quality and capabilities of the higher end types but I don't think it would directly translate into their road use applications.
I think there may be an underlying factor that is of interest to the purists and that being the foundation or basis of the AMS coilover. I believe that there are a number of people who are deeply concerned as to which coilover company makes or which is the basis of the AMS coilover. That burning desire seems to be prevalent in a number of AMS products. If I remember, next time I see Vuk I should ask which brand the AMS coilover is made by / based on. Not that it really matters much to me anyway at this point. So far they've been a noticable improvement over my AGX/Eibach set-up.

 

That's got to be a tough one to swallow. One of those Yahoo Japan auctions?

 

We can offer custom valving and external reservoirs etc. It all comes down to the common saying 'if you wanna play you gotta pay' These are offered as an 'option' to alternative units on the market within a certain price point. Obviously we are not saying they are better than the $4000+ units on the market but was giving feedback on the Teins and similar brands which are considered mid-range. Making comments without ever physically handling them is not a proper insight. I was giving feedback on direct experience and clients have chimed in with their direct feedback.

Once again I am sorry for your perceived notion and we will agree to dis-agree depending how we interpret what the initial point was



Regards,

Vuk@AMS
www.amsmotorsports.com

 

yeah exactly, they were silly cheap with 8 hours to go so I chucked on a bit of a cheeky max bid before going out for a mates birthday. Got up the next morning to find I'd been pipped by 1000yen, damn things sold for about 80,000yen under the norm

Probably for the best, girlfriend would've killed me if another car part showed up.

cheers, Tim