Yellow speed coilovers

[Ed209]

Hi all, I bought a dc5 fitted with yellow speed coilovers, apparently it's been corner weighted and set up for fast road with replacement rear camber arms, to my eye the coilovers must be set pretty low as there's about 2.5 fingers between standard wheels and arch
Problema I'm having are the understeer from the set up is atrocious, the ride for me is ok at higher speed but at low speed really bad. I'm wondering if anyone has yellowspeed to say if there any good for daily-ing a car or if I should just change them to something like bilsteins or if raising the suspension and getting it re-sent up would be a good option. I could put some of the understeer down to the tyres (Toyo Dre) which don't seem to be available in the UK so I'm guessing aren't suitable for our temperature range any advice appreciated

 

[ldubl]

Yes, tyres! Make a massive difference.

2.5 fingerwidths doesn't sound that low. If lowered significantly, eg 1 fingerwidth, then roll centre adjusters can help.

Different versions of Yellowspeeds: road, track, competition.

I run the Area Motorsport modified track version - with stiffer rear springs and caster plates to maximise (you guessed it; caster) which helps a lot with turn in. The shortened steering arms also help increase caster further.

They're fantastic on track, along with a full geo at Area. Not gone full corner weighting but it doesn't understeer; can oversteer if you want & much more stable & planted that old oem suspension as you'd expect.

They're a little firm for a daily I found. Depends on what you want, as a daily the Bilsteins may be a better choice. If your main issue is understeer & not firmness, I'd say talk to Rob at Area who can maximise your setup.

 

[ollieh17]

A FWD car will pretty much always inherently understeer, sometimes its driving that needs adjusting not a setup. However mods will help

 

[carl hammond]

Hi all, I bought a dc5 fitted with yellow speed coilovers, apparently it's been corner weighted and set up for fast road with replacement rear camber arms, to my eye the coilovers must be set pretty low as there's about 2.5 fingers between standard wheels and arch
Problema I'm having are the understeer from the set up is atrocious, the ride for me is ok at higher speed but at low speed really bad. I'm wondering if anyone has yellowspeed to say if there any good for daily-ing a car or if I should just change them to something like bilsteins or if raising the suspension and getting it re-sent up would be a good option. I could put some of the understeer down to the tyres (Toyo Dre) which don't seem to be available in the UK so I'm guessing aren't suitable for our temperature range any advice appreciated

I would say that the car is performing as it is as it's been setup to the previous owners driving style. Do you have the details of the geo and corner weighting as most don't get cars corner weighted, but that may help ascertain what settings the owner has and why. Also was it only used on the road or mainly on track or a combo of the two etc.

Reason I say this is mines being setup and corner weighted this weekend as its mainly a track car and so I am looking for a setup to offer more lift off oversteer (which is common on these cars) where as understeering isn't, maybe the previous owner didn't like that and asked for a setup giving understeer?

With regards to chaning the suspension the only thing you'd gain from fitting bilsteins is the fact you'd be getting better quality coilovers fitted. The B14's are much better quality but will only offer the height adjustability (loads on here use them as they are very good on the road and also perform well on track), whereas the B16's will be better quality and offer you height and stiffness adjustability meaning the car will be better for track use and focus.

I have spoken to a number of specialist companies and Bilsteins are recommended over most brands and cost 3 times more per corner to manufacture than the YS's so unless you want to spend more I would say stick with the YS as they are already on and get the geo setup for your driving style as the car on either coilover will handle how it's setup to handle, so getting the correct camber, caster, toe in/out etc on all corners will be the main focus points I think.

I don't know those tyres but if you have different ones on the rear maybe swap them and see if the car feels or does the same? or find someone local willing to let you do a test with theirs just to rule that out before paying for a geo alterations etc

 

[Ed209]

A FWD car will pretty much always inherently understeer, sometimes its driving that needs adjusting not a setup. However mods will help

Maybe I should have said the level of understeer is like no car I've ever driven, mostly front drive cars, focus st's Mondeo st220 civic EP3 and fk8 plus a few shit box's along the way, the dc5 is by far the worst and seems completely out of character given the amount t of grip given from the rear

I'll be changing the tyres next pay day and given the comments I'm getting I'll probably look at getting the geometry set up/checked soon after that anyone recommend anyone in the Cheshire or Lincolnshire area?

 

[carl hammond]

Maybe I should have said the level of understeer is like no car I've ever driven, mostly front drive cars, focus st's Mondeo st220 civic EP3 and fk8 plus a few excrement box's along the way, the dc5 is by far the worst and seems completely out of character given the amount t of grip given from the rear

I'll be changing the tyres next pay day and given the comments I'm getting I'll probably look at getting the geometry set up/checked soon after that anyone recommend anyone in the Cheshire or Lincolnshire area?

Before doing anything and buying new tyres try rulling them out at no cost by doing a run with someone elses if you can or a set of wheels that will fit with diff tyres, work your way through the options cheapest first, worse case is one fo the coilovers is knackered, best case is tyres or simply the geo is not good for your driving style.

FWD or not the Integra DC2 and DC5 will generally result in lift off oversteer before any understeer, I can't recall once having understeer in either my DC2 or DC5 on the road or track whereas I know I get lift off oversteer as I deliberately unbalance the car so to speak to optimise my cornering.


Do you know anyone with an EP3 or another car who's wheels you could fit? if so that's a start before buying tyres mate

 

[Ed209]

My Mrs has an EP3 with 2 ps4's I could try on the front I'd just be surprised if it was tyres to the level of the understeer I'm getting for how planted the back end is, thinking of changing tyres anyway though as there pretty terrible at wet braking anyway

 

[Crackfox]

Take a trip to Area, will be worth it.


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[Crazylegs]

Grinspeed in Leyland or as above, Area Motorsport near Uttoxeter. Both will do a great job on the geometry. I'm in with Stevie at Grinspeed this Thursday but not for a geo setup. Rob and his team at Area are renowned for being excellent too. I think your tyres aren't helping but it sounds like you need to return the car to a more neutral, road going setup. I'm in a similar boat but they're not easy cars to get right. I think once people start messing around with suspensions etc it actually makes these cars worse imo. This is my second one and the handling and general feel of the car has been awful on both, really not nice to drive 95% of the time.

 

[Indi]

It definitely won't be the coilovers causing your issue. I'd personally recommend the YS over any Bilstein variant for this chassis if using the car on track as the spring rates are much more suited to this chassis but to some they can be on the stiff side of things if using the car daily.

Your best bet is to use Area motorsport. It's well worth the trip as they know this chassis inside out more than anyone else.

 

[Crazylegs]

Aren't the Bilstein supposed to be a perfect half and half weight balance between the front and rears no?

 

[carl hammond]

Aren't the Bilstein supposed to be a perfect half and half weight balance between the front and rears no?

Yes they are mate but people don‘t get it, the quality over many others is far superior, area etc will always promote Yellowspeeds etc as they sell them and course they will race on them as like low end wheels (Rota‘s etc) they are cheap to replace if they break or are damaged.

Try replacing a bilsteins for the same money, or an ohlin and so on when it breaks, TGM explained the whole £ per corner manufacturing to me and I was shocked at how much they can get the likes of yellowspeed for, which to me means cheap build quality and parts :-(

People rave about yellow speed but the area ones are the only ones with better spring rates to bilsteins as they change them all. So people are aware bilstein can also do this for you for circa £100 a corner so you‘d have the better setup with the revalving and springs rates of your choice. on a product that will last a lot longer.

PSS9 is a well known bilstein coilover across so many males and models it‘s unreal and I think bilstein know their stuff more than the likes of he other brands.

 

[ollieh17]

Yes they are mate but people don‘t get it, the quality over many others is far superior, area etc will always promote Yellowspeeds etc as they sell them and course they will race on them as like low end wheels (Rota‘s etc) they are cheap to replace if they break or are damaged.

Try replacing a bilsteins for the same money, or an ohlin and so on when it breaks, TGM explained the whole £ per corner manufacturing to me and I was shocked at how much they can get the likes of yellowspeed for, which to me means cheap build quality and parts :-(

People rave about yellow speed but the area ones are the only ones with better spring rates to bilsteins as they change them all. So people are aware bilstein can also do this for you for circa £100 a corner so you‘d have the better setup with the revalving and springs rates of your choice. on a product that will last a lot longer.

PSS9 is a well known bilstein coilover across so many males and models it‘s unreal and I think bilstein know their stuff more than the likes of he other brands.

I get what you are saying, but yellow speeds aren't 'bad quality'. Blisteins may last year's and years like oem but most people don't use their cars like that.most avoid bad weather, awful roads day to day driving. Most people won't even own a car long enough to outlast the coilovers!same way area will promote yellowspeeds other places will promote blistein....higher price higher margins higher profit!!!

 

[ste01]

Lol I had Bilsteins and they ride well but rusted and broke faster than a set of £180 eBay coilovers I had on a daily at the same time. Talk about quality! Never had yellow speed but I doubt they are that bad, more likely snobbery from some people. Some of the best mass production engineering is done in Taiwan so I wouldn't hold their origin against YS. Many people used to hate on Honda because because they were Japanese or Hyundai/Kia for being Korean...they seem to be doing well these days.

As for manufacturing costs, of course something made in Taiwan is cheaper, people get paid less there and less regulations etc so it is cheaper. Doesn't mean it's cheaper materials.

Ask TGM the material grades/types, and origins of components used by Bilstein and Yellow Speed? I wonder if they can even tell you. Where is the source of their information on cost? It could be a Bilstein sales rep for all you know. You might be spreading Fake News!


Maybe TGM say yellow speed are bad because they don't sell them? Did you think if that?! Haha 🎣🤔🤯

 

[SamDC5]

Take the car to a reputable garage that know about the chassis. Places like Area Motorsport are your best bet.

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[Indi]

Yes Bilstein have correct ratio of spring rates but they're far too soft if you push quite hard on track and another thing is there's no adjustable top mounts available to fit them so that you can gain castor (One of best handling mods). I've had Nitrons which are twice the price of Bilstein B16 Yes they were epic but I did question myself whether they were worth the £2200 extra over the YS. I had the same set of YS for 3 years and even after 3 years I was able to sell them on as they were in decent condition so quality can't be that bad surely?.

 

[Mark_teg]

Ste01, regarding the Bilsteins, did you report your issue to your supplier or Bilstein themselves? I'm sure they would've been very interested in putting it right.

In my opinion, Bilstein are a class (or several) above YS in terms of quality. They're used by car manufacturers for OE fitment, which speak volumes in its own right.
I understand that YS might be the better option for track due to wider adjustability and price, like Carl mentioned, but for road I'd say standard-type dampers / Eibach combo or bilstein are better suited. Everyone uses their car for different things and we also have different tolerances for comfort, etc so what works for one is different for the next person

 

[ste01]

Ste01, regarding the Bilsteins, did you report your issue to your supplier or Bilstein themselves? I'm sure they would've been very interested in putting it right.

In my opinion, Bilstein are a class (or several) above YS in terms of quality. They're used by car manufacturers for OE fitment, which speak volumes in its own right.
I understand that YS might be the better option for track due to wider adjustability and price, like Carl mentioned, but for road I'd say standard-type dampers / Eibach combo or bilstein are better suited. Everyone uses their car for different things and we also have different tolerances for comfort, etc so what works for one is different for the next person

Good to see you on here Mark what you driving these days? I'd had the Bilsteins a couple of years so wasn't bothered but was still pretty shocked by their state. I actually collected drillings from them and tested it. The chrome percentage was a bit lower than I'd want for reducing rust, but from the pictures it seems YS are the same lol. eBay prosport for the win!

Totally agree that people all have different opinions and needs. E.g. with my DC5s I've always kept OEM because I need the extra clearance, and like the feel anyway; so they work for me.

I'm just stirring up a bit of a debate because I'm not a fan of slating stuff mostly based on it not being a fancy brand or made in china etc./lower cost, when even supposedly better quality stuff can have problems.

 

[Crazylegs]

Ste01, regarding the Bilsteins, did you report your issue to your supplier or Bilstein themselves? I'm sure they would've been very interested in putting it right.

In my opinion, Bilstein are a class (or several) above YS in terms of quality. They're used by car manufacturers for OE fitment, which speak volumes in its own right.
I understand that YS might be the better option for track due to wider adjustability and price, like Carl mentioned, but for road I'd say standard-type dampers / Eibach combo or bilstein are better suited. Everyone uses their car for different things and we also have different tolerances for comfort, etc so what works for one is different for the next person

Good post mate.

On the subject of OEM type dampers, would the likes of Bilstein B8 fit a DC5 or would you need the parts off an EP3 the same as required when fitting B16 Coilovers?

https://www.rivalmotorsport.co.uk/bilstein-b8-shortened-sprint-shock-absorbers-front-honda-civic-type-r-ep3-2001-2006

 

[ste01]

They will fit in the same way people fit other ep3 shocks I imagine. The ep3 kit is b8 front and b6 rears