After waiting way too long to hear back from one company about Silk Road coilovers, I decided to just shoot an email to Silk Road directly. They got right back to me, saying that they don't sell parts straight to individuals, but that I could buy them through a company called Streeter Corporation. It's run by this Australian living in Japan named Jesse, who is able to export parts and take care of everything via paypal. He replied within a few hours, and it was awesome to deal with someone who didn't require translation (as fun as that is).
After about a week of chatting back and forth, Jesse informed me that Silk Road could not do spring rates lower than 4k, so I went with 4k front / 5k rear. My only real reference for spring rates is a Best Motoring video of an AZ1 with 4k front /6k rear, and it looked way too stiff:
Hopefully 5k in the rear will be more comfortable, but still stiff enough to perform well at the autocross. So once that was all settled, I sent Jesse the money and he placed the order! In about a month, he should receive the coilovers from Silk Road, and ship them over to me.
With suspension taken care of, it was time to think about tires. The wheels I have on there now are 15x6 in the rear and 14x5.5 in the front. These Nankangs aren't cutting it, and stickier rubber is a must if I want to improve my times. My current tires are:
Front - 155/55R14
Rear - 165/50R15
Ridiculously tiny... but could I fit bigger tires? I drove over to some buddies' place who just installed a hoist in their garage (amazing!) and we decided to take a look.
All of the tires are stretched, and I think it's because fitment down there is insanely tight. I'll see if the coilovers change this, but it doesn't seem like I have much room to work with, especially in the front. I'll do some research and experimenting and report back. In the meantime, here's a sweet Cappuccino!
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