My struts blew at around 2,500 miles and I've been debating whether to let the dealer replace them under warranty or pull the trigger on a real setup. I leased my FiST and swore i wouldn't put any major mods into her but who am i kidding. The thing is a party in a box and the time has come make her dance like she's never danced before!
My first choice was the Bilstein B14. Great rep. I ran them on my former VW MKiv R32 and adored them. I paid about $1,300 for the VW and it's like half that for the FiST. I was convinced that if i do coils, B14 FTW.
But then the idea of not modding a lease began to eat at me. So...Koni Orange with H&R springs was about $200 less and would still perform way better than OEM. I was prepared to compromise my first choice for the more responsible one.
But THENNN I posted in a thread about the BC Racing setup I put on the wife's Mazda. As I'm typing I'm convincing myself of what a good setup it is. While it was troublesome at first, in due time all issues were resolved and it's been great for 20k+ miles. Another real boon is that they sell the shock cartridges separately. It's a VERY reasonable $95 per for the Mazda and I would imagine they'd be even cheaper for the FiST! I'm actually ordering the fronts for the Mazda very soon and will find out exactly what parts cost for our car. And I'll maybe even get new camber plates for the Mazda as well. So figure about $300 to refresh the front end for another 20-30k miles. I like the idea of coils i can quickly rebuild with readily available parts.
My dilemma is the cost of entry. Now I'm up from 567 for the Koni setup to $950 for BC. Here i am trying NOT to go spendy modding my lease and I'm headed in the wrong direction! But i have rationalized it in a most excellent way. When the time comes to repair either setup, the running costs are better for BC. I can't source individual Koni dampers so it looks like I'd have to buy a whole other set where i can buy individual parts for BC.
It's a lease so i shouldn't care about running costs as the Koni's will likely last the length of a 3yr lease. But this car has touched a special place deep in my libido that no other car ever has. The only reasons I wouldn't keep her forever have to do with reliability (leaky axles, possible cylinder head issue, and who know what else)
So i say to you fellow FiSTing addicts, do i commit to long term plan with BC or treat her like a one night stand with Koni?
And lest we forget Pierce Motorsports and all of their tasty chassis bracing! For the price of the BCs i can do Konis with a PM lower tie bar and strut tower brace..decisions, decisions. I'm falling into a mod spiral. I can feel it![[crazyeye]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_eyecrazy.gif "Crazy Eye [crazyeye]")
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My first choice was the Bilstein B14. Great rep. I ran them on my former VW MKiv R32 and adored them. I paid about $1,300 for the VW and it's like half that for the FiST. I was convinced that if i do coils, B14 FTW.
But then the idea of not modding a lease began to eat at me. So...Koni Orange with H&R springs was about $200 less and would still perform way better than OEM. I was prepared to compromise my first choice for the more responsible one.
But THENNN I posted in a thread about the BC Racing setup I put on the wife's Mazda. As I'm typing I'm convincing myself of what a good setup it is. While it was troublesome at first, in due time all issues were resolved and it's been great for 20k+ miles. Another real boon is that they sell the shock cartridges separately. It's a VERY reasonable $95 per for the Mazda and I would imagine they'd be even cheaper for the FiST! I'm actually ordering the fronts for the Mazda very soon and will find out exactly what parts cost for our car. And I'll maybe even get new camber plates for the Mazda as well. So figure about $300 to refresh the front end for another 20-30k miles. I like the idea of coils i can quickly rebuild with readily available parts.
My dilemma is the cost of entry. Now I'm up from 567 for the Koni setup to $950 for BC. Here i am trying NOT to go spendy modding my lease and I'm headed in the wrong direction! But i have rationalized it in a most excellent way. When the time comes to repair either setup, the running costs are better for BC. I can't source individual Koni dampers so it looks like I'd have to buy a whole other set where i can buy individual parts for BC.
It's a lease so i shouldn't care about running costs as the Koni's will likely last the length of a 3yr lease. But this car has touched a special place deep in my libido that no other car ever has. The only reasons I wouldn't keep her forever have to do with reliability (leaky axles, possible cylinder head issue, and who know what else)
So i say to you fellow FiSTing addicts, do i commit to long term plan with BC or treat her like a one night stand with Koni?
And lest we forget Pierce Motorsports and all of their tasty chassis bracing! For the price of the BCs i can do Konis with a PM lower tie bar and strut tower brace..decisions, decisions. I'm falling into a mod spiral. I can feel it
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