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Because this car is - really - a coilovers-only car (if you don't know, dont ask) we're going to start with coilovers first. Thanks to the team over at GenRacer (no, I'm not being paid to brand-whore them, they happened to be legitimately useful) the Roadmap to Coilovers work has already been done for you and me both in the map above. Granted this map does not include every available brand of spring or coilover, but at the risk of sounding a bit fascist, it includes the only ones worth shopping.
Because suspension is shared between the two cars, this one page will serve both. This should go without saying but given the ~150lb weight difference between the two cars (depending on manual/auto and who you ask) when you shop coilovers, always mention your motor type to the reseller just in case they have access to kits that are loaded with springs designed for the heavier/lighter front end of your particular car. Aside from that, it's all the same.
Coilover Brand Quick Hit Rack-Up
As a general rule to avoid poor quality parts, I personally advise spending no less than $900 on any set of coilovers, period, end of story.
Shop with the reseller of your choice prices will vary, use the Genracer guide above to steer you to the particular type of product, use these notes as further notes to aid you in making a decision. Remember; coilovers are a one-stop solution for your suspension - they allow you to adjust the ride height of your car to your taste at any time, and almost all allow damping rate adjustment, as well as camber and in some cases even caster adjustment.
It is worth the extra cash to have your car aligned by an off-road performance shop once you install coilovers due to their more complex/custom nature.
D2 Racing Coilovers - I wouldn't touch these things with a ten foot pole only because they are so cheaply priced and do not appear to be calibrated & really well-fit specific to the Genesis. Buy at your own risk.
ARK Coilovers - You'd be better served by dumping sawdust in your radiator Monday morning before you set off for work, for that price.
Speed Tech (ST) Suspension Coilovers - You aint getting anything you actually want your life depending on slung up on seven hundred dollars by some off-brand manufacturer. I'm sorry. Cannot recommend these.
BC Racing / Megan Racing - These two are lined together because they are manufactured by the same facility for sale by the two makes. Some say the BC Racing product is of higher grade components in some parts of the product - this may be true; but the thing to remember is that the cost differential likely lies in the springs that are provided and possibly the finish quality. Megan and BC likely buy the damper/strut assembles and then get springs on their own, slap the springs into the kit and sell them. Both are well known, established on the car, durable, known to be easy to use and adjustable for the casual street driver and light track enthusiast. Nothing bad to say here; they are exceptionally affordable for what you get. Bear in mind the "get what you pay for rule" - with coilovers this means you may be re-building the valve bodies of the dampers a little more often on low end brands vs. high end, so take note.
DGR Coilovers - These look like they are re-branded Taiwanese coilovers from a highly-reputable OE, however they insist they are not. This is irrelevant because they are an excellent value for their price. They are available from GC Tuner exclusively if I'm not mistaken. These fall within the realm of the BC Racing/Megan coilovers - these are not inverted monotube hardcore track coilovers BUT they can be fully adjusted and even ordered with higher-spring-rate springs. This means you have then pre-tweaked for you from the supplier to fit your specific car in terms of the flavor of the setup hot, mild, or el fuego. Bear in mind that on the street, el fuego can mean your girlfriend's rack (if she's got one) will be abandoning ship every time you nail a speedbump at any speed above 5mph.
HSD Coilovers - Manufactured by HD systems in Korea with a good reputation over the last 20+ yrs. They are very sturdy, of good quality and for a street car that may see some track, they are an excellent price and a good product.
Eibach Pro-Street Coilovers - Eibach's product is an excellent blend of affordability, ride comfort, and utility. This is not for the track enthusiast; dampening is not adjustable. Height is adjustable only. That being said, Eibach coilovers are easy not to screw up while messing with adjustability - which can be a plus if you're a dumbass - and thusly their ride comfort remains as close to stock as possible while still allowing you to get alot more handling out of your machine. I can only see advising you not to buy this product if you are educated in suspensions and you do want to go hard and go fast and see a track once in a while.
Tein Basic Coilovers - Basically read above for the Eibachs. You don't care about damping adjustability BUT you do want to be able to creatively dump your ride front and rear. Tein does also offer some neat toys like the EDFC feature, allowing you to prop up your ride height a bit at the touch of a button, which is not a substitute for airbags if thats what you are after - but it can be handy if you can afford it, to get over bumps in the road you otherwise couldn't. Tein has had a very minor rap for mediocre quality over the last few years but I can't come up with any hard data on why you don't want these coils if they suit your needs and price range.
Stance Super Sport - These are your entry-level inverted-monotube strut coils. Your best bang for buck if you want a Real Deal(TM) coilover set but you can't afford KWs or Stance Pro Comps. Will you notice a difference vs. those more expensive setups on your car? Probably not - probably never. The only time you'll need anything more than a set of Stance Super Sport Coilovers is when you are drifting and tracking repetivitely, as in - it is your car's mission in life.
KW V3 and Stance Pro Comp 3 - I'm addressing these two together because they fall into the same bracket and what can be said of one can be said of the other. First off, KW as a brand is known, revered, respected, and trusted around the world in motorsports for all applications. If you have the big bucks, accept no substitutes, and know you got the best. Sure its a bit of a waste to drive these or Pro Comp 3s on the street all the time but if you can afford it, roll it. If you are seriously tracking the car (e.g. you are corner balancing your car and stuff) these are the coilovers you need to keep the competitive edge.
Buddy Club Racing Spec Damper Kit - It's Buddy Club; you can't go wrong. You'll be about $1500 lighter in the wallet when you're done, but you will have gotten serious hardware. Not for the faint of heart. You need to know what you're doing to actually need these coilovers. The more you spend on coilovers, typically the more punishment you should expect them to take.
KSport Kontrol Pro - Ostensibly used overseas by some BK race teams, yadda yadda yadda. These have so far had nothing but positive reviews here in the states and they are priced reasonably. Not quite a top notch racetrack product, but more than enough for street; these have seen alot of use with the slammed and dumped crowd.
Powered by Max USA - This one is off in a class on it's own both in cost and function. If you are not to be outdone, money is no object, and you are srs bdnss, this is the set for you. I say this only because these coilovers offer something truly unique in addition to being built like a brick shit house, with inverted monotubes, pillowball mounts (on the bottom too!) along with super high build quality all around. One very cool feature they offer is this - their rear damper is actually inside the rear coil spring. This is a geometric advantage in how the suspension dampens movement, it is the most ideal possible configuration vice the divorced spring and damper setup the car normally sees at the rear. Powered by Max also offers matching subframe upgrades, adjustable control arms - the whole shot - this is the kit to have if you've got deep pockets, and you want that gold powdercoat shining out and alerting the general public to the fact that you do in fact blow through three sets of tires a weekend with your serious drift setup - or you just like blowing large amounts of money for fun.
Springs
Same drill; shop with the reseller of your choice, you get what you pay for. This cheaper route allows you to get the dropped look but without spending to match damper and spring rates for real handling improvement. Springs are just that - springs for lowering at a fixed amount, and upping spring rate for a little better handling. Two things to note here if you choose to go the cheaper springs-only route.
A.) By installing higher-spring rate and shorter-stroke springs onto your OEM dampers, you are now forcing them to operate outside their acceptable life stress levels, and as such they will die much sooner than they normally would. How hard you abuse the car wil determine how much shorter their lives will be.
B.) You will lose ride quality. Bumps will hit harder. With most spring kits (per their instructions) you may need to cut down your OEM bump stops, meaning hits will hurt. Springs take a short while to settle, and once they do, your ride height is fixed, so deal with it.
As always shop with your reseller of choice, some manufacturers offer more than one flavor of spring - typically they offer a drop for drop's sake, then a drop with some hardness to it for more handling-ish feel. Some offer a third spring that is a DROP dop. Using this flavor of any brand is inadvisable as it REALLY frags your OEM struts quickly.
- Here's a good/better/best rackup by brand -
GOOD: KSport* / Tein** / ST Suspension / ARK / Tanabe
BETTER: Megan / H&R / Progress
BEST: Eibach [Eibach is universally regarded as being best-matched to OEM damper rates while offering a low stance and excellent handling]
*KSports are the bare minimum... they support the car, thats about it
** Tein S-Techs bring the car barely down past stock height, all while making ride quality worse. Go figure.
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