Help me pick shocks/suspension for the MR2 turbo

I finally had time to check over the suspension about the tire blowout a few days ago (I ran over a rock and the rear tire decided that was it) and the front suspension is showing signs of slight leaks from at least one of the front shocks. So, no way this is going on the track without new shocks and some other work.

It looks like I have the following choices:

• Yellow Konis, possibly combined with some slight lowering springs. Cheapest option at 1000-1200 bucks, less if I just keep the stock springs.
• Tein Flex coilovers - about 1800
• KW Variant 3, which is the most expensive choice at about 2300

I'm not looking to slam the car into the weeds (note the absence of "Riceland" coilovers and the like) but being able to corner balance the car would be nice to have. I'm using the car on the street fairly regularly so I can't go full race suspension.

Hard to go wrong with Koni's.

+1 for Koni Yellows.

The Teins are junk, Konis are the answer unless you want to spring for the KWs. You could even build a coilover steup around the stock housings w/ Konis if you wanted.

Either the Konis or KW V3s. If you're thinking about getting good coilovers in the future, go straight for the KWs, it'll be cheaper in the long run.

I'm pretty sure Cusco makes coilovers for these cars as well, for whatever that's worth.

I think JIC does as well.

Koni Yellows and TRD springs is the winning combo for the SW20 in the opinion of this former owner.

Dr. Hess wrote: Hard to go wrong with Koni's.

+1. I've had a bunch of these cars and none were all-around better than one set up with Konis + H&R springs.

Coilovers give you 32-ways to get it wrong. While maybe not perfectly corner-balanced, good dampers and springs will be consistent and let you focus on improving yourself instead of tuning the car. At least that was my personal experience after having full coilovers on an MR2 and going to fresh oem suspension + Koni / H&R.

Powar wrote: Koni Yellows and TRD springs is the winning combo for the SW20 in the opinion of this former owner.

That's probably the combination I'll be going with right now, given that you can still get the TRD springs and I haven't read anything bad about them. It also keeps the setup nice and simple.

Solid choice. I've put Koni sports on both the MR2 and Integra and don't regret it one bit. I've had them on the AW11 for years and they've stood up to some impressive abuse on the moon-cratered ATL streets.

I also say Koni. I had them on my '91 turbo. The MR2 really likes these as the compression is not as harsh as some of the other choices. Also second, or third, the H&R springs. I've also used Ground Control coil overs before with much success. They probably still make a kit for these. For a street car, you probably do not want to go this route however. As others have noted, it's more you can mess up.

KW V3s or Konis and find someone with a shock dyno to set them up for you after you pick springs.

I have Konis on my 91 NA MR2 and I like them.