JHM DP's/exhaust or Stasis MS coilovers?

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

Just posted this on AZ, but I know there are some very knowledgeable and experienced people here.

I’m having a tough time deciding if I want to get the JHM 2.75" catless DP’s and 2.75" catback or to drop the car and make it handle like it’s on rails with Stasis MS coilovers. Totally different mod categories, I understand, but the budget will only allow for one or the other. JHM hasnt released their exhaust for the RS4 officially and I’ve been waiting for over 3 weeks to hear from them, so I don’t know how much it will cost yet. But based on the JHM’s 2.5" full exhaust for the S4 being about $2600, I’m assuming the RS4 2.75" exhaust will be about $3000 or so. Maybe someone with the RS4 can chime in as to what the price actually is. I’m all about extra power and a crazy sounding exhaust on an RS4, so going the exhaust route was my original plan for the car. Now, switching gears to suspension, everyone pretty much knows the Stasis MS suspension is top of the line. I can’t say what I was quoted from Alex @ Europrice but it’s close enough to the cost of the JHM exhaust which is one of the reasons I’m debating this in the first place. I’ve never had an afermarket suspension on any of my previous vehicles, so doing coilovers would be a first for me. However I’ve ridden in a number of Subaru STI’s with top of the line coilovers. One of them even had the Ohlins Flag series(~$4800 suspension) on it, which was firm but extremely controlled and comfortable. Ohlins makes an amazing product! That’s all I have to go off of for a reference as to the level of quality and performance that you get with Ohlins coilovers. Now, the STI and RS4 are very different cars of course, but based on my experience with them on that STI, I’m sure the Stasis MS coilovers won’t let me down. I want a firm suspension but not something that will kill my kidneys or prevent me from taking the car on road trips because my wife hates riding in it.

You will probably ask, what do you want out of the car? Do you want it faster, and for it to sound like a bat out of hell? Do you track your car so you can see the real benefits of the coilovers or are you just into aggressive street driving? All good questions. To answer them, yes I want my car to be faster. Who doesnt? I would love for it to sound very aggressive too. The engine and it’s amazing exhaust sound are two of the reasons I bought this car in the first place. I’ve taken my car to the drag strip which would favour the exhaust over the suspension. No road courses or autox yet, but I have two friends with STI’s that have recently got into doing laps on a small local road course and they absolutely love it, and are pushing me to bring my car there. So normally I would consider myself an aggressive street driver but there is possibility of tracking the car 1-3 times a year.
If I did the JHM exhaust I would get the JHM tune as well, so I could maximize the power. However if I did the suspension, I would still get the tune, which would mean I would nead to do piggies at least. I’d probably do the piggies myself so that will save $450. But I sure wouldnt get the aggressive exhaust note by just doing piggies. Hmmm

I should mention that I live in a colder climate so I’m a bit concerned about the longevity of the Stasis MS coilovers when it’s cold out. Is winter driving going to kill them? What about corrosion? I won’t ever be reverting back to the stock DRC suspension if I make the switch so I have to sure this is the right way to go.

I’m looking for you guys’ opinions on both options. Suggestions? Other options I havent thought of? If any of you have the JHM exhaust and/or the Stasis MS coilovers I’d love to have your input.

Thanks!
Shaun

#2

well i would say you answered yourself!

If you have a doubt about the suspension surviving winter, why get it at all? Sounds like your ready for the exhaust! ;D

#3

I’ve heard so many nightmare stories with those stasis ms’s. They need to be serviced often and stasis customer service is shit. Id get KW V3

Then again…JHM fullback+tune…8=====D~

#4

I have the KW v3 and I think they’re great. However, I haven’t ridden in the Stasis so I wouldn’t be able to compare. If you look hard enough though you can get the KW v3 for $2k and maybe even less. That’s at least $1k extra for other stuff (Hotchkis RSB? Part of the exhaust?)
Is it a manual? Have you considered the JHM “Trio” shifter package if it is.

#5

skip the suspension until your drc fails… and when it does get the jhm penske setup

#6

Ya, maybe I did answer myself already. I guess if someone said, “the coilovers will stand up to winter no problem and they’ll last a long time on DD duties”, I wouldnt be hesitant about going the suspension route.

I could skip the coilovers altogether for now and get piggies(free if I do it myself), the JHM tune, trio shifter package, sway bars, and engine/tranny/rear diff mounts for around $2200.

I already have the upgraded DRC on my car and to my knowledge is not leaking yet. I’ll see how it fairs over the winter. JHM Penske setup hey? Anyone know any more details about this? I imagine JHM’s aim is to make it even better than the Stasis MS’s?

#7

Short answer? Make your car faster.

Stock suspension is excellent. Only thing it might need is to be a touch lower for aesthetics, but it’s excellent as far as performance goes. It’s the part of the car I’m most impressed by. Compared to my S4’s stock suspension it’s night and day. Upgrading an S4 to coilovers is a huge jump. Upgrading an RS4? Not sure it’s nearly as big an improvement. Stock acceleration however has tons of room for improvement.

Look at it like this…JHM tune + full exhaust vs. stock equalled 9 tenths and 6 mph picked up at the dragstrip. That’s a 3 buslengths. That’s huge. Stock DRC vs. Stasis…is that really going to be as big of an improvement? Also the Stasis seems like a major pain in the ass. You have to take it off your car and send it back to Virginia to be adjusted/refilled every couple of years? Did I read that right? WTF is that all about? Even if you do a core exchange, that’s $500 in labour every time right there. Sounds like a money pit to me. SKIP.

JHM hasn’t gotten back to you for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that their exhaust isn’t for sale yet officially, and on top of that they’re trying to find a new, more efficient fabricating setup. THe cost of 2.75 vs. 2.5 is quite different, so to be safe, I’d bank on it being about $3500 CDN in your hands for the full exhaust.

Personally, I’d suggest being patient. Do piggies. Get tuned. Get Intake Spacers. That’s about $1000, and your car will be transformed. When you’re bored in 12 months or so, get the 2.75" catless (which will be available easily by then). As for a simple handling improvement on your car, get 10mm MTM spacers (they call them 20mm…it’s 20mm per axle). Widen the track by almost an inch…and it will flush it out and make it look great as a bonus. They’re $300 from Horchaus in Montreal.

#8

A simple pm or email back from them would be nice lol. I’ll just phone them and leave a message when I’m ready to to put my order through. There’s obviously certain forum members who are more in the know or have better connections with JHM, to enable them to to buy the JHM 2.75" exhaust and tune already.

Sounds like a good plan. I wasnt planning on dropping $1k on a carbon clean just yet so maybe I’ll hold off on the intake spacers. Actually, I’d like to tackle the carbon clean myself once I do a bit more research on it. I’ll definitely do the intake spacers at that point.

I already have the H&R 10mm spacers. They work great. No issues. I love the look of the car with them on. I’ll try to post some pics up of my car in your other thread once I resize them to work on this site.

#9

what can I say…great parts, great guys, shitty communication. I think I’ll take that weakness for the first two strengths. Most of the other options involve great communication, but…well you know the rest.

v8@jhmotorsports.com is generally advisable.

As for ‘in the know’ members getting the exhaust and tune, it’s not that simple. JHM have been developing the tune for the past 24 months. They have been distributing it on a VERY limited basis via a few flash cables. That is changing. They also had a fabshop setup for fabricating the 2.75" stuff. In the past couple of months, that has also changed.

So…that means anyone before a few months ago was able to get the exhaust or tune. It also means that now, anyone who wants the exhaust or tune is having trouble. A little patience will see everything sorted.

#10

im another one waiting for this cb to be released as well, be patient, its worth it. what a gorgeous exhaust

#11

I have always had good luck going to the V8 E mail adress. Sales seems to get over loaded with non sales E mails because V8 gets back with me usually in less then a day.

Having the JHM Tune is a great way to go. I would skip the suspension and do your piggie pipes on your own. Drive that for a little bit and when the time is ready do the entire 2.75 exhaust.

#12

Interesting responses on AZ. Somewhat split. I think a few of the ‘get Stasis’ guys don’t care for JHM much lol. The thread title could have been ‘Should I buy JHM exhaust, or pay someone $3000 to kick me in the shins’ and they’d still suggest NOT buying the JHM stuff.