Handling is not just about cornering force and speed. For a road going coupe comfort and the ability to run on damaged roads must also be taken into account. Also stiffer the suspension the more shock transfered to other suspension components, which will wear quicker and degrade the ride faster.

So it's horses for courses. If you are tracking a acoupe i can see the benefits. However the standard fresh set up is a very good compromise for everyday driving IMHO.

I can now also confirm that the handling around corners and especially roundabouts is simply transformed (night and day change) by the lower springs

I'll second that, they made mine feel like a far faster car as soon as I put them on.
I've not noticed any problems with ride comfort on the Eibachs, they're a bit crashy I suppose, but nothing to worry about, it's only a bad ride on a road that'd be a bad ride on any suspension setup.
If ride comfort is the most important thing then maybe a Honda Civic is the best idea, my friend has one and it's very comfortable, slow as hell mind!
I get annoyed with people saying "don't change the springs, it'll get uncomfortable on very rare occasions".
If that was a dealbreaker then they wouldn't be posting in the handling section of the modifying area, they'd be buying a diesel Civic.

I was that man !!!
I refreshed everything including osrav adjustable shocks,camber bolts, braces (top and bottom)but I couldn't get the handling to be fun. I held out and held out then,after curborough last year. I gave in and fitted the 35mm drop springs from Joe CC.
Why oh why did i wait 14 years !!!
Better handling and a BETTER ride (some praise for the Osravs as well).
NICE

I can't disagree further from the comments above. Handling and comfort are 2 seperate things tbh. standard handling is sufficient for road use. Comfort on refreshed suspension is however!!

I had FK's with 100nm front springs and it handled amazing on smooth roads. Ran through wishbones every 12k.

Ross

Did some setts/cobblestone driving with the Bilstein/Eibach combo last weekend and it was decidedly less choppy than with the standard setup (65k miles old though).

Handling and comfort are not two separate things at all, they're two entirely connected things.
To increase handling you have to sacrifice comfort, to increase comfort you have to sacrifice handling.
Sometimes there's a "sweet spot" where you can have a good amount of both, but if you want more of one past that point you are going to have to sacrifice the other.

Having, within the past week, gone from a fully refreshed set up with bilsteins and eibachs, to a fully refreshed standard set up (And having just done a 460 mile drive in the latter) I think I can add to this.

The bilsteins/eibachs definitely handled better (Better turn in and the back end felt more planted) but I ended up steering around potholes and every imperfection on the road. The standard set up is still well damped but rides so much better.

It has 90% of the handling and 'chuckability' but offers way more useable roadholding on our current roads.

The only mod I will be doing is a whiteline 22mm rear anti-roll bar.

Are you sure? I reckon on a standard setup it would be quite "snappy" on enthusiastic driving.

Ross

Are you sure you cut the front/rear bumpstops..?

Yes to both.

It wasn't riding on the bump stops, it was just so much harsher.

I wouldn't fit them again (I like a firm ride - ooooerrr Misses! in a Frankie Howerd sort of way) they were just too choppy.

JonnyK has my Sprintie now and he commented that it handled brilliantly, it did, it was just too rough.

I think the full Eibach anti roll bar kit and standard dampers and springs would be very nice, reduced roll but a nice ride.

I'd agree with that entirely

I don't mind it tbh, though in fairness I had a completely stripped out 2.0 16v oldest shape clio 16v with solid engine mounts, so this is a walk in the park!

A bumpy park then...........!