thanks for your opinions everyone, I bought DanDan's 20vt in the end. Absolutely loving it so far and think it might be a rare long termer for me. (longest I have had a car is exactly one year)

thanks - i see the fcc springs are prefered as a road compomise.

I hate a car that 'crashes' over poor road surfaces or is likely to judder the dash frequently so concerned the Eibachs or the new coil overs to be a step too far?

Prefer to keep sidewall as deep as possible for same reason - what tyre spec would be suited to spirited comfortable back road driving? - I appreciate such a set up will be a compromise, but regretably I suspect my Brands days are behind me.

Would consider 17 inch for aesthetics and bigger possible contact patch if comfort is not compromised when appropriate tyre spec is selected

what tyre specs for both rim sizes given comfort / performance compromise - I would prefer max sidewall profile that is sensible - 55? - Bear in mind springs will be dropped to Eibach or FCC level

griffster - Eibachs can be fine, as long as the damping is correct. This is why Eibachs on standard shocks is not a good idea - the damping is simply too weak to control the firmer spring

I would advise against mucking around with tyre profiles - you'll make your speedo inaccurate. Stock to 205/50 16, 225/45/16 or 215/40/17

I run Eibachs on Osrav shocks and 40-profile tyres on 17" rims. Although the ride is firm, its definitely not uncomfortable or jiggly. On very bumpy roads, it can get a bit annoying, but then if I wanted supreme comfort on bumpy roads, I would have kept Wifey's air-sprung P38 Range Rover

If you're ever in the Midlands, I'd be happy to take you out for a spin, just to show what a decent suspension setup can feel like

Thanks for lightning response, I am near Corby Northants, where are you based?

Rugeley, Staffordshire - between Lichfield and Stafford

I'd agree on that, and plus that fine 225/35-18 alternative.
Also agree on the Eibach's, not much wrong with them, but the problem with the std dampers is not so much weakness as wrong spectrum. Lower a std Coupe and the shocks are in full-load-mode, hence HARSH. The Bilstein B6 or Osrav's have a wider/lower 'normal load' range and so, comfier.

Also; when swapping shocks, do please mind the length of the front shock cylinders. In the case of the Bilsteins they are much longer than std, making the Coupe sit on it's rubber bump stops. THAT is crashy, but surprisingly common..
Very easy fix though; cut them rubbers a bit.

Also 2; on my car the battery-move-to-the-rear actually made a greater improvement than the famous strutbrace. (yes you probably have to try it to believe it)
And the lower strutbrace did even greater effect, though it is a good idea to mod it a bit. It's too often too close to road obstacles, I read.

yes i was thinking of moving batt to ns rear

Hi there I have a coupe and in grimsby has kw suspension on and updated turbo your more than welcome to come try!

useful thread , do we have a condensed version of a basic and clear list of coupes suspension upgrades ? much like nigel just posted and more detail about subframe welding ?

These might help:

Overview of Shocks & Springs

First Handling Mod

yep things like that gunzi cheers