Why coil overs? Based on your intended use a set of Gtworx/bilstein/RCE would give you the ride/handling you want and wo/all of the hassles/costs of coil-overs. They run about $1400 complete and drop right in. I believe Cygnus also sells these.

 

I've looked into it, but it's a bit higher than I want them to be, by no means do I want to be hella flush, but I want to be a bit lower. I've had tokico dspecs/rce yellows on my old GD, but I wasn't too big of a fan. Also the H&R coilover strut is made by Blistein from my understanding.

I mainly said I didn't need the dampening control because I always believed that engineers could do it better from the factory and it's not something I'm skilled enough to use to it's full potential yet.

 

The GR doesn't like to be lowered very much due to the revamped rear suspension. In general a 1/2" to 3/4" (15mm - 20 mm) drop works best on a non-track car. The reason to consider a strut setup is that they last longer, better in harsh weather, usually trouble free. IMO $ for $ they are a better choice than coil overs for your a set and forget suspension.

 

I'm liking this statement and is probably all I need.

 

For set and forget go with a set of Tarmac 0's with the 350lb springs.

For an adjustable option go with the Tarmac 2's. I have a set with 400/400 springs and on full soft they're like a 5 series but they can be brought up to a really stiff competitive shock.

 

Your car does not ride like a 5 series. No way, not even close.....

 

I run the T2s with 500# springs and really like them...but for a DD 400# are is great choice. Only issue for the OP is that by the time he buys T2 + camber plates he's well above the indicated price range. I think T0s are a good choice for the person that doesn't want to "mess" with damping adjustment but wants to be able to alter ride height for various reasons/situations, however they still have a service life (rebuild) that is shorter than GTworx strut alternatives. I think the GTworx run around a 330# spring and have about 15mm drop plus the installed cost is not bad.

I like coil overs but owners that don't want to ever touch them again after installation, wants a no noise and trouble free unit, plus a long life, I'd lean towards GTworx setup.

 

I think T0s are a good choice for the person that doesn't want to "mess" with damping adjustment but wants to be able to alter ride height for various reasons/situations, however they still have a service life (rebuild) that is shorter than GTworx strut alternatives.

The KW stuff (whether it is the normal KW or the RCE stuff) should last just as long as the spring/strut/shock combo.

My current KWs are 2 yrs old with no signs of aging, and my old KWs lasted 4+ yrs with no discernible degradation (I am quite picky) and that was through 4 Canadian winters too.

There is no inherent reason why a coil over would need more maintenance or more frequent rebuilds then a shock/strut. (Some do for performance reasons, long story, but KWs don't)

 

From what I've been reading TiC does support the 441, and the reviews seem to be pretty good for it. I've had V1s on my old GD and loved them, but I wanted to try something different, if I don't like the 441s or the H&R I'd probably just go back to the V1s.

Also, I'm not against dampening adjustment, I'm very open to having it, just that I don't NEED it right now. All the quality coilovers in that price range don't seem to have dampening adjustment.

 

I have coilovers and the adjustments, alignment, corner balancing and fine tuning is insane. It took me about 9 months to get the car handling really well after multiple track days, autocrosses, re-alignments, spring/sway changes etc.

Go with the GT Worx/Bilsteins, they are set it and forget it. None of the annoying coilover extra adjustments or hassles. Not to say I don't like coilovers, but they are just.... easy.

Also please don't lower your STi. The STi likes to be stock ride height. I have this somewhere but in short lowering the STi is bad because:
-more dynamic toe change, when suspension is compressed the toe changes more for a given compression as the car is lowered and it becomes squirrelly, scary and hard to control
-alignment problems, especially in the rear camber. You get even more negative camber, car will understeer more
-toe problems, so now that the car is lowered the rear wheels will toe against the direction you are turning. Basically if you are turning right, the left rear will toe in, and the right rear will toe out, so it's like having 4 wheel steering against your curve which results in rear based understeer which makes the car feel awful.
-more caster front, the car might have more weight jacking. While in tight turns it will feel better the rear will be more squirelly because of this.

There may be a few others I cannot think of but I had my STi slightly lowered on coilovers at one point and it got corner balanced again at a higher ride height which greatly improved handling.

Trust me, looks are not important when you pay for a performance car that handles pretty well out of the box and then you ruin the handling in a way that makes it both a drag to drive as well as dangerous.

Now if you really like coilovers most of the one you mentioned are just fine. Linear springs are also just fine, in my experience good dampers help offset the "harsh" feel of linear springs for the most part.