TANABE DF210, lowering springs for st coupe Options

[ej8ferio702]

does anybody here have then on their 94 ST coupe? what are the pros and cons on them, what struts are you running with the tanabe df 210 springs? how does your car handle with them on???

[808celica]

everyone will say Bilsteins cuz St's usually have the rebuildable struts. also some might say kyb's. the DF's are the 2in drop IIRC. my friend has them on his 92 gts. its really really nice. i wish i bought those instead of the Tein Springs

Goodluck

[trdproven]

as long as your struts are new like KYB, OEM, or konis or bilsteins, make sure you have bump stops or spring bumpers, its the bushing that goes on the stem of your shock. If you dont you will bottom out, trust me, you don't wanna reassemble your struts again just to put them on. they are cheap too so dont hesitate. just cut off one piece of the bushing so your spring will have play, it is only to prevent metal to metal contact when you hit a bump.

[BonzaiCelica]

as long as your struts are new like KYB, OEM, or konis or bilsteins, make sure you have bump stops or spring bumpers, its the bushing that goes on the stem of your shock. If you dont you will bottom out, trust me, you don't wanna reassemble your struts again just to put them on. they are cheap too so dont hesitate. just cut off one piece of the bushing so your spring will have play, it is only to prevent metal to metal contact when you hit a bump.

haha ya what he said ^^. when i disasembled my front and rear shocks to put my kyb gr2 and tanabe df210 the front bump stops fell apart completely. My friend who was helping me install them said it wasn't necessary to buy new ones. Well figures that after driving really fast up and down driveways, becuase i was in a rush, I bottomed out my front shocks 2 times on each side. NOT GOOD, makes me cringe each time i hit them

So I'm going to buy them, but no install until i get my next alignment. I heard bottoming out can kill ur shocks.

[ej8ferio702]

thanks for the input guys ,ok so i lowered my car with the df210, now I'm wondering if the springs need time to settle, im very satisfied with them on, i tried a tight corner and the car handled well even with blown shocks, lol..i know its stupid putting them on without changing the shocks, its cuz like everybody else i was anxious to see how it looks dropped, i will be installing KYBs as soon as i get them but anyway here''s the pic of the car droped, it does'nt seem to be much of a drop because i figured i need a side skirts and front splitters for it to be noticeable....



This post has been edited by ej8ferio702: Mar 2, 2009 - 12:37 AM

[trdproven]

Springs for our cars are never low enough. Good thing though is that it does not camber the car so much. However, even with Intrax or Tanabes they are still not low enough. With the price of springs and brand new strut assembly, new mounts, spring bushings, it kinda makes you lean towards coilovers.

[ej8ferio702]

im satisfied with how the car look, but i think itll get higher with 17s on though lol...im looking to buy these in 17x8 with a +15 offset , will this fit flush with the fenders???

[BonzaiCelica]

However, even with Intrax or Tanabes they are still not low enough. With the price of springs and brand new strut assembly, new mounts, spring bushings, it kinda makes you lean towards coilovers.

My Kyb gr2 and tanabe df210 setup came out to $450 (plus another $40 for front and rear bump stops, if needed) and installation i did myself. which is easy with the help of somebody else. So cheapest coilovers are like what $950. So they not really leaning towards the price of coilovers just yet.

Now if you decide to go with Koni Yellow adjustable struts. then ya those are expensive. and it would probably be better to get coilovers instead while your already spending that much money.

Koni Adjustables cost around $170 for each strut. and plus whichever springs you decide to put, which is another $180

[trdproven]

However, even with Intrax or Tanabes they are still not low enough. With the price of springs and brand new strut assembly, new mounts, spring bushings, it kinda makes you lean towards coilovers.

My Kyb gr2 and tanabe df210 setup came out to $450 (plus another $40 for front and rear bump stops, if needed) and installation i did myself. which is easy with the help of somebody else. So cheapest coilovers are like what $950. So they not really leaning towards the price of coilovers just yet.

Now if you decide to go with Koni Yellow adjustable struts. then ya those are expensive. and it would probably be better to get coilovers instead while your already spending that much money.

Koni Adjustables cost around $170 for each strut. and plus whichever springs you decide to put, which is another $180

Trust me they will make you lean towards coilovers you havent even factored new strut mounts which are over 100 dollars, Megan coilovers for about 800ish so you're looking at at least near 600 bucks. This puts you in the price range for coilovers. And trust me again after going through 2 different spring, shock setups, still unsatisfied, I went for coilovers the 3rd time. The kicker that makes you go for the coilovers is that you spend a couple hundred more and you get damper, camber, and height adjustment. So yes you do fall and lean in that range already. I would quit wasting time and springs and shocks unless that is the perfect setup you want meaning height and comfort.

[BonzaiCelica]

oh thats right woops forgot to add that onto there. ya my 4 kyb strut mounts cost me $186. i then also bought st sway bars at the same time. Suspension set up cost me near a grand. I paid like $950 for everything. the sway bars were $315. But ya i know what you mean. I would have spent an extra $300 if i went with coilovers. Anyways...

By dampening im assuming you mean how the ride quality is when you dd or for when you go to canyons/racetrack.

Well im liking my setup right now. I like the height. Except i still feel my back being a little loose. When i installed rear sway bar, i installed sway bar links on the tightest setting of the sway bars. The holes closest to the middle of the rear sway bar? is that set up right. if i change to the holes furthes to the outside of the sway bar will this lessen my back less flimsy or make it worse?

Im considering of getting koni adjustable, but that wont be for a while.

[trdproven]

coilovers are amazingly cheap now. Megans run 800ish and same goes for ksport. I can get those for 900 max.

[BonzaiCelica]

hmm hmm hmm. i see! maybe in 3 years or so. I'm planning ss-III replica and engine swap, and then i might consider going coilovers.

Here are some pics of my set up. I have 225-50r16 tires. i wanted 45 profile but at same time wide tires. im going with 205-45r16 toyo proxes 4 on next set.

Here is the Front Fender Gap




Rear Fender Gap






This post has been edited by BonzaiCelica: Mar 5, 2009 - 9:58 PM

[trdcelica94]

how are the Tanabe Sustec Coilovers - S-0C ? i was looking at them and they lower the car 2.5F 2.0R.
i want some good coils that will dump the car I want it to sit Flush. any ideas?

[808celica]

they should settle lower after time

cuz right now it looks too much like a "Tein" drop

[azian_advanced]

i'm sure any full coilover setup will give a low enough drop to give it that flush look.. i have gone through two sets of lowering springs (TEIN and RSR) and two sets of factory struts and i got tired of having to replace struts every couple of years. after i got my Tanabe sustec pros i knew i made the right choice and i'm glad that i went for this set up. although the ride is much stiffer but i have the peace of mind knowing that the shocks won't crap out.. sure it's a huge price to pay (actually i got them really cheap) but a lot of benefits to gain.. adjustability being the most important.

[Justen]

i got these DF210 for my car and i don't think its dropped as much as it said it was suppose to. how long does its take for them to settle?, the tanabe rep told me 2 weeks. its been about that long and it still looks just as low as it did when i first put them on. i measured the front two days after i installed them and it was about an inch lower. does else have these? did they drop what it was supposed to for you?

[95st-celica]

yea...supposidly these are the springs with the most drop..they call for like a 2" drop both in front and in the back but it still seems like the car sits pretty high...i still cant make my mind up between these, teins, and megans...i want it to be droped a little lower then the above pictures but still have a nice comfy ride...its hard to choose the right set-up nt knowing how the car is going to ride and feel and not knowing how much of a drop you are to expect

[Euphoria]

man you guys can do it cheap in the US, I got mine really really cheap and I paied $650 for KYB and $300 for Eibach.

[Promasta]

ya i was thinking about the DF210 until everyone said the drop was barely lower than tein.
if you compare intrax with DF210 the intrax are significanly lower
still, I want to be able to go REAL low when i feel like it
if you can save up $399 for Ground-Control then DO IT, cause an actual 2.5" drop is sick: (car is an02's)


This post has been edited by Promasta: Mar 27, 2009 - 11:14 AM

[95st-celica]

ya i was thinking about the DF210 until everyone said the drop was barely lower than tein.
if you compare intrax with DF210 the intrax are significanly lower
still, I want to be able to go REAL low when i feel like it
if you can save up $399 for Ground-Control then DO IT, cause an actual 2.5" drop is sick:

damn that looks soo good...how is the ride quality with them? and what are you running? lowerd springs, adjustables, or coilovers?