The risks: What are they?, Lowering Springs. Options

[jordisonjr]

I think he was referring to not be low enough haha

[trdproven]

normally, you would go for certain products if it were the ONLY option but in this case, 6gcs have no problem with aftermarket lowering support between coilovers and springs.

If coilovers weren't so expensive, I'd consider it. But a full set of coilovers right now would cost me more than the car itself.

Actually coilovers arent that bad, they range between 800-1000 shipped.

Given the fact if you plan to drop with good springs that would run you roughly 200 dollars plus up to 400-600 dollars worth of decent to good shocks, that would put you in or near the coilover range. not only that you may need to change your top mounts as well x 4. plus you gotta pay for shipping somewhere in there. and with spring drop, you still never get that full remove and replace deal, you gotta disassemble/reassemble and never get full adjustability. Trust me, i went through two lowering spring setups, TRD and Intrax, and ended up going coilovers, imagine if i just spent the money in the first place, I wouldn't have spent on shocks and springs in the first place, cus they lacked the adjustability, i was never satisfied.

A car is not about making sure parts are always less than the car, #1 its always impractical to put aftermarket parts on your car, period. if that is the case, you should not plan on putting any more parts on your car cus it will just add up and be more than the cost of the car anyway. it does not help at all that our cars are old too. if you are into the car and fixing it up, that should not be your mindset, it should be because you want to fix it up, plus you gotta pay to play anyway.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jun 29, 2012 - 10:16 PM

[jordisonjr]

^ I can vouch for this Coilovers>Springs statement.
I wish I would have gotten coilovers.

[Syaoran]

normally, you would go for certain products if it were the ONLY option but in this case, 6gcs have no problem with aftermarket lowering support between coilovers and springs.

If coilovers weren't so expensive, I'd consider it. But a full set of coilovers right now would cost me more than the car itself.

Actually coilovers arent that bad, they range between 800-1000 shipped.

Given the fact if you plan to drop with good springs that would run you roughly 200 dollars plus up to 400-600 dollars worth of decent to good shocks, that would put you in or near the coilover range. not only that you may need to change your top mounts as well x 4. plus you gotta pay for shipping somewhere in there. and with spring drop, you still never get that full remove and replace deal, you gotta disassemble/reassemble and never get full adjustability. Trust me, i went through two lowering spring setups, TRD and Intrax, and ended up going coilovers, imagine if i just spent the money in the first place, I wouldn't have spent on shocks and springs in the first place, cus they lacked the adjustability, i was never satisfied.

A car is not about making sure parts are always less than the car, #1 its always impractical to put aftermarket parts on your car, period. if that is the case, you should not plan on putting any more parts on your car cus it will just add up and be more than the cost of the car anyway. it does not help at all that our cars are old too. if you are into the car and fixing it up, that should not be your mindset, it should be because you want to fix it up, plus you gotta pay to play anyway.

The car cost me ~$1300, so $1000 in just suspension would be cutting it. I don't plan on tracking the car, just daily driving it. I don't need performance shocks, just OEM replacements with some springs (TRD, Tein, Megan Racing, Eibach etc.) that will work with OE Replacement shocks, like KYB and Monroe, both of which I can get locally for decent prices.

Right now the car needs a whole suspension overhaul, and ~$150 in springs, ~$200 in struts, ~$50 in endlinks won't run more than $600. I'd rather spend more in the car in mods than fixes. (e.g. turbo setup, than suspension work) It's not like the stock suspension setup is bad. I'm just looking for stock + mild drop. The streets here don't let me go down past 1.5" anyways.

[delusionz]

normally, you would go for certain products if it were the ONLY option but in this case, 6gcs have no problem with aftermarket lowering support between coilovers and springs.

If coilovers weren't so expensive, I'd consider it. But a full set of coilovers right now would cost me more than the car itself.

Actually coilovers arent that bad, they range between 800-1000 shipped.

Given the fact if you plan to drop with good springs that would run you roughly 200 dollars plus up to 400-600 dollars worth of decent to good shocks, that would put you in or near the coilover range. not only that you may need to change your top mounts as well x 4. plus you gotta pay for shipping somewhere in there. and with spring drop, you still never get that full remove and replace deal, you gotta disassemble/reassemble and never get full adjustability. Trust me, i went through two lowering spring setups, TRD and Intrax, and ended up going coilovers, imagine if i just spent the money in the first place, I wouldn't have spent on shocks and springs in the first place, cus they lacked the adjustability, i was never satisfied.

A car is not about making sure parts are always less than the car, #1 its always impractical to put aftermarket parts on your car, period. if that is the case, you should not plan on putting any more parts on your car cus it will just add up and be more than the cost of the car anyway. it does not help at all that our cars are old too. if you are into the car and fixing it up, that should not be your mindset, it should be because you want to fix it up, plus you gotta pay to play anyway.

The car cost me ~$1300, so $1000 in just suspension would be cutting it. I don't plan on tracking the car, just daily driving it. I don't need performance shocks, just OEM replacements with some springs (TRD, Tein, Megan Racing, Eibach etc.) that will work with OE Replacement shocks, like KYB and Monroe, both of which I can get locally for decent prices.

Right now the car needs a whole suspension overhaul, and ~$150 in springs, ~$200 in struts, ~$50 in endlinks won't run more than $600. I'd rather spend more in the car in mods than fixes. (e.g. turbo setup, than suspension work) It's not like the stock suspension setup is bad. I'm just looking for stock + mild drop. The streets here don't let me go down past 1.5" anyways.

your logic is flawed everywhere. you dont need anything at all other than to put gas in your car and enjoy it as it is. springs wont give you anything positive handling wise, and if you cant afford a set of coilovers then you cant afford a turbo, or an ecu and even if you did, you'll only serve to increase your power and decrease your handling. well done.

[jordisonjr]

I can see where your coming from, but in my opinion, adding coiloevers would be modding and fixing.
Don't forget with lowering speings you will mos tlikely need new top mounts as well.

[Syaoran]

your logic is flawed everywhere. you dont need anything at all other than to put gas in your car and enjoy it as it is. springs wont give you anything positive handling wise, and if you cant afford a set of coilovers then you cant afford a turbo, or an ecu and even if you did, you'll only serve to increase your power and decrease your handling. well done.

See, that's the problem. You think that if I don't want to buy coilovers it is because I can't afford them. I haven't said I can't buy them, I just said I'd rather not. I'm not looking to IMPROVE anything, I'm looking to fix what's broken. All my struts are bad, my endlinks are bad and my front springs were heated by the previous owner. My car is already plugged to an EMS (MS-II) and I already have a wideband, too.

For daily driving, most coilovers will rattle my teeth out, so I'd rather an oem-like ride, with a sporty drop. It's not like BMWs come with a 3" drop, they come with a low-enough ride height to be sporty and comfortable at the same time. That's what I want, not a track setup on the ****ty streets of Puerto Rico.

I can see where your coming from, but in my opinion, adding coiloevers would be modding and fixing.
Don't forget with lowering speings you will mos tlikely need new top mounts as well.

Adding coilovers is too expensive ATM, for what my needs are. While one might think that I will end up paying about the same for a well-done spring setup as a Coilover setup, in reality the long term fact is that when coilovers go bad (and they WILL in my roads) I'll have to buy a brand new set because most are not serviceable. The ones that are, are way too expensive to do so. I would rather spend money on Bilstein/Koni struts/Ground Control coils than any cheaper coilover set.

[trdproven]

sounds like you still want to mod not so much fix given that the stuff you want to put on are not all repairs. who said coilovers dont have OEM ride quality, you need to wake up or take a ride in both my 6th gen and 7th gen celicas who have different brands and see how far coilovers have come. Coilover sleeves are all in the past, its full coilovers now.

[Syaoran]

sounds like you still want to mod not so much fix given that the stuff you want to put on are not all repairs. who said coilovers dont have OEM ride quality, you need to wake up or take a ride in both my 6th gen and 7th gen celicas who have different brands and see how far coilovers have come. Coilover sleeves are all in the past, its full coilovers now.

In relation to suspension, I only want to fix. I don't know where you are getting from that I want to "mod". Coilovers really are not for me. They're really cool while they're not broken.

[trdproven]

i thought you just mentioned: I'd rather spend more in the car in mods than fixes. (e.g. turbo setup, than suspension work)

if you want to get your suspension over and done with with no price in mind, just get KYB shocks, get TRD, TEIN, Or INTRAX Springs, bump stops, and possibly top mounts/bearings, and just do it. thats all.

I really don't think you get the idea about how coilovers are today, there are no cons to getting coilovers. They are fully rebuildable, custom, and can utilize some parts from other brands. the spring/shock combo is hell, like many people here, get install problems, parts wearing, disassemble reassemble, no adjustability, etc. I went through two lowering spring set ups already, TRD and Intrax, which are not bad, but ultimately I wished I should've gotten coilovers the first time. I was thinking i don't need coilovers, I think the lowering springs is okay, i'd rather spend my money on other mods, but I was wrong, I ended up getting coilovers, i wish I could've save me the install times, the parts bought, the time wasted, the money wasted.

but again like i said, if you want lowering springs just get the setup i mentioned, might cost 500-600 dollar range total for all those parts (which is close to coilovers) but at least its a simple decision.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jul 1, 2012 - 5:45 PM

[Syaoran]

i thought you just mentioned: I'd rather spend more in the car in mods than fixes. (e.g. turbo setup, than suspension work)

I consider suspension an area of fixes, not mods. The point I'm trying to get across is I'd rather save money on FIXING the suspension, than saying "hey I'll spend 100-200 dollars more on coilovers even though I don't need them!" My suspension is broken, I want to fix it, that is all.

if you want to get your suspension over and done with with no price in mind, just get KYB shocks, get TRD, TEIN, Or INTRAX Springs, bump stops, and possibly top mounts/bearings, and just do it. thats all.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about.

I really don't think you get the idea about how coilovers are today, there are no cons to getting coilovers. They are fully rebuildable, custom, and can utilize some parts from other brands. the spring/shock combo is hell, like many people here, get install problems, parts wearing, disassemble reassemble, no adjustability, etc. I went through two lowering spring set ups already, TRD and Intrax, which are not bad, but ultimately I wished I should've gotten coilovers the first time. I was thinking i don't need coilovers, I think the lowering springs is okay, i'd rather spend my money on other mods, but I was wrong, I ended up getting coilovers, i wish I could've save me the install times, the parts bought, the time wasted, the money wasted.

but again like i said, if you want lowering springs just get the setup i mentioned, might cost 500-600 dollar range total for all those parts (which is close to coilovers) but at least its a simple decision.

Not all of them are rebuildable, which I already said. The ones that are, are more expensive rebuilding than simply buying new ones. On top of that to rebuild, you have to send them to the manufacturer 99% of the time. To do that, you have to take them out of your car and send them over. What do you do while that's happening? Put struts and springs back on.

I consider coilovers are necessary only when you're looking to do stupid things (like lowering your car 1/4" off the ground) or when you need a performance suspension that can be fine-tuned for track use. Coilovers in the 800-1000 price range aren't good enough for REAL track use (not your average joe autocrossing)... they're only rebound adjustable, and height adjustable.


But this kind of got off-topic so I'm gonna leave it at that. To me, I really only need springs. I'm not interested in leaving my front bumper on every bump in the roads here.

[trdproven]

coilovers are for whatever you want to do with them, camber adjustment, damper adjustment, etc. not just height, there is more flexibility. 1.5 spring drop does not change anything really, you'll notice the drop the first time, after time passes it begins to look stock again. so just do the drop spring set up. still has a lot of finger gap but i guess you'll notice the drive difference, others won't notice the drop difference.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jul 1, 2012 - 10:33 PM

[Box]

Can get a set of Tein springs for $150 or less on eBay. Can get all four KYB struts for $237 off Rock Auto, maybe even cheaper off eBay. So, almost a third of what a set of coil-overs would cost. The setup I currently have and its great. I'd like to get coil-overs eventually, but for the time being what I have now is more than acceptable.

[trdproven]

^ Yea you can assuming shipping costs are all inclusive, and if you dont have to get new mounts, mount bearings, bump stops, etc...
but again, it looks like you its eventual you would get coilovers, plus the labor and tools to do it if you can't do it yourself. coilovers anyone can install even someone who hasn't touched this kind of car. Again like we all know its a simple really shock/spring replacement assuming nothing else is worn out.
I bought both my Megans and BC for 800 bucks shipped, full remove and replace deal, no reassembling parts. Teins were my worse money spent, only kept it on for a month - not sure about the super expensive ones. so you can add labor if you arent doing it either. i can change into coilovers in roughly an hour or so, three top nuts, and two lower bolts. its really the guys choice, im just throwing things out there. I cannot force or convince someone to get coilovers its your car. It seems like he knows a bit about suspension but asking about cheap springs is ironic.

yes 800-1000 dollar coilovers are not the best coilovers but they are true bang for buck, but honestly, with the revalving and customizable spring rates, you'd be surprised how it holds up to my friends that have 2000 dollar suspension, sometimes you don't notice the difference or sometimes they are worse. For daily driving its more than enough for occasional sporting, its fine - but thats not your interest you just want to fix it, so just replace the shocks and springs, done deal. but people need to understand there is no cons to coilovers these days, besides spending a couple hundred bucks more, but you get so much more flexibility.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jul 2, 2012 - 1:37 PM

[Box]

That was shipping included on that. My car came the way it is, if it was still stock I'd most likely save up and get the Tanabe coil-over set.

[trdproven]

yea coilovers are the way to go unless you go springs and just want a bit of a drop and still have OEM-ish, but coilovers can do a slight drop as well. never experienced tanabe coilovers

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jul 2, 2012 - 7:20 PM

[Box]

Seem like the best out there for the car, to me anyway. Drop more and are a little stiffer than the Tein coil-overs, and are made in Japan. Since I don't do "Made in China" when at all possible. I know people on here have Chinese made coil-overs, and love them. Just my personal preference.

[azian_advanced]

don't get tanabe's. they don't have damper adjustment or camber plates. only ride height adjustment.

[mak5603]

don't get tanabe's. they don't have damper adjustment or camber plates. only ride height adjustment.

Was going to say, but wasn't 100%.

Aren't most Teins built in Taiwan also? Not just Japan. Just sayin..

[Box]

Everything Tein is made in Japan, same with Tanabe. I'd just set it to the stiffest setting and leave it anyway. That and I never plan on adjusting height once on the car. Adjust camber, toe, etc... once they're on and leave it be.