What kind of 2nd Gen Lowering setup do you have?

[joeykrim]

Hi All,

I'm on 10 yr old Intrax Springs and 10 yr old KYB GR-2 struts in front and 1 yr old KYB GR-2 struts in back (replaced under warranty). With 17" wheels and 215/40/17 tires.
Currently the front two wheels will rub when going over a deep pothole or cornering really hard. I've already had the front fenders slightly flared. Before I flare the front fenders anymore, I wanted to hear what setups other people are using to lower their 2nd Gen Camry and how well they are working?
I'm wondering if it might be time to replace the springs, and if so, would it be best to try and find a local dealer in NYC (originally all parts were installed in Washington State) who can warranty out Intrax, or go with a completely different setup? If going with a completely different setup is the best idea, what are the lowering setups other Gen 2 owners are having good luck with?
Thanks!

Joey

EDIT: Also what size tires/rims are you using with the lowered setup?

[91 Camry]

I'm running Intrax and KYB. had em on for about a year now.

However, I may soon go with the coilover route. 90-93 celica coilovers.
More flexibility of ride height and all that. I have megan coilovers on my 3000gt and love them

[white90dx]

I have run the Intrax+Tokico combo on my first two Camrys... it was ok, but like you said, it rubs. Its not the outer fender though - it is the upper inner fenders. The tread part of the tire comes in contact with a sheet metal seam up in there. Take a look. You might also get rubbing at full steering lock on the front inner fender liners, depending on tire size, wheel offset and fronts swaybar settings (if you have the Whiteline bar). You may just need to replace your bump stops to reduce the rubbing, or go with B&G springs - they don't lower the car as much in the front based on what I have seen.

I currently run Tein SS coilovers on my Alltrac - but that option doesn't apply to the FWD chassis.

-Charlie

[joeykrim]

Originally Posted by 91 Camry

I'm running Intrax and KYB. had em on for about a year now.

However, I may soon go with the coilover route. 90-93 celica coilovers.
More flexibility of ride height and all that. I have megan coilovers on my 3000gt and love them

i did a little bit of research on the 90-93 celica coilovers. link #4 from google brought me back to here
90-93 celica coilovers into a gen2 with a post by atobe talking about installing them on his camry. after reading through all the posts in that thread, it seems to be a bit too complex for me. i've had enough alignment issues with my current lowering setup over the years and am not sure i have the time or technical know-how to put these on a daily driver.

Originally Posted by white90dx

I have run the Intrax+Tokico combo on my first two Camrys... it was ok, but like you said, it rubs. Its not the outer fender though - it is the upper inner fenders. The tread part of the tire comes in contact with a sheet metal seam up in there. Take a look. You might also get rubbing at full steering lock on the front inner fender liners, depending on tire size, wheel offset and fronts swaybar settings (if you have the Whiteline bar). You may just need to replace your bump stops to reduce the rubbing, or go with B&G springs - they don't lower the car as much in the front based on what I have seen.

I currently run Tein SS coilovers on my Alltrac - but that option doesn't apply to the FWD chassis.

-Charlie

seems there are two main areas mentioned where the rubbing is taking place: upper inner fenders - sheet metal seam and front inner fender liners (i fixed this one by zip tying the black plastic fender liner to my CAI tube). i do have the whiteline sway bar and installed it 8-9 yrs ago so i'm not sure what setting its currently on... is there a way to prevent the upper inner fenders - sheet metal seam from rubbing? i won't have a chance to see the car until saturday so i'm speculating right now. wheel offset, tire size, (i'd prefer not to change those but if i have no choice, i have no choice). anyway to perhaps file down the seam?

i did some quick research on bump stops and found a nice quick picture - http://www.civinfo.com/wiki/index.ph...ose_bump_stops . do these commonly go bad over time and/or go bad specifically on the kyb gr-2 struts? would they be able to replace just the part on the kyb gr-2 strut or just order a whole new strut assembly?

another thought i just had, which hasn't been mentioned, would it be possible for the intrax springs to sag over a 10 yr period? the front end of the car, looks to me, as if its much lower now than it originally was when first lowered.

thanks for all the help and feedback. the more issues i'm aware of the better i can research and work on a more permanent resolution!

[white90dx]

I don't really worry about the rubbing on the front part of the plastic fender liner - this is caused partially by the lowering and partially by the front swaybar 'pulling' the wheels forward to add caster. You can put the spacers (that came with the swaybar) in place to reduce the front rubbing, but then you loose caster... I never worried about that rubbing.

The inner fender rubbing is due to wider tires/wheels. I just avoid turning all the way to full lock...

As for the sheet metal seam, I pounded it down as much as a could with a hammer, forward, so there is less chance of it cutting the tire. This is caused by the wider tires and the suspension going lower than designed (not ride height, but bump travel). When you installed the springs, did you cut part of the bump stop off? Even if you didn't, by now it is probably disintegrated. It is there to limit wheel travel to reduce/prevent the rubbing from happening, and was actually a 'designed' part of the ride height and handling of the stock car. You can replace just the bump stop without replacing other parts, but you have to completely disassemble the strut assembly to do it.

Over time, the spring probably have sagged, making the problem worse. (low springs, bad/missing bump stops = too much bump (upward) suspension travel)

-Charlie

[joeykrim]

Originally Posted by white90dx

The inner fender rubbing is due to wider tires/wheels. I just avoid turning all the way to full lock...

As for the sheet metal seam, I pounded it down as much as a could with a hammer, forward, so there is less chance of it cutting the tire. This is caused by the wider tires and the suspension going lower than designed (not ride height, but bump travel). When you installed the springs, did you cut part of the bump stop off? Even if you didn't, by now it is probably disintegrated. It is there to limit wheel travel to reduce/prevent the rubbing from happening, and was actually a 'designed' part of the ride height and handling of the stock car. You can replace just the bump stop without replacing other parts, but you have to completely disassemble the strut assembly to do it.

Over time, the spring probably have sagged, making the problem worse. (low springs, bad/missing bump stops = too much bump (upward) suspension travel)

-Charlie

I had the springs and struts installed at Les Schwab in 2001 .. have no idea what was done or not done. I would go back to Les Schwab, as they usually stand by their lifetime warranty and see if they would replace the springs, but I don't think they have a shop east of the Utah/Idaho/Montana region or even a shop around/near NYC.
I had a chance to take the car out yesterday and drove to a decent shop in Jersey City. They said the bump stops were completely disintegrated, which you had predicted.
They said the KYB struts aren't leaking but the bump stops are gone. They sent if I wanted to go through TireRack, as they're a TireRack installer, they would charge 2 hrs labor to replace both front bump stops. They showed me the part at TireRack, http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/S...0&autoModClar= , as the KYB Strut Boot. TireRack doesn't seem to carry the two front KYB struts, only the rear two.
NYC and Jersey, in this area, have a tooonn of pot holes and poor roads. II'm not sure on the average life of the KYB GR-2 Struts. Would it be worthwhile to have the front 2 KYB struts replaced (10 yrs old) while I'm already paying $150 for labor to replace the bump stops?
Thanks for all the help and feedback!