Suspension Question

[Kiasis]

Sorry to beat this dead horse, folks, but I've cruised the FAQ and searched - maybe not enough, but w/o an answer yet.

99 LE 4-cyl. My commute to work is back country road. Need to replace my rear struts and front strut mounts. Think maybe this is a good time to make the commute a bit more fun and safer.

Would like to lower a bit and upgrade struts. Perhaps add sway bar and replace/upgrade things like stabilizer bars and links if recommended.

My commute is typically 70-90 mph over roads that have some humps, bumps, dips, and a couple small pot-holes (to be avoided). So, anything I do (e.g., lowering) still needs clearance. I assume that stiffer struts (thinking Tokico) and well-matched springs (thinking Intrax) while lowering a bit, still have about the same amount of wheel clearance because they are stiffer and don't compress as much as stock set-up.

Please straighten me out where I'm making bad assumptions....

Not looking to lose all comfort (still have to haul the in-laws and folks around when they visit). Just want my commute to be a bit more fun (and safe).

So, who votes for Tokico/Intrax as a decent sport/comfort compromise and who thinks I'm way off base? Also, what brand of sway bars does anyone recommend and is there any other pars (bars/links) that can be upgraded, etc, etc.

Thanks for any and all useful input.

p.s. - tires are next, so advice on new rims and tire size also much appreciated. Thanks.

[Mike Gerber]

I'm not an expert on aftermarket suspension mods, but if you are driving on back county roads as you mentioned above, I would not even consider lowering the car. I would recommend the Monroe Quick Struts all around as a good compromise. They are a bit stiffer than stock springs and struts IMHO and will still offer a comfortable ride. They are an easy DIY install.

Also, your car already has front and rear sway bars right from the factory. If you want to upgrade the sway bars you will have to go to larger diameter sway bars.

Mike

[number73forlife]

Agree on the Monroe's. When my front end died and was rattling like a box of rox, I got em and am very pleased. As for bars. Whiteline makes supreme product. You pay fairly handsomely but it is well worth it. globalperformanceparts.com is in MI or WI I think and does 2 day shippage I think. 155$ a bar I believe. They advertise something like 150% increase in stiffness over OEM. I personaly wouldn't go over 16 's. Guys here have 19's and up but you have to roll fenders and make sidewall sacrifices. Bridgestone Potenza series 950 I think is this years series and BF Goodrich Traction TA's are quality tires with reasonablely high longevity. You can go other routes of course. Just my .02

[Kiasis]

I've seen the complete set-ups and wondered about them - seems like a good idea. When you say easy, I assume I still need to compress the old springs (which I'm told is never easy). Is that the case?

As for wheels, I was thinking 16 max. What size tires would you recomend?

I thinking of getting the whiteline sway bar for the rear. Does getting the front give me much more or is the rear the one that matters most?

Thanks for the feeback - much appreciated!!

[Venom_5]

in terms of sway bar, it depends on what youre trying to get rid of ... however for most applications just that whiteline rear sway bar should be fine ... maybe a front strut tower too if youre picky

and KYB's might also be a good choice, i know alot of ppl get those put on their gen3s at least

[Blackhawk3D]

I have intrax and tokicos, it's awesome. I don't have a RSB yet, but am getting one. You won't have problems on any normal road, speedbumps can be a hazard if taken too fast or if they are just too high, and it will be alot stiffer than stock. I knew all this, and wanted all this, so I love mine. YMMV.

Nathan

[Kiasis]

Did you have to change any other parts (strut bearing plates, mounts, etc) when you went away from OEM? Oh, and here's potentially dumb-ass question...

I see that Tokico makes a strut/spring/mount plate combo. Why did you mix n' match Tokico and Intrax? Just curious. Do the Tokico struts have a good rep and the springs a bad one?

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by Kiasis

I've seen the complete set-ups and wondered about them - seems like a good idea. When you say easy, I assume I still need to compress the old springs (which I'm told is never easy). Is that the case?

No, there is no need to compress the springs. The Monroe Quick Struts come with new springs already installed. That's the beauty of them. Less work and everything is brand new.

Mike

[Kiasis]

So.... it's basically take off the wheel and disassemble whatever else, remove the strut, spring, and mount plate as a unit and insert new ones? I really like that idea . My time to get dirty and pay for just the alignment = mucho cheaper!!

No BOING gonna happen to me? Even the shop that replaced the fronts (but not the rattling mount plates godamnit) had a guy wearing a bandage around his partially severed thumb from a spring compressor accident

I could really do w/o that! I'm too old to learn how to type w/ less than 10 fingers

Sorry, got carried away w/ the stupid faces....

Recomendations much appreciated.

[triggerhappy007]

Originally Posted by Kiasis

I see that Tokico makes a strut/spring/mount plate combo. Why did you mix n' match Tokico and Intrax? Just curious. Do the Tokico struts have a good rep and the springs a bad one?

When I was looking for struts/springs last year, I searched for the Tokico struts and springs combo, but all the vendors said they couldn't get them. I ended up getting Tokico and H&R springs since I found the springs on sale at $160.

[Mike Gerber]

"Even the shop that replaced the fronts (but not the rattling mount plates godamnit)"


Had they used the Monroe Quick Struts, the mounts would have also been new and your rattling would have probably gone away (unless it was caused by the swaybar endlinks). That's why I first used them in the rear of my 98 Camry. I wasn't sure what was making the rattling sound and using the shotgun approach of the Monroe Quick Struts replaced everything with new parts; and I didn't have to work as hard.

Mike

[Kiasis]

I appreciate all you've said, Mike. I will probably go w/ the Quick Strut, unless I can find a slightly stiffer setup, but one that's as complete as the Monroe (don't wanna chance that severed finger). I've been reading that the Monroe isn't much different from the stock ride, and there seems to be some criticism out there that the Monroe Sesa-trac technology is behind most others. Probably not a big deal and not something I could tell while driving.

However, I do think adding some stiffness will help my situation. I found one other complete setup, called Strutmaster, but know absolutely nothing of their rep or quality. I don't know if what they offer is OEM type or after-market stiffening type. More research there, I guess, and a phone call to their shop.

I am thinking of changing my stabilizer bar to a Whiteline anti-sway bar. That will add approximately 140% stiffness, according to the Whiteline conversion chart. My concern is that if I don't match the stabilizer stiffness increase when I change the struts/springs that I may have a suspension out of whack with itself, causing anything from an excessive parts wear situation to a downright dangerous situation.

A little lower would be fine, but not a lot. And not lower at all is ok as long as stiffening things up prevents the body roll I get now. However, probably anything is gonna be better than my OEM original rears w/ 160K miles on them.

Yes, slowing down is an option, just not one I prefer considering the roads have little to no traffic and are fun to drive.

[Mike Gerber]

"However, probably anything is gonna be better than my OEM original rears w/ 160K miles on them."


I was going to say that if you didn't. I couldn't believe the difference in the stiffness of the rear suspension on my 98 after changing to the Quick Struts at only 100,000 miles.

Mike