Gen 4 Shocks, Springs, SB's, Wheels, Tires,

[number73forlife]

I'm looking at sprucing up my 1999 I4. I'm looking like the title says into upgrading the:

swaybars to either Whiteline or Addco.

Eibach Pro kit springs 1.2 inch drop all the way around.

New wheels in the form of Konig Troubles 15x6.5 16x7 or ASA JS5's 16x7 in Bridgestone Potenza 950's. Hopefully won't have rub problems?? I know I posted in the Fitments / offsets thread but I'm still waiting to hear inputs.

I don't really know whats quality and whats junk interms of aftermarket shocks. I know some people here have KYB I know some have Tokico. I want to upgarde asthetic appeal as well as the ride quality. I want it to handle better to a point but not be bone bashing and kidney busting.

This is my daily so I don't need to be a painful experience.

Any one have carbonfiber hoods other than OEM style. Only one I have found is the VIS Invader. I figure if I'm going to get a new hood it might as well be something with some shape and flow rather than just same design in diff material. Notice any better airflow or do they not really affect that? How they hold up? Any special care? Who runs pins and who doesn't? any problems either way?

Any benefit into Changing out Engine and AT oil coolers or will there not be much diff between OEM?

Thanks for input.

[bigbird]

well the springs uve picked are great and id go with the whiteline swaybar.

many people here have tokico and KYB. some say tocks are stiffer then kybs and some say kybs are a slightly softer ride. i went with tocks since ive had to many friends have their KYBs ware out quick, but thoes were higher performance then the GR2s people put on the gen 3s(dont know if theres a different model for the gen 4).

if ur goin for asthetics u may also wanna look into 17" wheels both for a firm ride and handeling. byt i wouldnt go smaller then 16x7, ull be shootin urself in the foot with the other suspension upgrades. the best is to get between a 40 and 35 offset for most with a 7" wheel but a little over or under that is ok. it also depends on ur tire width.

as far as the hood, the invader design doesnt really flow better, id be good if ur had a turbo or somthing that generated more heat but on a stock motor, most do it for looks. the VIS is ok but yellows after a while i hear, and the vent in the hood is great for letting more unwanted water into the engine bay durring fowl weather. it is lighter though. u may want pins since some say that the latch doesnt hold as well as the oem hood.

[number73forlife]

I hear a good deal about the yellowing so I'm Thinking nix that Cf hood idea and stick with Whiteline front and rear bars, MAYBE strut tower bar if I feel like throwing in another 170$ or what ever, the Eibach spring kit and Tokico Blue shocks, and nothing bigger than 16x7 in wheels with 205/55 status of tires. Any one else feel free to pipe up. More voices of experience the better. Thanks.

[eyeball96]

17X7 rims with 215/50 tires are great for a Daily Driver...16's will work tho..depends on the look ur going after, but no need to worry about ride quality with the 17's. Not sure u need a front SB! I understand the OEM one is pretty good! Rear..TRD is the only way to go!

[bigbird]

they dont make nor do u want a front sway bar. 16x7s work great, i had thoes for a long time. but i would go wider then 7" maby 7.5 or 8.

[number73forlife]

Thank you both. I know TRD doesn't make a front bar but both ADDCO and Whiteline do. I personally want my car to handle as flat as possible. I'm a large height wise person. I'm 6'4" and fairly built and muscular. So I hate the feeling of taking corners at speed on highways and quick around towning and sliding into the center console or going into the door. Why would I not want a front sway bar upgrade and or strut brace??? Thanks again.

[felonyr301]

If going with 16's only then try to get rims that are wider than 7". Try 16x8" or at least 16x7.5" it will look better.

[bigbird]

oh yeah...gen4 does have one, duh

well a strut tower brace is fine, it doesnt do much but for the price its ok. some have said that a FSB on the camry causes more understeer. besides, the rear sway bar is the one that u really need, the front may help on a gen4 but i wouldnt spend the money on it.

i would save ur money on the FSB and spend it on wider wheels and tires, thoes will make more of a differance then the FSB.

[audionut71]

#73 - I too have a '99 I4 LE and I just went with Eibachs and KYB GR2's about a month ago and I LOVE them! And I drive about 50k miles per year. I am now curious about how much effect the sway bar will have considering how flat the car corners now with the stocker and the new struts and springs.
I am switching from my stock 14" to 17x7's this week, I'll get back on the difference there.

[camry_ricer]

Eibach and Tokico!

[ONE_to_HATE]

Tein h.TECHS springs + KYB GR-2 struts + 215/50r17 tires = ALMOST STOCK but with a BIT MORE HANDLING.

[eyeball96]

Originally Posted by audionut71

#73 - I too have a '99 I4 LE and I just went with Eibachs and KYB GR2's about a month ago and I LOVE them! And I drive about 50k miles per year. I am now curious about how much effect the sway bar will have considering how flat the car corners now with the stocker and the new struts and springs.
I am switching from my stock 14" to 17x7's this week, I'll get back on the difference there.

I just installed a TRD RSB 3 days ago....It made an incrediable difference..totally different car...shocked the hell out of me!

[number73forlife]

Cool cool cool. Thanks all that have posted their experiences and thoughts. More the marrier . Also considering slotted front rotors DEF NOT DRILLED EVER if not for better stopping then just b/c I want to and b/c Toyota was lame and didn't do rear disks.

New part to the ?: I'm fairly certain I have a good handle on suspension components and their jobs amongst other things auto performance wise being as several people in my family race high end cars etc, Why does the RSB only in a camry make it handle better and adding the FSB would make it worse according to bigbird. My understanding if anything would be that eliminating slop and roll and poor parts would make it over steer if anything. You're making the car more sensitive by eliminating the slop etc. Not make it better with RSB only but worse if RSB and FSB???? Perhaps its b/c I havn't had the experience to ride in a car with no bars at all IE my friends junky accord he got for 300 bucks for a college communter but it feels like the entire car rolls and that the FSB would be needed too. I can't imagine there's that much diff beteween Gens' and their suspensions. Perhaps there is. Worse comes to worse I'll be the guinea pig for Gen 4's to do front and rears and see what happens.

I think im Fairly certain I'll avoid the strut brace and just stick wth bars - wheels - springs- and possibly maybe shocks if I get a steal on getting this all done. ANd like I said at the top, perhaps slot fronts.....perhaps.

Question of the Day: What company's brake rotors are cast with the holes intentionally in them so that drillling will not cause them to be prone to damage????

Hint: Their selling / marketing approach is "There is NO substitute".

[kpszar]

If you lower your car height, you should buy a chamber kit. The struts have to be at a good angle. If the angle is more away than a 90 degree, your stuts will blow out or wear down faster. My friends shop told me that and he recommends like anything .8 inches drop should be the most without a chamber kit. But I might be wrong.
And KYB are more like OEM but a little stiffer. I have Monroe Sensa Trak because it came with a good warrenty and it is like kyb in my opinion.
My friend has a subaru rs 1997 and he had like a 2 inch drope and blew his struts durring a month. So be carefull.

BTW
Slotted rotors makes your pads wear down fast. I took my drums at a local shop to be re surfaced and they slotted them in the inside:P

[Venom_5]

Whiteline makes a Front Strut Tower Bar, not a Front Sway Bar -- FSB would increase our understeer ... which is not what we want

i would go with TRD if you really want a good sway bar, but if you wanna save like $30 then get the Whiteline

i would also consider H&R's Sports because sometimes they come cheaper than Eibach's

also, dont go with 15's ... i think they look fine, but its worth it to bump up to 16s ... 17s are fine too, but no higher than that if you want a decent ride

if youre not going out on the track, get KYB's not Tokicos .... theyre not as stiff

there are a few companies that make CF OEM-style hoods, but the quality is unverified, so i would stick with the stock options