Finally lowered my car Pics

[Camry2000]

These pics were taken Feb 2nd, 2003. The car has settled a bit so I need to take new pictures. Unfortunately it is below freezing and snowed last night in Chicago.

I went with used TRD/Eibach Solara Springs 1.2"F/1.6"R drop with TRD/Bilstein Struts. There is basically no fender gap in the rear and a tad less than 2 fingers in the front. Handling is phenominally different. Ride is definitely firmer but not as bad as I had expected.


http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290730353

Rear Driver side, a little less than 1 finger gap (it has settled a bit more since this pic was taken)


Rear passenger side


Front driver side. A tad less than 2 finger gap. I am still running on 2 steelie spares. LOL! I'm ordering two new tires for the front rims in the spring.


Front passenger side.

[Camry2000]

Oh, many thanks to Luc for the install. Luc and I was able to get it done start to finish in about 3 1/2 hours.

[rpj1984]

How hard was the installtion. I am going to do mine next weekend. Do you have any pointers? Any specific parts i will need. I know i will need a spring compressor, but i will just rent one for a day. If you have anything else, pointers are helpful. Thanks
Ohh..your drop looks great
Ryan

[Luc]

Get an impact wrench (I have an electric one) with deep sockets to take the strut-to-steering axle/axle carrier nuts off. A breaker bar would work, but you'll have exerted too much force to do so. But spray some WD40 first on all the nuts/bolts since they can be a bit tough to turn at first. These were the tools I used: 1) two torque wrenches, 3/8" with 10-80 ft-lbs, and 1/2" with up to 250 ft-lbs., 2) rachet with 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm sockets, 3) 5mm allen key, 4) (adjustable) crescent wrench, 5) 3/4" and 7/8" deep sockets, 6) and of course, jack and jack stands. I recommend doing one end at a time. We did the rear first, since the seat, rear side armrests, C-pillar panels, rear deck, brake light cover, and outside seatbelt retensioners had to be taken off so the rear strut mount bolts could be revealed. Before you completely take the struts out, support the bottom of the axle carrier with the jack, so you don't pull on the brake line or speed sensor (if available). Definitely have another person to help you out, especially with removal/installation of the struts and springs.

[EKam]

Holy the rear is lowwww. :o

Red struts definitely looks nice. 8)

[Phi]

You need a sticker that says "Fat chics make mah car go scraaaape!"

Keep the spares on. They're JDM yo!

[Camry2000]

Originally Posted by ElegantKamuri

Holy the rear is lowwww. :o

Red struts definitely looks nice. 8)

LOL! The rears are really low man. Even Rookie Solara commented that I was sitting lower than his coilovers on his lowest settings!

[Camry2000]

Originally Posted by Phi

You need a sticker that says "Fat chics make mah car go scraaaape!"

Keep the spares on. They're JDM yo!

Luckily my car does not scrape when I park it in my garage. However I had to relearn how to enter supermarket parking lots. I already got bitten twice. Doh!

The spares are mad tite yo! It's my race prepped look.

[Camry2000]

Originally Posted by Luc

Get an impact wrench (I have an electric one) with deep sockets to take the strut-to-steering axle/axle carrier nuts off. A breaker bar would work, but you'll have exerted too much force to do so. But spray some WD40 first on all the nuts/bolts since they can be a bit tough to turn at first. These were the tools I used: 1) two torque wrenches, 3/8" with 10-80 ft-lbs, and 1/2" with up to 250 ft-lbs., 2) rachet with 10mm, 12mm, and 14mm sockets, 3) 5mm allen key, 4) (adjustable) crescent wrench, 5) 3/4" and 7/8" deep sockets, 6) and of course, jack and jack stands. I recommend doing one end at a time. We did the rear first, since the seat, rear side armrests, C-pillar panels, rear deck, brake light cover, and outside seatbelt retensioners had to be taken off so the rear strut mount bolts could be revealed. Before you completely take the struts out, support the bottom of the axle carrier with the jack, so you don't pull on the brake line or speed sensor (if available). Definitely have another person to help you out, especially with removal/installation of the struts and springs.

Too add to what Luc said. An impact wrench, WD40, torque wrenches and a second set of hands is a must. What takes the most time, also most dangerous, is compressing and de-compressing the springs. Given a wall mounted professional spring compressor, we could probably have done the install in under 3 hours! Good luck on your install.

[Camdaddy]

Some PB blaster would work also. I usually use PB blaster spray it and let is set for a while and then hit it with an impact or with a socket with a really big Breaker bar.

[CamrySpeaksJL]

for my 9 year-old car, an impact wrench was the ONLY way we could get the shock bolts off. just hit it with some WD-40 or some Liquid Wrench (A+ stuff) and get a bulky impact wrench with a nice big compressor, and youll be fine. It took me about 16 hours total over two days to do my suspension, but it was me working on it pretty much by myself, and it took for fvcking ever to get those damn springs compressed and decompressed. yeah, i know, youre thinking "16 hours! what the hell was this guy doing??" i took it slow to make sure i didnt fvck anything up, and again, i did most of the work in my freezing cold garage, and im 17.

hey, the ride looks great, btw!!

[rpj1984]

Thanks for all the help guys. I will be tackling the project with a couple of people so i think with this info, the instructions, and the Haynes manual we should be able to do this. I will post pics once i am finished. Thanks again
Ryan

[Luc]

Originally Posted by Camry2000

Given a wall mounted professional spring compressor, we could probably have done the install in under 3 hours!

You know, we'll have to invest in one of those one day probably, for preparations of when we do sell our cars, so far, I can think of 6!! :o Or just go with the disposable $8 ones.