Suspension go boom--springs or shocks?

[awdark]

So I'm still not really sure if my springs are messed up or my shocks or blown or something on my 1991 Corolla DX...

Whenever I brake hard/turn >20mph my car will slam and go *BONK BONK BONK* (just once if braking). In my thread a month back, I was told the shocks were gone.. but I'm still having doubts.

I can push my car all the way down with just four fingers on the hood (try it against a table and see how hard you can push!) but with my mom's 2004??Corolla S, I can barely get it to budge with my entire palm and body leaning against it... Is the AE92 suspension really supposed to be that soft?

So I got my buddy to record it, maybe it'll help.. it's just 436 KB: http://s87667772.onlinehome.us/susp.avi
Yah that's me asking if he feels my suspension... DUH of course he feels it he's bouncing up and down!

[emiliorescigno]

My SR5 has a similar problem, no bonk bonk bonk, but the suspension feels like jello compared to my sedan, it makes me want to redo all my springs/shocks, but then I remember I'm poor...

[redgtxdi]

Hmm.........interesting. I'm trying to learn as much as I can since my cars are coming of age & I'm only used to old-school torsion & leafspring suspensions.

Ya' just change out the shocks with 2 bolts & you're done!!!

I'm not used to this strut/spring crap.

What I'm curious about is why my '95's suspension is to quick to bottom out in the back. I'm used to my Camry dipping rather low in the back. Now this '95 Prizm (rolla) has a similar front suspension,(fairly soft, fairly long-travel) but then the back feels like it's got shorty shocks on the back. Back is brutally stiff & tight. Feels like there's about 2 inches of travel!

?????????

[REN69]

Mine just bottoms out on either car, but my 90 GTS has OEM struts so its not as bad but its more woobly. The 89 GTS has KYB struts and its stiffer but when you go over a bump its always.. BANG! Both cars have APEX springs.

[redgtxdi]

OK, so nothing unusual then, right??


I notice it lifts & descends nicely if I'm going over softer bumps (read that, "rolls"), but speed bumps, dips, etc give a regular bump in the front, then more of a *suspension bottomed-out* in the rear.

I guess it'll never have the rear end *sag* like my Camry, eh? LOL!!

[Project92]

i have Intrax on KYB's and i can't go through most bumps without a boom....


,... do youthink its the 1.7 drop?.. or the kyb stiffness?..


yea.. i was also stupid enuf to put 17in. SSR GT3's on my car... no front wheel gap

[REN69]

I'm thinking its the KYBs being too stiff.. I'm actually thinking of keeping the KYB GR2s on the back but switching to KYB AGX for the fronts.. I just can't figure out which Celica year of KYB AGX is the compatible one with AE92s. anyone know??

[89yotarollagts]

that would be a great thing to find out im in the market for struts... u are sure that a certain year will work right ? let me know As soon as u can

[Waghle]

hm, well i was gonna say springs, but then i realized , that the 1/4th of the weight of the car is on it too..., just change the struts

[REN69]

Originally Posted by 89yotarollagts

that would be a great thing to find out im in the market for struts... u are sure that a certain year will work right ? let me know As soon as u can

Yeah it does.. there was someone selling an AE92 about a month or so ago, he had AGX from a Celica at the front.. I pm'd him to ask him which year and he wasn't sure which one it was.. I'm betting my money on ST165 Celicas which most likely had a lot of shared components with the AE92s.

[Project92]

so its really the struts? .... damn... GR2's were good on my friend's accord.. would tokiko blues be any better??

[Chris Corolla S]

Generally shocks wear out before springs. The springs suspend the car and the shocks controll the motion. If you push down the car and let it go, it should return to the top and stop. If it bounces a bit before it stops, then the shocks need replacing.
Lowering McPherson strut suspended cars is problematic if you don't use shorter shock bodies. Stock-replacement struts like Tociko Blues and KYB GR-2s are meant for stock height springs. The barely stiffer spring rates of most lowering springs are not enough to keep them off the bump stops when combined with a stock shock or even something like a GR-2. The shocks are working out of their effeciency range when they are set up for longer travel. The Tocikos may be stiff enough to help but they will not last as long as they would at stock height. The only real solution is damper sets that have matched short-stroke shocks and coil-over springs.

[Project92]

Hmm,, so is it Supposed to go boom?.... feels like my car is gonna break up, is it safe though?...


i can't seem to find any "damper set" for my 1991 Corolla GTS =\

[89yotarollagts]

what do u recomend we do then

[Chris Corolla S]

I wouldn't call bottoming out the suspension over "most bumps" normal.

It's probably due to using springs that drop to much without stiff enough rates, especially you intrax guy. Intrax springs kind of suck. Probably switching to Eibach pro-kit will help. it only has like a 1.3 inch drop with about the same rates as others which drop the car 1.7 inches. Having shocks that are too stiff will not make your car bottom out. The car bouncing shows that the motion is not controlled, i.e., the shocks are not stiff enough. This is what happens when you lower a car with stock shocks or shocks meant to be OEM replacements like KYBs. I think using a stiffer shock like a Koni or Tokico would help, or getting a taller spring, or both.
-Chris