[Ukrainian102]

I want to lower my 95 AE102 a bit. I'm thinking the Eibach Pro-Kit, which gives the car about a 1 inch drop. Will this seriously compromise how comfortable the ride is, and also, should I upgrade the shocks, or is it fine to keep them stock?
Any other reccomendations of good kits to drop my Corolla would be appreciated.

 

[thespud]

lowering the car shouldnt make too much of a difference to the ride quality. It also depends on the type of suspension you have on your car... if you have the Super-Strut (which i doubt) they are already lowered as they come off of Levins, howerer they are only lowered about 1/2". The McPhearson Strut that comes standard on the 'rollas is fine. If they are old (around 50-75k miles is a good time), they may need to be replaced as they may be getting a bit tired and not holding u on the road.

I Have the Super-Strut fronts and McPhearson Rear (Due to front swap) and i find the Shocks are about the same ride quality, although it does give the car a funny, yet agressive front-facing stance. I also change my (gas lift) shocks at 100,000km for best performance. so in otherwords, so long as they not too old... the stock shocks should be fine, and the springs shouldnt make too much dif.

 

[Ukrainian102]

Thanks for the info. My corolla has about 73k on it, well maintained. It's completely stock right now, with both front and rear MacPhearson struts. Everything seems to be fine right now, I don't drive the car agressively on a regular basis, so I think the struts are holding me on the road fine. I want to lower my car mostly because of looks, not because of performance (not to say I wanna sacrifice performance, but increasing it is not a priority), so would you seriously reccomend replacing struts/shocks? Also, do you think I should go any lower than one inch?

By the way, if any of you have seen any pictures of what a lowered AE102 looks like, I'd like to check them out.

 

[thespud]

I would actually reccomend buying new struts, as you will be amazed at the difference they will make. When i said i get them for performance every 100,000km, i actually meant for best performance of the suspension. If you do alot of long distance travel, or alot of rough-road travel (for example i travel on corrugated dirt roads daily) the struts will get tired alot quicker. But i think it may be a good idea to get the struts done when you get the springs done, to save the hassel of doing them later.

BTW: you dont have to get performance struts, just a decent pair that will last a while.

 

[Ukrainian102]

Cool. So you're saying a new pair of stock shocks would be fine?

 

[thespud]

yeh. You may as well while your getting springs anyway.

 

[Chris Corolla S]

^ You could go for some KYB GR-2s, they are affordable and have a stockish ride quality while being a BIT stiffer to accomodate a small drop.

"By the way, if any of you have seen any pictures of what a lowered AE102 looks like, I'd like to check them out."

Check this out:
http://vvti.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3278
I just saw that car last night. It looks great with the JDM headlights and front end and it's lowered on TRD Japan springs (about 1.3 inches but stiffer than Eibach or TRD USA)

Here is the rest of that forum: http://vvti.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=40
There should be more AE102 lowered pics there:thumbup:

 

[Ukrainian102]

Alright. I checked out Tire Rack, and I don't think they make the KYB GR-2s for the 95 Corolla. I found only Koni Sports. Would you reccomend getting these? At $150 for front and $150 for rear, they seem kind of costly.

Anyway, I was also wondering how noticeable just a 1" drop would be without a body kit or lip. Maybe I should go with Eibach Sportline? Sportline is only .5" lower than the Pro-Kit, but they are cheaper. Any other brands you could suggest (like H&R?), and how far should I go with the drop?

One last question, if I lower my car, should I get an alignment kit?

 

[Chris Corolla S]

They do make GR-2s for your car. Remember that the suspensions of Corollas are essentially unchanged from 93-02.
http://www.kyb.com/catalog/index.php?Action=Submit&MakeID=Toyota&ModelID=547&x=68&y=8

The Koni Sports are expensive, but Koni is nice. The Tociko HPs are probably in between the KYB and the Koni in terms of stiffness and price. http://www.shox.com/appguide/shoxshop/productsdisplay.php

Remember, looks: lower suspension performance: lower suspension, but lower suspension means you have to have stiffer spring rates=less comfort. If you try to compensate with softer shocks then your ride will be bouncy. So if you go two inches I reccomend at lest getting Tociko HPs to keep it stiff. But this set-up won't be the most comfortable. If you are concerned with comfort just do a ~1-1.5 inch drop with stock shocks (if they are newer) or KYBs and you will be good. Anyway try asking people what the ride is like with the combos that they have.:thumbup:

As for alignment some people say always do it when you do anything to your suspension. That's probably the safest route. But lower than 2 inches and you will definitley need a four wheel alignment as well as maybe some camber plates to keep your tire wear even and your wheels on the road.

 

[Ukrainian102]

Ok thanks a lot!

One last thing, as far as mounts and boots go (if I get the KYBs) what will I need?

 

[Chris Corolla S]

As far as I know, all you need is new shocks. But if your car has a lot of miles, replacing the strut mounts might be a good idea...
I'm not sure on this though.

 

[thespud]

strut mounts start to get expensive tho... dont really wear out too quickly either..

 

[Ukrainian102]

How good are Intrax springs? Would you go with Intrax or Eibach Pro-Kit? Are they still a good combo with the GR2's?

 

[ssrrww]

Ukrainian102, I'm SRW from Taiwan
Here we have a Toyota club. Most of the members have a craze for modifying corolla, especially AE101/102.

There are some benefits and disadvantages coming from owering the car. If a good look is what you want, you may just replace the springs. But that would be good neither to the shocks or the ride quality, since the movement of the springs can not be adequately dampered.
So replace the springs and shocks at the same time.

H&R and Eibach Pro-kit are suitable for those who prefer a mild degree of improvement in ride performance. If you don't like that at all, just keep everything stock. However, replacing the parts with new ones would give you a better ride quality in terms of comfort (less harshness and vibration).

The strut mounts usually outlive the shocks. But check the mounts when you replace the shocks or springs. I suggest you to replace all these parts at the same time, because replacement of any of them (front McPherson suspension in particular) would cause change to the the alignment settings. That means you need an alignment even when you only have the strut mount replaced.

 

[Ukrainian102]

Ok thanks for your help. I think I'll go with the Eibach Pro-Kit and KYB GR2 struts. I'll ask a mechanic if my strut mounts need replacement.