6G Celicas Forums

Got my bilstein shocks/struts... What springs would ya'll recommend to compliment em?

I'm on Tein/Billstein and the only complaint I've gotten is the ride quality. Other than that they are very nice and perform well.

isn't that right though? you sacrifice performance for comfort? So ur setup is somewhat for racing... ?

I'm planning on doing a bilstein and H&R setup. My friend used them and said that they're stiff enough to give you a much updated response, but soft enough to not jar you around, and lasted for years without wearing out.

-TC

Exactly - actually I should say the only complaint my GF has is the comfort - perfectly fine IMO.

i've been trying to decide if i should go for the Bilstein's or not. But my decision now is GR-2's or Koni yellows. I kno, I kno, 2 sides of the spectrum, but I'm either going to spend little money to replace the OEM's for GR-2s to get decent handling gain with good ride quality, or Koni's to deal with the sum-what lower ride quality but have significant handling gain.

Its looking like eibach pro kit springs for now, but that's still open for research and descution.

ok blistens are about the same price as kybs. actually about $2 cheaper than gr2. this is the place to get them. i only bought the front blisten inserts

http://www.shockwarehouse.com/index.cfm?mo...ected_year=1994

whole set of blisten touring shocks cost $344.50

whole set of kyb gr2 struts cost $295.22 the kyb are on a special right now till the end of this month. one the sale is over the price of both kyb and blisten will be around the same price. The shipping is free!!!

koni are just way to expensive just save up for some megan coilovers. trdproven has them and they have been working great for him. those cost about $950

just checked out horsepowerfreaks.com and koni's cost $812 plus shipping. Plus whatever springs you want $150-200. which is up to a grand plus if you need to replace the front or rear suspension mounts.

so just stay with kyb or blisten and then go for coilovers, or just get coilovers from the beggining. you can adjust everything on the megan coilovers....

Shox.com has good prices on Koni's, cheapest i've seen. Not to mention you can get either Eibach spring for just a little over what horsepowerfreaks.com charges just for the shocks. alot of their prices are fairly resonable.

I'm an autocross nut, most of my modifications have autocross (or "budget" autocross lol) in mind. Koni's are the baseline for stock class, and if you add your choice of spring rate on Ground Control sleeves, you have a set up that (in my opinion) would be more beneficial. Simultaniously adjust the rebound and bump stiffness on the shock, while ride height is adjustable, AND you have a spring rate that you choose and believe will suit your driving style (of course you can always just tell G.C. what kind of driving you are doing, and they will choose for you along with what kind of car you are driving). Some people believe that coilovers is the way to go and they do well with them (Tigawoods for example), some people believe otherwise. Look around enough and a Koni/G.C. set up is yours for less then $1000.
*again im not knocking coilovers, just voiceing my opinion

KYB's are said to be a great balance of ride quality and mild handling capabilities. Paired with a spring of your choice, it's not too shabby.

I've just heard that Bilsteins are fairly stiff for just a shock, but i guess it's almost the happy medium between KYB's ride quality and Koni's performance, though i havn't heard too much about the Bilstein performance, just ride quality lol

hmm that's a fairly reasonable price. pretty cheap i would say. ya i wouldnt mind getting the koni's cause that site has them for a good price. But with 16" tires and 45 profile tires the is just to much of a wheel gap.

if your doing autocross those konis would be fine with some lowering springs. Excpet I wouldn't get those ground control sleeves, they mess with the performance of the struts. koni only warranties their shocks if you dont go lower then 1.5 inches and going up to 3 inch drop with ground control sleeves wouldnt be such a great idea. But then again what do i know im still learning...

^Ground Control apparently has a partnership with Koni, or they just plain go hand in hand. That combo is the major choice in the autocross world. Going 3" would probably damage your strut, yes, but also when tuning for autox, lower isn't always better (depending on the driving style). My buddy has the combo, and every year since he got the Ground Controls and Koni's, he actually raised the car due to his driving style. That and his stiff spring rates (this season: 650 F, 850 R) and manages to drive it daily since it's his one car.

You do have to modify the struts depending on the make, but with Koni's i havn't heard any complaints with install.

the Kyb Gr2 are cheaper here http://www.car-stuff.com/store/?Ntt=struts...94963896%2B1725

Alrighty, well what would be the next step down from Teins? I'd like something to drop it down but not so firm that it sucks as a daily driver...

Your best bet is the TRD Springs its a 1" drop all around but hard to find. "Improved handling while maintaining a good ride quality" -In parts database descriptions.

http://www.6gc.net/parts/8

there is a thread that shows the stiffness for each lowering springs. trd are prettty darn stiff

teins are not very stiff, actually softer than stock in the rear
here are some spring rates:
stock: 2.9 kg/mm front, 2.3 rear
tein: 3.9f, 2.2r
df210: 3.1f, 2.8r
nf210: 2.9f, 2.3r
gh210: 3.5f, 3.0r
TRD: 4.1f, 2.9r
megans. 5.7f, 4.47r

This post has been edited by BonzaiCelica: Jul 5, 2009 - 10:27 PM