Just a newbie with some questions, springs, struts, and a bio Options

[Timmah]

*please forgive my ignorance and move this post to the correct section if required*

How's it going? Being new I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Tim, I'm a 20 year old college student from Maryland and I am the proud owner of a 97 ST. I've been visiting this site for a while and I must say that I like what I see. I honestly don't know much about cars but I am learning and you guys have certainly helped with that. The amount of knowledge on this site is amazing and being a philosophy major , I am loving this site more and more as I'm diggin' through it. Alright, enough about me.

I've been researching this site about struts and springs and I'm playing with the idea of getting Eibach Sportslines and KYB GR-2 shocks. From what I have read, this would be a good setup to improve handling. In a few years I plan on doing the 3s-gte swap. Now here is where my questions come into play.

First: Since I have 16 inch rims on my car, will that suspension setup cause any negative side affects that I would have to fix, I.E. realignment, camber adjustments, etc.

Second: Later on after I do the swap, assuming I now have those parts installed, would that setup be good enough to handle the increased horsepower/torque when driving? If not, what other springs and struts would be able to handle the increased power?

Third: Should other parts of the suspension, besides the struts assuming they are ok, be upgraded in order to handle the increased power? If so, what parts?

Hope you guys don't mind the long post. I'm just trying to be as clear as I can so there is no confusion. I would like to upgrade my suspension first before I even consider dropping in a 3s-gte. I just want to make sure I get it right the first time so I wouldn't have to worry about wasting money on new parts after the swap. Thanks for your help guys!

[macavely]

welcome tim..

Sportlines should be just fine for now with your 16's your only going to get a 1inch and half drop and the kyb's are great but they are just oem stock replacements... so if your having a shop install them make sure that includes a alignment... (aslo with any kind of suspension word done to your car)

as for it being about to handle the power... it should but i wouldn't know first hand since i don't have that kinda power...

but you might want to upgrade the sway bars and get tower bars for both front and back... and upgrade the brakes... if your going to have more power your going to want to have more stopping power

[Coomer]

Hey Tim. Welcome to the site.

I have the Sportlines/KYB combo on my car, and handling is good, though I really wish I would've saved up the extra $400 and gone with the Koni Yellows, as the KYB struts and shocks are simply a replacement for stock, rather than a high performance solution.

You will need a four wheel alignment after you install the springs and shocks so that your camber will be correct. Your suspension setup will handle the power from a 3S-GTE just fine, though with the added power, I'll imagine that you'll want upgraded handling as well.