Update on the TRD Spring Fiasco, And a review of my new suspension.... Options

[jgreening]

Anyone following my last several posts about my suspension upgrades knows that I have been having a heck of a time getting my new springs and struts to work. By the way, I bought KYB's and TRD's. When we first tried to put the parts on, we noticed that the OEM front strut housing was crimped and did not have a part to either screw off or a demarcation line where they would be cut for purposes of inserting the cartridges. We called tirerack (where I got the struts) and they said the strut housings should just unscrew. They didn't. I did some research here and read a few posts where persons with both the sport package struts and the convertible said that they had similar problems. Well, I thought that maybe I just needed to have the full strut housing. So, I ordered new full front struts from Toyota. I took it bent over but, hey, problem solved.

Next problem was that the TRD front springs were too small to fit in the seat for the front struts. After several phone calls to TRD, the Toyota dealer, measuring struts and springs, and TRD checking with TRD Japan, it turns out that TRD put MR2 springs in my Celica spring box!!! I was initially pretty upset as you would imagine but I have to hand it to TRD. They stepped up to the plate. They paid for shipping the old ones back, shipping the correct springs to me and gave me $75 to boot for installation (which is what I asked for). All in all, I would say excellent customer service.

Now, for the good part. The car looks and drives absolutely fantastic. I have installed the ST front and rear anti-sway bars, TRD springs, the KYB struts in the back, and OEM replacement struts in the front. The performance difference from installing the sway bars and springs is simply incredible. The car feels like a go-cart in the corners. Also, nose dive from breaking, nose bobs when spirited shifting and body roll are all dramatically reduced. The best part, in my opinion, is the struts. I debated a long time about getting koni yellows or going OEM replacements. I opted for the OEM replacements to avoid a punishing ride feel at the risk of performance deficiencies. What sealed the deal for me was the reviews of the koni's on carreview.com. You will notice that both here and there people rave about the performance gains. I have no doubt. But, I just didn't want to be punished everytime I hit a small bump. In fairness, I have never been in car with them but plenty of reviewers indicated that even on the softest setting they were quite stiff and choppy on less than perfect roads.

Bottom line, I need no additional performance gains from my struts and I am very happy with my ride comfort.

Finally, there is post after post on here that says the TRD springs offer a 1" drop. Let me clear this up. They are all WRONG. The drop was about 1.75-2". The look is stunning! I took some pics tonight (with my new wheels too) and I will get them up when they are developed. Woot for TRD!

This post has been edited by jgreening: Jun 5, 2004 - 11:02 PM

[3FingersCelica]

I was under the impression that the TRD springs are just eibach's.

[jgreening]

I have heard that as well. I do not know if its truth or legend. I looked at other pics of cars with them on and they looked lower than the pro-kit to me but were advertised as 1-1.5 inches. Thats why I bought them. I wanted to improve performance and kill the fender gap without getting a harsh ride.

This post has been edited by jgreening: Jun 6, 2004 - 2:22 AM