NEAR-STOCK IMPROVEMENTS

[gleichnerr]

If I were to replace my struts, and maybe also the springs (if it's worthwhile). What would you suggest, considering the following:<P>I drive my car year-round, and need sufficient clearance for snow. I would guess that any lowering should be slight / minimal??<P>It has to be road-worthy, and able to handle P-O-S Wisconsin roads / Milwaukee Streets. It should also work well with my stock GS rims and new Bridgestone RE-720s.<P>I would probably prefer to not mess around with adjustable units.<P>I'm willing to pay upper middle bucks, but don't want to go broke in the process.<P>The Stock GS setup seems to work well, and had been very durable (103K miles - still all original). I presently like the ride quality - it's a good balance of good cornering and comfort. However, I have not experienced what a "tweaked" suspension rides like.<P>My guess would be to look at something that works well with high-quality, variable-rate springs.<P>Your input would be appreciated - it would be best to hear from any of you who have actually used the setup that you suggest. It would probably also be good to hear things to "avoid like the plaque".

[ProtegeSTS]

Id go with something like Suspension Techniques Sport springs, or Eibach pro-kit. These only lower the car about 1 inch, and will only stiffen the car minimally. For struts, Tokico blues, KYB GR2s, or the ZX2 struts that have been mentioned before would be the best. All are non-adjustable, and pretty comfy on the road. <P>My current setup is the ST springs and Tokico Blue struts. OF course, the roads down here arent bad at all, but its still fine going over the 1000s of speed bumps and such. The other thing to really improve cornering, while not sacrificing ANY ride comfort is a rear anti-sway bar.

[ventoura]

Me I have H&R spring and it lower my car 1½ inch with KYB GR-2 strut. I live in Quebec and I know how winter could be. And for now a didn't have any problem with clearance of my car but I have to tell you that the H&R spring are a little bit more tight than the stock. And you see that when your going slow on a bad road but at normal speed there are really good. <P>For the strut I would said to you don't buy KYB GR-2. That the one I have and I really hate them. In front they seem to be ok but at the back of the car they are to soft. Everytime I take passeger on the back seat and there some kind of bad road or during the spring with are the holes in the road, I hit the top of the suspension and it bang really bad.<P>So I hope that it will help you.<BR>Sebastien

[ProtegeSTS]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ventoura:<BR><STRONG>Me I have H&R spring and it lower my car 1½ inch with KYB GR-2 strut. I live in Quebec and I know how winter could be. And for now a didn't have any problem with clearance of my car but I have to tell you that the H&R spring are a little bit more tight than the stock. And you see that when your going slow on a bad road but at normal speed there are really good. <P>For the strut I would said to you don't buy KYB GR-2. That the one I have and I really hate them. In front they seem to be ok but at the back of the car they are to soft. Everytime I take passeger on the back seat and there some kind of bad road or during the spring with are the holes in the road, I hit the top of the suspension and it bang really bad.<P>So I hope that it will help you.<BR>Sebastien</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Thats because you lowered the car too much, not because of the struts. You cant lower these cars too much, or you get MAJOR travel issues.