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I have H&R right now, but I suspect they're a bit worn and the softer coils are possibly sagged, so even the smallest bump in the road feels like jumping the curb, and there's no such thing as a smooth road anymore. I'm thinking of getting new springs.

Now the question is, should I get a new set of H&Rs, or should I get Eibach Pro Kits? Assuming mine are bad and sagged, the drop wouldn't be as bad with new H&Rs, and since I can already clear most bumps, I wouldn't have clearance issues.

Where I'm torn is in city vs. track performance. Our roads aren't exactly mint. There are some road projects going on, that will result in more smooth roads later, but in the mean time it results in steel plates and shaved off pavement. So I wouldn't mind a softer ride, where my car doesn't have a seizure every time I'm on anything but silk, and that would be Eibach. But I also want springs that would be stiff enough for track circuit, which would be H&Rs.

I know I can't have both, and I don't want coil-overs. So which of the two springs would provide the best compromise between the city and track?

I can't decide....aaargh!

I highly doubt your HR are sagging. It usually takes a decade for stock springs to even begin sag, and HR are harder than stock, so I doubt it. I'd more suspect your shock absorbers are shot. If they're not preventing bound and rebound properly, your ride is going to be bumpy.

Another thing to consider is an alignment. If your car was never aligned after the suspension drop, your toe can be severely off, resulting in dangerous driving characteristics. My HR drove dangerous as hell in the rain until I got my alignment done.

If you're still in doubt, take it to a Sears automotive. They should be able to do a suspension test. And if it turns out to be a spring problem, Sears sells Eibach.

And FYI, Seattle roads are not "bad". They're a hundred times better than Chicago roads. The only thing is the freeways are a little wavy for some reason. But they're not particularly bumpy, cracked, or potholed.

Jumping the curb/erratic behaviour = blown struts.

I'm going through this right now on my daily driver. I have ground controls. And the stock struts finally blew last week.

I did this intentionally. Just to see how long the OE struts would last on a set of Ground Control coil overs.

the answer is 40,000 km's

lakersfan1 wrote:I highly doubt your HR are sagging. It usually takes a decade for stock springs to even begin sag, and HR are harder than stock, so I doubt it. I'd more suspect your shock absorbers are shot. If they're not preventing bound and rebound properly, your ride is going to be bumpy.

Another thing to consider is an alignment. If your car was never aligned after the suspension drop, your toe can be severely off, resulting in dangerous driving characteristics. My HR drove dangerous as hell in the rain until I got my alignment done.

If you're still in doubt, take it to a Sears automotive. They should be able to do a suspension test. And if it turns out to be a spring problem, Sears sells Eibach.

And FYI, Seattle roads are not "bad". They're a hundred times better than Chicago roads. The only thing is the freeways are a little wavy for some reason. But they're not particularly bumpy, cracked, or potholed.

I don't really know how old my springs are.

My shocks are less than half a year old. I think I maybe put 4k miles on them, if even that, so I don't see why they'd be blown already. And even if they are, I imagine a bad shock would result in mushy, bouncy ride, since it wouldn't be absorbing the spring motion. I'm experiencing the exact opposite - wooden suspension, that seems to have no travel (mostly in the front, though, the rear feels alright). I think you may have mistook bumpy for bouncy. My whole car is absorbing the impacts, and my interior rattles like mad.

I've had alignment done after putting in new shocks, and re-checked recently. It's within spec.

And yes, Seattle roads are pretty bad around my area. Especially Ravenna Blvd. That one's pothole central. And it's amplified tenfold by my hard ride. If you're talking about Puyallup, then yes, the roads are pretty good over there.

I'll check out Sears automotive, but somehow I can't see it being anything but my springs.

So, if I were to get new springs, would you suggest Eibach?

Whisper wrote:

lakersfan1 wrote:I highly doubt your HR are sagging. It usually takes a decade for stock springs to even begin sag, and HR are harder than stock, so I doubt it. I'd more suspect your shock absorbers are shot. If they're not preventing bound and rebound properly, your ride is going to be bumpy.

Another thing to consider is an alignment. If your car was never aligned after the suspension drop, your toe can be severely off, resulting in dangerous driving characteristics. My HR drove dangerous as hell in the rain until I got my alignment done.

If you're still in doubt, take it to a Sears automotive. They should be able to do a suspension test. And if it turns out to be a spring problem, Sears sells Eibach.

And FYI, Seattle roads are not "bad". They're a hundred times better than Chicago roads. The only thing is the freeways are a little wavy for some reason. But they're not particularly bumpy, cracked, or potholed.

I don't really know how old my springs are.

My shocks are less than half a year old. I think I maybe put 4k miles on them, if even that, so I don't see why they'd be blown already. And even if they are, I imagine a bad shock would result in mushy, bouncy ride, since it wouldn't be absorbing the spring motion. I'm experiencing the exact opposite - wooden suspension, that seems to have no travel (mostly in the front, though, the rear feels alright). I think you may have mistook bumpy for bouncy. My whole car is absorbing the impacts, and my interior rattles like mad.

I've had alignment done after putting in new shocks, and re-checked recently. It's within spec.

And yes, Seattle roads are pretty bad around my area. Especially Ravenna Blvd. That one's pothole central. And it's amplified tenfold by my hard ride. If you're talking about Puyallup, then yes, the roads are pretty good over there.

I'll check out Sears automotive, but somehow I can't see it being anything but my springs.

So, if I were to get new springs, would you suggest Eibach?

I've got an Eibach pro kit I'm about to install; just waiting on my Koni Specials (story of my life).

If you haven't changed yours yet I'll let you know how it goes. I'm sure the roads in Montreal are worse than Seattle.

All 4 of my shocks are blown (just bought the car a few months ago) and the springs are cheap and mismatched. It rolls like the titanic and driving over cracks in the road can shake my turn signal on. Should be in for a treat.

I have had the mazda speed eibach springs and mazda speed struts they were very good, i havent used any other springs other than stock springs so i cant say about the others.

Sorry to bump this, but I got the new set of H&Rs and ride is much better now, I'm not bottoming out or rubbing like I used to. It's smooth and firm. I guess my old springs did go bad, possibly sagged or fatigued.