I've read the FAQ and it was insanely informative but am curious as to what kind of setups some of you are running and what kind of results you got from them. For example, I took my bone stock Sunfire out on the twisting roads and it just handled like a boat. LOTS of lean in corners, lots of tire squeal. Surprisingly the steering is very crisp and direct and the brakes are plenty good for the type of speed that the 2200 OHV engine's 115hp can get me up to. Clutch is totally mushy and the shifter's a little numb, but neither is anything that you couldn't get used to.
But anyway, the suspension is the big thing.
I was thinking that the basic suspension...
feels okay. It's soft, but not too horrid. The big problem is the damn body roll, which I figured I could fix with anti-roll bars and strut tower braces front and back. Would make the car stiffer and lean less. Decent tires would also help because the crap I have on now has no grip. Is that a good idea or would I just end up having to get a drop kit and some strut/shocks anyway?
My personal goal is to have a car that handles like a go-kart. There's no way I could ever get much power out of the OHV without spending thousands, so I figure I'll just make the car fun to drive.
The main question though was what kind of budget setups have worked for you? Something nice and cheap and very functional. I don't want anything fancy or pretty or name brand. I'm interested in the result, not bragging rights. Also, I don't care if the car's dropped unless it makes it handle better. This is for function, not looks.
Ideas?
The words cheap and suspension should never be used is the same sentence.
Knoxfire wrote:My personal goal is to have a car that handles like a go-kart.
Well, the cheaper you try to go, the more likely it is that you'll end up more like a shopping-cart.
Anti-sway bars do help with roll, even on the stock suspension, but you're not going to get to go-kart country without some sort of upgrade to the springs and struts. The optimum ride height on a J for the purposes of improving handling is about 1.5" of drop -- which corresponds well to the Eibach Pro-kit springs. Match these with KYB AGX struts for what many consider the closest thing to a "cheap" suspension recipe that doesn't suck. Anything that can be had for less compromises on results -- which, as you say, is the important thing.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, June 29, 2007 7:46 AM
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Cool! Thanks.
When I said cheap, I didn't mean "cheap" cheap. I just meant less expensive than bling bling Fast & The Furious crap that looks cool in a show but gives no functional advantage. I don't care if the parts are ugly as long as they work and are strong and solid. I'd rather spend 2000$ modifying the suspension well, than waste 500$ for crap that doesn't work.
What I'm planning to go with (once I have money for it) are Tein S-Tech springs with the KYB-AGX shocks, the Addco rear sway bar, and front and rear strut tower bars (already have those). Like was already said, and you seem to realize, real cheap is very very likely to suck. As for not caring about names - well, the fact is that the big names (Tein, Eibach, Koni, KYB, Addco, Progress, etc) got to be big names for a reason. Their parts are good quality, and therefore people will pay more for them. While it's true with some parts that paying more really doesn't get you that much further (think air intakes or short shifters, they're very simple concepts), when it comes to something like suspension, a lot more engineering and research goes into creating a quality part. You just can't expect to find those quality engineered parts on eBay for $9.99. For a good all around suspension setup (springs, shocks, sway bars, strut tower bars, wheels and tires, possibly upgraded stock size rotors and better pads, maybe stainless brake lines), you're going to spend in excess of $1,000. Not really any way around that. However, there's nothing wrong with searching for the parts you want on eBay or in the classifieds and looking for the best deals possible. One site may list the AGX shocks for $500+, whereas you can get them off of eBay for $390 shipped. As long as it's the real thing, there's no reason to overspend for the same part.
a very popular choice and very good supension is the eibach prokit and kyb agx struts. probably will run you about 600 brand new.
StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable) wrote:a very popular choice and very good supension is the eibach prokit and kyb agx struts. probably will run you about 600 brand new.
not to thread jack or anything, but is the 600 brand new for everything?
Eastwood wrote:StrippedCav98 (Now Quotable) wrote:a very popular choice and very good supension is the eibach prokit and kyb agx struts. probably will run you about 600 brand new.
not to thread jack or anything, but is the 600 brand new for everything?
Thereabouts, if you know where to look. Shipping charges and/or paying brick and mortar rates probably puts a more realistic number closer to $700-750.
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for the struts and springs yes. if you need new struts mounts then you would have to buy them. the struts are about 375 shipped and the springs are probably around 200 ship. it could be any where from 550-600 shipped depending on where you buy it from.
And where should I look for these parts?
I'm new so I don't have a whole lot of knowledge.
i got my agx's and s. techs from ebay, both were new and haven't had any issues in the 20k km's on them so far, been considering switching to pro kit springs though just for softer daily driving
I just found this Eibach Pro-system for our cars. I originally wanted these but couldn't find them, ended up going with a different setup. I don't think anyone has these yet, maybe you can be the first to try them.
http://www.ultrarev.com/product.php?productid=75649
I have never seen those Eibachs... But description says it fits 4 and 6 cylinder 95-04 cavs... MMMmmm I'd email Eibach first just to check, but definitely looks interesting!
" To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous. "
That that disappoints me with that Eibach Pro-system (or the Sport-system, which offers Sportline lowering according to that page), is that it appears that the shocks are not adjustable. To me, the ability to make at least some adjustment is nice - what one person might want isn't what another one might, and I'd be afraid that those shocks just wouldn't be valved the way that I might want. In my old car (2001 Eclipse Spyder GT) I had the S-Techs and AGXs and had the shocks set at 4 all around (the stiffest setting possible on that car). I loved it. Some people thought I was nuts because you felt EVERYTHING, but it made me feel really connected to the road. However, if I would have ever taken a longer trip in the car, it probably would have been nice to soften it up just a bit, and without an adjustable shock, that wouldn't have been a possibility.
The inability to adjust the dampening force at all is what sorta steers me away from the Tein Basic coilover system. I've heard nothing but good things about it, but what if I simply don't like the way it rides and want to tinker with it? Adjusting the dampening isn't an option...
I have some Ground control coilovers that I can get rid of for very cheap that you can throw on some KONI Yellows or reds.
That would help you out a lot lowering the center of gravity of any vehicle makes it turn better unless you are already lowered.
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