In a nutshell I need to replace my car’s springs. And I need some advice on what to get.
Quick background info: Current car set up is OEM springs paired with Koni Yellows, with springs mounted on the lowest perch setting. Previously, I had these Yellows paired with H&R Sport Springs, again with springs mounted on lowest setting. The car was too low and after a few years I put the OEM springs back on and sold the H&Rs. Looking back now I’m not sure why I did that instead of raising the spring perch, but that was 2002 so really who knows. (BTW suspension has Ingalls camber kit in front and washer trick in back to correct camber).
I was planning, in the near future, to replace the OEM springs with H&R OE Sport Springs (not to be confused with the Sport Springs). They have an advertised drop of 0.75" (Sport Springs are 1.5"). (I don’t really want to lower the car any further, but am not opposed to increased handling performance as long as the ride quality doesn’t suffer THAT much.) The plan was to install these springs and use a higher spring perch setting. However I just found out today that H&R is discontinuing the OE Sport Spring. I suppose it’s worth mentioning that at this point my Koni Yellows have over 160,000 miles of use - so they possibly could be on their last legs…maybe? I don’t really know. So what should I do?
A) Get the H&R OE Sport Springs, or another spring brand if they’re not available - I greatly welcome spring recommendations this is actually most of the reason why I made this thread.
B) Replace both the springs and Koni Yellows. A new set of Koni Yellows is not in the budget (at least not at the prices listed by TireRack.com). [B] I see that there are a bunch of cheap coilover sets out there but are any of them worth a damn? I’m looking for suggestions for good coilovers that don’t cost a fortune, or a good source of reasonably priced Konis.
Finally, is it possible to send my Yellows back to Koni to have them refurbished?[/B] I know they have a lifetime warranty but I lost the proof of purchase so I’m SOL there :pupeyes:
Basically I’m open to lots of suspension purchase advice. It’s been a really long time since I’ve done any sort of performance mods to this car. FWIW, when I do this suspension work I’m also planning to replace the OEM front upper control arms. At this time I’m planning to replace those pieces with Megan’s Racing pieces. If that’s a bad idea someone let me know.
I don’t know what your budget is but I’ve put these on a 92 GS and a 90 XSI. The ride is a little stiff and they aren’t adjustable but was a huge improvement over the blown shocks both of my cars had. The GS had blown stock shocks and coilovers on there lowest setting which was the worse of the 2, felt like I was driving a see-saw after every bump. Decent reviews and a low price for all 4 shocks and springs.
Thanks for both of your replies! Natas, the cost of those is well within my budget, especially when you consider than a set of H&R springs is $170 and 4 new Koni Yellows is $500+. Can you tell me how much lower than stock your car now sits? I see the eBay description says the drop is 1.6 inches. If that’s true I can work with that, as I believe my car is currently sitting 40 mm lower than stock (per Koni’s specifications for the shocks I have), and that’s basically 1.578 inches. The lack of adjustability isn’t ideal, but I never adjust my suspension height or stiffness anymore these days so for the price that is tough to beat.
G2Again, those are a little more expensive than what I want to spend, but I’m going to read your whole thread. Do you know the range of height adjustability they are capable of?
Sorry about the late response. I never got a message notification saying some responded. Here’s a couple of pictures, the first one is when it was on blown shocks, you can see how much space is between the body and tires the other shows it after I changed the suspension.
Thanks for the photo uploads, however the fender gap looks pretty similar in both photos to me lol. Blown shocks shouldn’t have much effect (if any) on a vehicle’s static ride height. That should be solely a function of the springs.
What set up did you end up placing on your DA? I am interested because I also want to change the suspension on my DA. DawsonB17A; How did the Koni Yellows ride with the H&R Sport Springs? Rough, or close to OEM Shock? I was thinking about Koni Yellows with Tien Springs.
I haven’t done anything yet. I don’t have the money for car stuff right now. My friends need to stop having weddings and bachelor parties! LOL
However, as noted, I previously had H&R Sport springs mated to my (existing) Koni Yellows. I had them mounted on the lowest of 3 spring perches. That was way, way too low. The front upper control arms would bang against the unit body over hard bumps. Ride quality was fine IMO, with the Yellows on medium stiffness. I’d crank them all the way down for AutoXs and was pretty happy with the results.
If you installed that combo I would highly recommend NOT using the lowest spring perch setting. I’d probably go with the highest, to be honest.
