by cdssolara » Fri Dec 13, 2002 4:15 pm
dbanker - I get the feeling that you're pretty concerned about compromising your ride quality if you go from stock suspension to something like the Tokico/Eibach combination. I had the same concerns before I made this move, but after going ahead, I was completely satisfied with my decision. I had no regrets, absolutely none. The new struts and springs made the car look better, and perform as if it was a different (interpretation: better) car.
The stock Solara gives a very comfortable ride. The stock set-up is great for slow cruising. One of the car magazines calls it a cream-puff set up. It absorbs bumps, and gives you a feeling of luxury. Everything is a compromise, however. On the highway, the soft suspension makes it a little too floaty to ever feel truly stable. You can feel it sway on high speed curves, dive during hard braking, and squat if you really hit the gas. I can't even imagine how it would be on a slalom course, but I'll keep this to real world driving. Anyway, all those issues go away when you upgrade the struts and springs. The car simply feels more planted to the road. At first, it won't feel like a huge difference, but once you start playing with the car on a highway, you'll appreciate the improvement. You should find that the car is actually more comfortable at higher speeds than it was before. While cruising at slower speeds, you will notice bumps in the road a little more than before, but it's hardly a stiff ride. The small ( and I mean tiny ) reduction in comfort at slow speeds is forgotten in less than a day of driving. Nobody who rides in your car will feel that it is a stiff ride. So, for the small tradeoff at slow speeds, you get a car that is actually more comfortable at highway speeds, plus feels a lot more secure and stable.
The approximately 1.25" - 1.5" drop is almost unnoticeable; it won't look like a lowrider or a "slammed" car. Your wheels and tires will fill up your wheel wells more, which always improves the appearance. You will find that you have to be somewhat more attentive to curbs, speedbumps, and other raised items on or near the road. You won't clear everything that you cleared before. You get used to that pretty quickly, though. Because of the drop and the stiffer struts, you will have a car that is much more responsive and performance oriented than before.
I think you get the picture. I can't understand why everybody doesn't go this route. Unless you really like a super soft ride, it doesn't make sense not to go this route.
It's easy to put a good spin on something if you really believe it is worthwhile!