Question about lowering springs

[Bemanix88]

I'm planning on asking for a set of lowering springs for my '99 Solara for my birthday (was my dad's car). I just had a couple questions about the process of getting the springs and installing them (first time doing anything like this). My car is a V6 auto w/sport package (16's, revised suspension, etc.)

First, would it even be worth getting the car lowered? It's got around 96,000 miles on it though it runs fine. I just got the 90k maintenance done. It still runs about 7.5 second 0-60 and about 20mpg city so it's in good condition.. but with the high miles, what's everyone's opinion on spending $$$ to get the new springs?

Second, what are some recommendations for which springs to get?

And finally, about how much should I expect this to cost to get it installed? Would I be able to do it on my own? I do know some people who have the equipment to jack up the car and install parts... how difficult is it to install my own springs?

All help would be hugely appreciated!

[Sp33d]

allrighty bud, theres this thing on the top toolbar called "search" just type in springs and look under the gen 1.5 aftermarket upgrades.

imo, 96,000 is about time to not only change the springs, but also the struts as well. its a 1-2 combo that shouldnt be done separately. you are looking at around a good 500-600 dollars for springs and struts combined. it is VERY difficult to install since you have to compress the springs to fit around the struts. theres just too much to explain, but a simple search button with struts and springs will be able to give you ALOT of information.

-mark

[Bemanix88]

allrighty bud, theres this thing on the top toolbar called "search" just type in springs and look under the gen 1.5 aftermarket upgrades.

imo, 96,000 is about time to not only change the springs, but also the struts as well. its a 1-2 combo that shouldnt be done separately. you are looking at around a good 500-600 dollars for springs and struts combined. it is VERY difficult to install since you have to compress the springs to fit around the struts. theres just too much to explain, but a simple search button with struts and springs will be able to give you ALOT of information.

-mark

Alright bud, no need to talk down to me. I did a search and did not find very useful information, especially about my mileage question. Remember I've never done any mods to a car before. I have no idea where to even start (what brands, etc.) So I need new springs and struts? What are the most cost-effective models that would make my car sportier? I don't want to spend a lot of money on this thing just because (1) I dont want my parents to pay an arm and a leg, and (2) because --gasp!--I don't particularly like the Solara... I just want something to hold me over for a while until I can eventually choose my own car.

[Sp33d]

wasnt trying to play you down.

[Nyyankees3511]

Geez SP give him a chance, you dont run the forums. Help him out if you can.

[BradOwens]

yea its deff worth lowering. u will proly need new struts. id go with a tein spring/tokico strut combo. i wanna get tht when i get the money. it'll proly cost around 600 bucks

[hskrsolara]

Answer to first question depends on how long you are going to keep your car. If you will keep it for a while, definitely lower it, you will be happy with the look. If you are planning to sell it soon, do not, since stock is more preferred on the selling market. Of course, understand with the lowered look also comes a stiffer ride.

If you do decide to lower, get the tokico blue struts. They are the most common here, they have a great warranty, and I have heard no complaints.

As for lowering springs, the most common are the tein s-techs, which have around a 1.7 inch drop in the front and 1.4 inch drop in the rear. They give a slightly lower drop in the front to compensate for the factory offset drop that the solara has from front to rear. There are also tein h-techs, which have about a 1 inch drop. Some people have eibachs, but they are around a 1.6 inch drop all around.

Definitely replace both the struts and springs at the same time. I did mine this summer and replacing the rears requires almost complete dissasembly of the back seat. If you have a lot of weight in the trunk (large system, lots of passengers) I would recommend not lowering the back springs. They tend to rub the tires with a lot of weight.

Also, replace all the strut mounts. They tend to develop a squeak over time and this is much easier to do all at the same time. If you plan on getting some new rear speakers, also replace them at the same time. It takes a long time to get that back seat out.

Hope this helps.

[SleeperSolara]

Yeah man you should lower it.
Most people here have TEIN/TOKICO.
Anyways i've found the cheapest place for TOKICO's their at proamauto.com.
The shocks from them are about $385 shipped ot OKC.
But to your place might be a little higher but they have the cheapest w/o shippin'
As for TEIN it would be about $180 shipped; dependin' on who you get it from you should PM "RJ@UPFD" he can get you some TIEN springs.
All i need is some TOKICO HP struts and i'm ready to go.

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

People have a common rhetoric here stayting that springs+struts should be changed at once to mininize cost. I speak from my personal experience w/ trd springs (eibach rebranded) - read the link as well.... http://www.solaraguy.org/viewtopic.php? ... struts+trd

I am currently at 22K miles on the above setup and all is still going great!

[Solorange]

To answer your question about the milage. Your car is only halfway through its life. As long as its been properly maintained. So your ok on spending the money to lower it. Or like the other guy said if you plan on selling it soon you shouldn't do it.

I just put on tein s tech springs with tokico struts like 3 months ago. It cost me $600 for everything. I dont know how much it would cost to have a mechanic do it cause i did it myself. But when i was ordering my springs from the shop i got them at i asked them how much it would cost them for an install. They told me around 200 bucks.

The ride quality is excellent. It is a little stiffer than stock. If I had it my way I would like them to be a bit stiffer for handling purposes but in order to do taht you have to get coilovers. But after driving it like this for a while i couldnt tell the difference between my setup now and stock.

You could probably run lowering springs on stock struts but with the milage your car has you will probably end up having to replace them. Its better to be safe and do it all at once. Also KYB makes struts for solaras if you want to look into those.

And Hey since you have a bit of interest in modding your car you may come to find that you will like your car much more than you think. I know where your coming from since i had a camaro before i got mine. I had to sell it and I had to get a ride with more "practicallity and reliability" for the time being. I wasnt much of a solara person either but after awhile I proved myself wrong. Now I really enjoy my car and already started modding it. So good luck!

[cRaCkeD oUt]

I think it is an excellent idea to upgrade the suspsension with shocks and springs. Tein Springs are decent and cheap, although slight understeer will be the result. Tokico shocks are decent and cheap too.

This all can be done for like 400 bux if you do it yourself.
It will take time, but it takes a lot of elbow grease and again time.

The most important thing will to rent a spring compressor from Kragen. Simply put, to remove the spring, you have to remove the strut with the spring attatched. (the only way as you will see as you take apart your suspension.) The spring compressor will allow you too loosen the nut ontop of the strut which holds the spring in place. Otherwise, without the spring compressor, the spring will shoot off the strut and rip your head off (or atleast part of your head).

Just buy a chiltons manual for your car and you will see what I mean.



Good luck. Its all simple really.'

[jhenty]

someones got to fix the search function on Solaraguy because it absolutely sucks. Im not sure why, but its the worst search on any forums that I've ever seen. It would certainly help out newbies and veterans alike.

[hskrsolara]

You can rent a spring compressor at AutoZone for around $40 and when you bring it back, you get all your money back. Really good deal.

[Solorange]

I found out you only need to use the spring compressor on the front springs. I did the back of my car first and didnt need the spring compressor. Then we assumed since you didnt need it for the back you didnt need it for the front. Well we were wrong and shot a spring across the garage. It missing us and the car but the drywall took the hit. Its got a nice hole from that. But use a spring compressor for the back cause i dont want to get blamed for someone getting hurt.

[Bemanix88]

Thanks a lot for the info guys. I'll bring it up with my parents and see what they think. I have a feeling they might not be able to do a $600+ installation price, but we'll see... I'll try and talk to some friends and see if anyone has the expertise to help me install the upgrades myself. Maybe if I can cut out the installation cost, they'll agree to it.