Ares' suspension upgrade *planning*

Ares' suspension upgrade *planning*

So I checked the bank and can spare some for finally funding my suspension change and possibly uprgade.

Im looking at monroe or kyb for strut assemblies. Does anyone know exactly comes in the "strut assembly?"

For the strut assemblies, Im leaning towards getting them from rockauto.com rather than from autopartswarehouse.com because of price diff.




Note that rockauto's price is less than 50$ and is already "sansa-trac" and autopartswarehouse is more than 50$ and is only "matic plus." In monroe's terms, the matic plus "improved comfort at an economical price." while the sansa-trac "enhanced control with uncompromised ride comfort."

I am also considering eibach springs that lower 1" all around. I don't think I'll need any camber kits for these. The site does not say I need anything unlike the intrax w/c lowers 1.7" and notes "Requires Camber Kit Front Part Number 99.9.011 / Rear Part Number 99.9.007"

Apparently strut boots dont come with the strut assembly. KYB ones costing 21$ a pop and the old ones are just 20+ years old so I can't reuse them. Are boots a must?


Breakdown:
Eibach springs
Monroe Sansa-trac struts
strut boot (needed or not?)

Any other parts I need or am leaving out?


Also, I will be doing the upgrade so will probably be heading to carzone to borrow the Strut Spring Tool. Any other special tools I might need? How long do you think the entire process will take?

as for the price i would go rockauto and as for the strut boot is not necessary but if you always drive through dirt or muddy places and if the strut piston rod gets dirty/dusty filthy spray wd-40 once a month.

check you old dust boots to tell if you need to replace them or not.

they are shred to pieces.


EDIT:
hey JspeXAE102, why did you not consider monroe in your ultimate suspension guide?

Monroe is a pretty good brand if you ask me. Thats what we work with at my job and so far I havnt heard any complaints on them. I had them on my Nova and they were great!

isn't monroe just a oem replacement shock/strut? I dunno, been too lazy to update that thread

I thought KYB was the OEM replacement... Can anyone verify?

Does anyone have opinions on monroe struts?

Monroe is an OEM replacement. We sell them at work all the time. (I work for Car x) And in the 3 years Ive been there, I havnt heard any complaints about them. I have them on my 86 Nova (Twin to your car Ares) and they were and still are great.

Yeah Monroe is definitely just OEM replacement. But Eibachs are not very stiff so you should be good with them.

The other thing you might want to think about changing is the strut mounts. I replaced mine and eventhough the weren't broken it made the ride alot smoother. Just think about it, its a rubber bushing and it wears over time. Then you get vibrations in the car at higher speeds. Just a thought. Oh, and I replaced the rear strut mounts too, but didn't make that much of a difference. If money is an issue just replace the fronts.

on the contrary, i am pretty sure eibachs are some of the stiffest after market springs you can buy. much more solid then s or h-techs

Now we get some action in here.

So its the OEM replacement. Im going to go check for better kyb prices then.

Although people in here generally get KYB's, will there be a diff? Ill read his guide again closer, i just skimmed on it the other day.

I had Eibach pro kit and now I have S-techs, and the S-techs are definitely stiffer. I was talking about the prokit only. If your talking about the Sportline that drops 2" I don't have any experience with those.

Eibachs have progressive spring rates, should ride quality shouldn't suffer that much no matter which ones you get.

But it is always recommended that firmer struts that offer more damping be installed in conjunction for optimum handling results.

It does not say anything about firm although the word improve might mean more than just OEM standards. Also, what about strut boots, a must?

yea they are, most run of the mill shops that carry KYB would just throw on a set of KYB GR2 onto your car as replacements when your shocks blow. I don't know why this community consider them a performance upgrade

Yes, if they're that old.

so im doomed with oem either way; a true life of a corolla lover... well i guess ill to go with monroe. I am hoping that since its just a 1" drop, it does not put too much load on the struts.

Also, there was a discussion about what to do with the rear break lines on the strut. Here is what the manual wants me to do:


So i can just remove the clip and the lines from the strut and not pull apart the lines from each other so i dont need a bleed. Correct me if i misunderstood.