Need some Advice n my project.

Need some Advice.PICS UP..

My 1998 project LE AKA "MY WIFES COMMUTER" is finally rolling again.. The car will be in the paint shop by the 20th of this month for the stock Magenta respray.. I had dreams of a TRD kit but I did not realize they were discontinued and do not have time to chase one down.

I have a $1800 budget with the paint. The paint will be done by a friend and he is charging $600 for a base/clear cut and polished. That leaves me with $1200.

My plans were to tint the windows ($100) , fix the alarm ($200) , purchase used wheels 16"+ and tires from craigslist (max $400),OEM e-bay rear wing ($100) and new shocks/springs as they are saggy right now in the rear.

I have $400 left for suspension but really would like the CHEAPEST acceptable setup.

My questions are what is a good lowered shock/spring combo on a budget? and also what wheel and tire combo (size,offset,tire size) have people had that had NO rubbing issues that were larger than 16"..

Any other feedback on how to spend my leftover $1200 other than what is listed would be great also.The car is in absolute meticulous running condition, so needs no maintenance ... Thanks.

dont tint your windows, dont get an oem wing, dont fix your alarm unless you live in a bad neighberhood, remember its a corolla not a civic.

For a good drop get tein s techs which is 1.9 all around i believe with kyb gr2 struts, their oem equivelant and should last a decent while.
do go with 16 inch rims, look on craigs lists, once you find a set sell your oem wheels for some extra cash.

why not tint the windows?

whats the point really? i mean yea tint it eventually, but go with your drop and rims before anything else.

Budget is always a good thing to do - but keep in mind the stuff that "could" pop up and really ruin your day. My experience with budget wheel/tire/springs/struts - is NOT to do it. Invest in better equipment and you greatly reduced the chance of something getting broken or having to redo this in a few years.

You could always keep the current wheels and replace the tires will some nicer ones or upgrade to 15" wheels and tires. If you go used 16" wheels and tires (~$400 budget) you might not have ones that a decent amount of tread. Plus depending on the wheel offset and tire choice, you may have to roll the fender lip.

I used to have 16x7 wheels, 38mm offset - 205/45-16 tires - on TRD (Eibach) springs (1.25" drop) on KYB-GR2 struts - I intermittently rubbed in the back, if there was any weight back there. I eventually rolled the rear fenders and trimmed back part of the mudflap that was touching the tread. If you go with a 40mm offset or more - it might clear the fender, but then you have to worry about touching the strut/spring.

Springs and struts on a budget is tough. Tein would have the better prices on the springs, can be found for less than $100-$150 - but also tends to sag after a while, very soft spring rate compared to others. Don't get them for performance - they are more for the dropped look. H&R and Eibach are much better springs - but can go for between $150-$220 easily. KYB-GR2 are about $75 each, Tokico Blues run about $85 each. You can probably find them cheaper - but if you are on a deadline - might be tough.

If it was my car - I'd go tint (really helps keep the heat out), quality springs and struts, better tires on stock wheels (unless the wheels are totally jacked up), no wing (adds weight, drag), replace OEM pads with better composite brake pads (Hawk, Porterfield, Akebono, Carbontech, EBC, etc.) If there was money left over - I'd go with a 14"-15" lightweight pressure cast or forged wheel (very lightweight) - not as prone to getting bent given the resulting sidewall height of the tire.

A 14" wheel with a good summer tire + quality spring and appropriate strut will ride and handle significantly better than a budget 16" wheel and summer tire with a budget spring and strut.

i thought you meant no tint at all, for me here in AZ its really not an option to not have it

does it really cost $100 to tint windows there? i paid like 50-60........

-.-....i paid 200 bucks to get an all around window tint.

Get the trunk lip instead of a spoiler. Looks much better.

u my friend, just got robbed :snap:

Everywhere around here is quoting me 225-250 for all around tint.

it was a year ago too oh wellllll

Yes tint is a MUST its my wifes commuter in central valley California heat .. and for the $100 is for the good 3M stuff that won't peel or purple anytime soon.. I can get cheaper but I had a bad experience with el-cheapo tint.

ALARM is a must.. I had the factory one replaced at some stupid stereo shop and after 1 year it crapped out, the siren does not work, the keyless entry does not work, but power door locks do except the passengers on occasion (due to PDL relay power not actuator as tested)..

Whats up with those E-BAY DROPZONE springs with struts package, anyone running them or are they like the pacesetter of suspensions? I remember them vaguely from like the 1990's era.How about the GC coilovers? Are they good paired with lets say a Tokico blue? I know in 1G crx crowd tokico blues are OK, but then again we have Illumina's available. I personally think KYB GR2's suck for the price and are garbage. I'll rather buy autozone replacements.Damn not much available suspension wise for these cars No Illumina's, no AGX's, no KONI's.. This car is worse aftermarket-wise than my 1G crx.

I'll ditch the spoiler, so where can I get this lip spoiler other than a TRD one?

As far as the wheel I was thinking I could get a set of 16" DRAG dr20's in gold on polished lip (match the magenta color a little better) maybe offset of a 38-40 with a 195/45 or 50/16 to reduce some rub issues that may occur. I would rather have a 50 series for comfort.

PICS WILL BE UP TODAY OF ITS CURRENT STATE.

The suspension bits you are looking for (springs/struts) between the 7th gen Corolla (1993-1997) and 8th gen Corolla (1998-2002) are interchangeable - if you want to expand your search for more available parts.

PICS: ITS UGLY NOW.. I assure you the bodywork is top notch and laser straight. It has just been on hold after so it will need to be cleaned resanded re-primed in area's Sanded to a wet 600 the sealed and sprayed.. I tried some wet pics to give you an example of how the paint will lay and reflect, but I am no photographer.

A HUGE BRANCH FELL ON IT: The drivers door,hood,roof,and fenders took it good as far as dents went. There also was major bumper flake from 3 rear end love taps and typical door dings on the sides.. There is NO bondo at all only spot filler no more than 1/8" on her for the dings.

well a few things id say is if youre going 16 inch wheels then 205/45 is a must for tires. Make sure you get the right offset, mine are around +36 and i rub while turnin in hard or if theres load but mine is dropped to like almost no finger gap. so i think just springs wont be so bad.

aww man! you should have swap the 1998 with the best bodykit ever made! the 2001-2002 front with fog lights xD

Kinda looks like my car color-wise. lol

If you have enough money, get H & R springs. Perfect drop, not harsh at all. Great ride.

Cool. I think I will do the H&R on the tokico's. I really would like adjutability of coilovers, but hey, either spend $350 on GC plus $400 on struts = $750 (I might as well get the K-Sports for $950)..

GAMEPLAN IS SET:::

Well I guess I will do a color change, The wife wants it RED, so I will get it sprayed SCION TC "Absolutely Red code# 03P0" ($600 buddy will spray) I can get everything except the bay.. Oh well.. I will do the H&R and new struts ($500), Tint all around windows($100), DRAG 16" DR20 gold face with polished lip ($500 with tires). .Paging alarm fixed ($200) The car is already wired for stereo/amp so I'll put in some old school soundstream I have laying around. and finally TRD axleback muffler,which I will pick up today,$$$)

so TOTAL over $2000 to restore this thing.. Not bad .. cheaper than a new car..

Creepy that is really similar to my setup: H&R/blues/ 16" drag (rota fakes)...now only if I could get that TRD muffler I will be set

The ride is superb, but the TEIN drop is lower in the front which compensates for the MASSIVE wheel gap in the 1998-2001's ...ride quality is probably compromised though.

Yeah the drags are cool I would not call them "rota fakes" though as rota are fake as well, so fakes of the fakes I guess lol.. I really hate knockoff wheels, but It is not my car and I'm a cheapskate. I'm glad you have that setup and it works good .. I'm going to talk to the paint guy this evening and get things situated. I'll post progression pics as soon as it is in the works.

Corolla is NOW in the paint shop.. There were a few changes to the game plan.. My wife picked the color. It is getting shot FIREBALL RED METALLIC more closer to the stock color but not as gay as purple as the magenta was. It is a sealer coat, 2 coats base, 2 coats clear and cut & polished..

It will be done on Tuesday according to the paint guy.. I'll get pics up asap. I also have started ordering parts. I have order the window visors (my wife smokes rain or shine), I ordered the OEM fit mudguards also. I ordered tha BMW style stick on deck lip (I think the ones someone mentioned to get). Once the car comes back from paint I will do the struts and springs ordering along with the wheels (I'm still surfing CL for a deal)..

wrong post...

is he spraying the door,trunk and gas lid jams?

interesting to see how it turns out

Yes.. It will be a full respray besides the engine bay. All lights , handles, most easily removable trim will be removed also. The color (fireball red metallic) is still on the same color scale as the original magenta metallic though.. I chose ruby red pearl, but she opted for the fireball red metallic.

Tuesday is D-Day so I'll post some pics up..

Kinda off topic..... Is it ok to change the color of the car and have them just paint the door jams? I always think that it would be obvious especially around the top of the window. There's a small section of paint on the inside of the car that would not be painted.

Now my car is Twilight Blue Pearl (Mettalic), and I would love the midnight blue that came on the 01-02's. Still not sure if I will change color, but I need a paint job for sure.

SLAM IT! :lol