I don't know what the deal is. I hear people say that they have stock suspension in their cars and they ride fine. On the other hand I know of people that would perform Hari-Kari before they do such a thing. Is the problem how much I want to lower the car? I want to get coil overs pretty soon so any help would be great. Also lots of cats out there ramble on about stiffness. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't stiffness also mean bouncieness when driving. Again Any information will be useful.

 

yea you can, but your stock shocks will blow out in a few months. while your suspension is apart why not just change your shocks too, it will save you time in the long run

 

I did it for a year...and was VERY happy to change them after that time

 

I agree, If you do the work yourself then it saves you the time aggravation of doing the same thing in a year or so. if you are going to pay for the work then it will end up costing twise as much for the install.

 

Wait and get the shocks, it is the smart thing to do!!!!!

 

Someone mentioned earlier about a car becoming "bouncy" with stock shocks and stiffer springs. This is true, but too stiff a shock for the spring can also cause this. In most cases, amateurs go with too soft a shock for the spring rate they are running simply because they need the "look" as soon as possible.

Save up and get a set of good adjustable shocks (I autocross and highly recommend Koni Sports) as they will handle any spring rates of 500lb. and under without any trouble.

In other words, a properly matched shock/spring combo will not make the car bouncy at all. Mine isn't and I'm running 400F / 300R on my Koni Sports... and this is in NJ where the roads are less than perfect.

Anthony "Mario" Crea

 

Yep, my setup is Koni Yellows with 457 front and 257 rear. Roads here suck and the ride is decent because of the damping provided by the Konis.

 

Some coilovers are easier on stock shocks than others. I heard a lotta bad things about Skunk2 coils. I was gonna buy some, but my friend told me to spend a little more and get the Ground Controls, as they won't blow your shocks as quickly. All my friends with Skunk2s have blown shocks. Ive had my Ground Controls on for at least 2 years now and my shocks are still good! But I think you should just get a complete coilover setup, like Tein or something. If you're gonna spend $300 on coils and another $500 on shocks, might as well just save a few hundred more and get a complete setup. Im gonna be selling my Ground Controls soon for some Teins.

 

you can for a while before your stock shocks wear out.. but you might as well save yourself some time (if your doing it yourself.. ) and money (+time if your having it installed).. and save up and get the 2 replaced at the same time since everything is taken apart.. or else you'll be taking the components apart twice and waste a lot of time and money ..

 

One of the major downsides to the Japanese-spec shocks (Tien for example) is that they really aren't servicable here in the US. By that I mean I don't think any shops exist for rebuilds or revalving. Maybe the distributor of those shocks does the work, who knows.

But when you buy Koni, Bilstein, Carrera, or Penske for example there are a number of places to send the shock for service. Some even have kits available so the owner can do the work! In the end it is your money, but for something like shocks which can take a beating in autocross, or even commuting, I'd like to know I have options available 500 miles away, not 10,000. See my point?

Finally, GC and others offer a damn near infinite number of spring rates designed to work within the design parameter of off the shelf shocks like the Koni Sport... As I said, this shock can safely handle a 500lb. spring rate.

So whoever said that one type of coil-over kit blows shocks out faster than another kit, well, you may want to examine what spring rates your friends are using and on what shocks.

Anthony "Mario" Crea