Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior Suspension shopping list...help please.

I've decided to keep my stock rims but I absolutely must get a drop on this car. I need some advice in regards to what I should buy. I don't know a lot about suspension as a whole.

Here is what I have on my list so far:
Tanabe flex control bar
Eibach Pro Kit
KYB AGX Adjustable shocks

Thanks for the help

kyb's are too high... you need some koni yellows

also get some sways and camberlinks from hotchkis.

Ok here's a revised list then:

Eibach Pro Kit springs
Tanabe Flex control bar
Koni Yellow sport shocks
Hotchkis street sway bars
Hotchkis rear camber links

What do you guys think of this?

How about the reliability of these products?

What about the TRD 3 Point Rear Strut Brace... Also as I am also doing some suspension upgrades at the moment. Depending what you want to do with your car, Hotchkis makes stiffer springs then the Eibach Pro Kit... just a thought...

KYBs are the same height as Konis. If you're on a budget, get the KYB AGXs. If not, pick up the Konis, since they're a bit stiffer.

And yes, most definitely pick up a set of Hotchkis Competition sway bars. They'll make more of a difference than struts and springs combined.

BTW, ditch the crappy Tanabe front bar. RMM, APC, Carbing, and APR are the stiffest bars out there. I would also get a rear strut brace like TRD, Hypermotive removable 3pt, or C-One. You also won't need the Hotchkis camber links if you're only getting the Eibach Pro Kit. The camber kit won't do anything at that height except look bling and lighten your wallet.

Reliability wise, KYB, Koni, Eibach, and Hotchkis are all top notch brands.

I am also a new at suspension and wheels etc...

I want to get some 17" rims but don't know what tire size to get, also i will want to lower the car since it will have new rims and wheels i want the car to look nice.

I have no idea what suspension to get or what rims and wheels to buy. Any recommendations will be great!

I concur with Blue Bomber mostly and I'll keep it short and simple. I hope that anyone will add or correct me if they disagree.
I won't comment on spring/strut combos.
For chasis support Blue is right (if you have the money). If you get a front bar, in my opinion, you will need a rear upper (3 Pt. or nothing) and also the front under (Cusco), to tie it all in. The front alone will make handling worse. The rear of our hatchback style cars is where we need reinforcement. That's just to start and there are more options, but that should be it for most.
The biggest improvement you can make is with anti-roll/sway bars. Hotchkis is the way to go being that they are "stiffer" and you can get them at a good price street or comp, whichever you prefer. I say street for those asking now. I wouldn't even bother with TRD. I know there are others equal or untried, but Hotchkis all around is a sure bet for a great price.
LSD. I know it's not part of the suspension, but it should be included. Our cars should've come with it. A big cost saver for Toyota, but it's needed especially if you start modifying the suspension and adding power mods. I can spin my inside wheel more now than stock with a stiffer and lower suspension. The install and cost of one is an arm and a leg. Save that for the clutch replacement.
Most here will comment you don't need Hotchkis camber links or anything for the front. I agree also, but if the drop is significant and I'm not saying 2" maybe less. I would get them and maybe a crash bolt of your desired range of adjustment for the front. Just because the alignment process is also very important in your car handling to the very best.
Tires and wheels is also very very important, but I wont comment on that either.

PoweredbyRICE just got a rear replacement bar from Hotchkis (their old mulitpiece design has been known to break). He originally had the Hotchkis Street sways, but they gave him a Competition rear sway on request, and he LOVES the difference! He says the car feels like a go kart with the stiffer rear. I asked a Hotchkis rep why the Comp bars were suggested for competition use only, and they said it's because it alters the car's handling, going more towards oversteer than understeer. Same thing I've been saying for years now (yet some people insisted it was because of increased tire wear ), and the difference in performance that comes with that is incredible. Only reason Hotchkis suggests that they be used for competition only is so kids don't go out and buy the bars, spin out when expecting the usual understeer from the stock sways, and try to sue Hotchkis.

Exactly my point. The street sways should provide more than an ample performance difference compared to stock while still regaining the safety of the stock sways (understeer). Most here won't push the Celica like we're use to. Hell, most won't push their Celica like I do period.
In the incident that a kid gets the comp bars and pushes and loses control, like all kids will push it without knowing, I don't want to tell them afterwards about it.
I tell them now so they know.
As I wrote before, if you ask, you don't know. Get the street sways.
Learn how to drive on another car before modding your Celica.

does someone have a diagram or pictures of where each mod goes?

btw, i'm selling three month old kyb adjustables for $300. pm me for more info

Check my sig.

so, one lower front, one on top of the engine bay, one lower front and the 3pt one?

hotchkis comp sways, front and back right?
trd 3pt
rmm strut bar

anything else?

Yup. The sways are the lower ones, and the strut bars are the upper ones. Kinda hard to see, but there's a spring in there, too. Springs and struts go on all 4 corners at the wheels. That's about it, though.

yup i have the eibach springs and kyb shocks but i think i might trade in for tein ssp if i don't sell my car. and i just noticed, the suspension setup (except the drop) i want is about the same as poweredbyrice's setup. is he happy with it?

also, what's edfc? useful?

I don't see why he wouldn't be happy with the Tein SS-Ps. I drove a GTS with them and they felt incredible. Plus, he's got the Hotchkis Competition sways now.

The Tein EDFC (Electronic Dampening Force Control) is almost like a gimmick. It's just a motorized adjustment for the strut dampening knobs. You can adjust the struts' stiffness from the driver's seat, instead of doing it manually at each strut. It's only compatible with the Tein SS-Ps, and pretty expensive. Once you find the settings you like, the EDFC basically becomes obsolete.

Wow, thanks for all the help guys.

I think I've almost got it all figured out but the one thing I'm not too clear on is whether or not I will need a rear strut bar. I'm really not interested in getting one because I want to install a system back there.

Is it alright to just get front and back sways and a front strut bar?

current list:
kyb shocks
eibach pro kit (on stock rims with lower than stock profile tires(50 instead of 60), should I go lower. Such as goldlines maybe?)
apr strut bar
hotchkis sways

You can always get the Hypermotive rear 3pt strut bar. It's easily removable (unlike any other 3pt), so when you want to listen to the box, you take the bar out, and when you want to race, you take out the box and bolt the bar in.

As for springs, the lowest you can go is 1.5" on aftermarket struts. Goldline springs would be suicide on your struts.

Ok, no goldlines then. But if I just had the other suspension mods that I mentioned would my handling be better or worse, or could it cause damage?

Agreed I tried out all 3 but stuck with Carbing

Carbing weighs only 2lbs
RMM
APR nicely priced

you can actually feel the difference from one brand of strut bar from the others?

and chaz, i'm selling 3 months used kyb shocks for $300. pm me if you're interested.

Your car would handle 1000x better than stock. You'll love it. Shouldn't be any problems with that setup, either.

I have the kyb agx with skunk2 coilovers. This was the first part of my suspension. It made a huge difference, but beyond all I got the eibach anitroll kit and it was amazing. Different sway bars are a must for a better handling car. Although celicas dont have to much of a problem with the front suspension the rear part needs some help. I have the dcsports rear tie brace(under the car), but more then this is needed. I dont have the 3pt brace but it sounds good to me. I am still looking for a front strut bar and am undecided on what to get. What is the web site for that carbing bar. It sound like the best to me.

teins

Someone else had RMM, APR, and Hypermotive on their car. They said RMM (1pc) was the stiffest, APR (3pc w/ vertical bolts [unconventional design]) was in a close second, and Hypermotive (3pc w/ horizontal bolts [average design]) barely made a difference, and is basically just for show. Funny, too, since Hypermotive's bar is the thickest by far. The material just isn't strong enough, and the holes in the bar for the scoop's airflow weaken it even more.

Get the Hotchkis Competition sways. They'll improve the rear end of the car (stiffness is +123% over stock), get rid of just about any understeer, and actually create some oversteer under certain situations (practice before you take the car to the limit the first time ). The Eibach bars are pretty weak in comparison.

BTW, any rear tie bar you can buy is pretty much useless. Kinda like using PVC piping for a roll cage. Have you seen how thick the steel rear suspension crossmember is? And how tiny the aluminum tie bar is?