Newbee Question Struts And Springs

[mike.gani]

Hi,

I own ES300 '02. I'm planning to change the rims to 19". Now, I'm still searching for lowering springs and struts (shocks). Actually, this is my first time modify a car, so your suggestion and opinion are greatly appreciated.

I found a site, www.shox.com.. and this is the list of item available for my car:

1. Kyb Struts

2. Eibach Pro - Kit Springs --Details : lowers 1.1 inch fr. & rear

3. B&G Sport Springs --Details : lowers 1.4 fr and rear

4. Ingalls Camber Kit Front --Details : Allows one degree per front axle for two degrees buy two kits.

5. Ingalls Rear fastcam Camber Bolts --Details : Allows one degree adj. per front axle for a 2% adj. buy two kits.

Are those good stuffs? mm, this is kind of a silly question (sorry), but what are those camber kit for?

I saw the spring rates of Tanabe df210 is 2.8/2.7. Is that comfort or hard kinda springs? Do you guys know what is the range of spring rates for comfort or sport performance springs?

Thank you.

Michael Gani

[blk_on_blk]

Ah, man, those are some mix-and-match questions... especially about how the 'feel' will be with the spring rates. I mean, to get 19's to fit, you are going to have to go with a pretty low-profile tire, and that will make the ride more rough. These cars are set up for luxury, so you have a long way to go to really get them to ride rough; I've got 18's on our ES300, and it rides nice, but that's with stock suspension. Because of the strut assembly, you are limited when going with plus size tires. They will rub on the strut tower if you get too tall of a profile of tire on a larger rim... so that's something to watch out for. If you look at the wheel/tire combonations that the Tire Rack offers for your ride, you'll see what fits and clears. Also really look at the wheel offset... these vehicles take a pretty high offset. The Tire Rack will also give you insight on what the range is (I think it's like +39 to +45, but I can't remember for sure).

As to the products, they are all pretty good stuff. The KYBs are factory (I think). If you lower the vehicle significantly, that will change your camber (tilt of the wheel: the tops of a car's wheels tilt inward when the camber is negative, outward when it is positive), so to correct for that at the new ride height, you'll need a camber kit. That will correct the tilt of the wheel and bring it back into alignment for the ride height you've lowered it to. To be honest, it's a pain, and I can't imagine really lowering a car like this riding on 19's... you're almost guaranteed to rub somewhere.

If I were you, and looking for performance in the suspension, I would go with the KYB's and search for decent sway bars for your ride. The ES300 has lame sway bars... thicker sway bars would really improve the handling while keeping a nice complainant ride, even with 19's, and you wouldn't rub (if you get the right wheel width, offset, and tire profile). Now, if you wanted to lower the car for style/looks/competion/what-ever, I'd go with a pneumatic suspension to bring it down low for show, then back up to a normal ride height for driving... that way you won't have to worry about camber issues (if you dial in the ride height correctly).

Good luck.