Best 1G street susp mods on a budget

[King Salami]

Hey guys -
I know this has probably been asked about a million times, but...
What relatively inexpensive suspension mods can I accomplish to tighten up my 92 TSi AWD handling on the street? I value the stock ride, but I'd like to tighten up the chassis a bit (maybe 20% stiffer) & I wouldn't mind dropping about 1" up front & about 1.5+ in the back. I really want to avoid dropping too low & running a set of kidney-buster springs.
(I've looked at the Tuning Guide & I've perused quite a few posts on the issue.) I'm looking at a set of KYB GR-2s right now. Are they a bit damper than stock? Also, what kind of spring rate can I run with these?
I'd love to replace all my stock bushings too, but I heard it's a real booger! Is a bushing kit worth the hassle?

 

[turboholic]

-What's the condition of your strut & spring? If they are still good, I would suggest replacing the control arm bushing with urethane bushing, they do make a different.

 

[King Salami]

I've got just over 80,000 miles on the stock setup. The ride is still fairly controlled, but it has a bit more body roll than I'd like.
I've also got a very mild shimmy in the front end around 30 mph & 60 mph; it's not tire balancing - I just got 'em balanced last month. Any suggestions?

 

[GreenGSX]

I always answer these questions the same way. What do you plan on doing with the car? Is it a daily driver, Autocrosser, or road racer? From your budget I'm going to assume your a daily driver.

If your on a tight budget I say go used. Look in the DSM trader for Eibach or H&R springs and then get a set of the GR2's. I've autocrossed on them for a whole season and there not to bad for a street set-up.

Tire shimmy is most often tire balence. It can also be caused by either a bent rim or a bad tire. You need to check the wear pattern on the tires for signs of allignment or suspension issues. You can run your hand along the inside and outside edge of the tire to check for cupping or uneven wear patterns. Just be sure to check for any exposed belts for you do or you'll end up with a nasty suprise.

Forget about the urethane. It's only for the race suspension guys and even then its doesn't buy you a lot for the amount of pain in the ass work you'll have to do to get them in.

Tim

 

[turboholic]

Originally posted by GreenGSX
Forget about the urethane. It's only for the race suspension guys and even then its doesn't buy you a lot for the amount of pain in the ass work you'll have to do to get them in.

-Actually, it's getting tho old bushings out that's PITA, the new urethane bushings just slice in.

-If you don't mind the stock height look, stay with your AWD springs, I had seen people autoX & rally with those springs, they only upgrade the struts.

-If I were you, I would replace the sway bar bushings to urethane, that'll get rid some body roll.

-I'm using the C/O from DiamondStarSpecialty with AGX, 375 lbs front, 350 lbs rear.

 

[kylemoto]

Like the rest of us posting here, I wanted a decent suspension that would not break the bank, nor my kidneys. I ended up with a fairly standard solution that has worked well.


I changed the main suspension bushings to urethane. I know others have said its a PITA, not worth the time, etc., but my Talon already had over 300,000 miles and since I was going to replace things anyway.....

I swapped out some, but not all, bushings. The front lower control arm, front anti-roll bar bushings and rear arm bushing were changed out. At the same time I added a Suspension Techniques rear anti-roll bar - this is s nice piece, properly prepared by powder coating. It comes with urethane bushings as well, though much harder than the other ones used. Finally the bar has rod ends instead of links.

Some time ago - shoot, a long time ago, I did my first mod, which was a front strut tower brace. Its still there, and aside from looking old, seems to work just fine.

Springs and struts are the favorite mix of Pro-Kit and AGX gas adjustables. Tires are next, I still have some rediculous Potenza RE92s that have come from the stone age (they were considered just "decent" back when the Talon was new!).

So, hows it ride? Nice, overall. The springs and shocks definitely are harsher riding, you can tell this is no luxury car! The strut bar and bushings help complete this, I can feel the tires respond to anything; bumps, grooves, anything. Finally, I know the actual tire response is much improved due to the bushings. And if I want, I can play around with things since the shock and rear anti-roll bar are adjustable. Just the thing to keep a curious engineer busy all day!

Kyle

 

[wastefuldreamer]

I got sprint springs for pretty cheap. $130 or $140 for the set of 4. www.impactparts.com