bad suspension...need info

[GofaST4life]

i really enjoy my GST, but im constantly reminded of the guy i bought it from. He really treated the car like crap, when i got it was barely running, cylinder misfires, spark plugs were so messed up you really cant even imagine... i put alot of money into the engine and getting it to actually run like it should...but what i have not done yet is the suspension, he (the guy i bought it from) didnt lower the car correctly, apparently all he did was heat up the springs so they shrunk, witch lowered the car (im not sure what he was talking about here)...so all in all, if i hit i slight bump in the road my car is hopping like i have hydraulics (very embarrassing, wouldnt ya say), and at higher rates of speed the front of my car smacks the ground scratching the bumper and eveyrthing else underneath, i dont think it handles like it should either...

Im thinking that buying new shocks/struts/springs would fix this, are there anyother things i should look at to see if maybe there is other damage or what not. Anything else i could do to help with the handling?

thankx guys

 

[absolute_DSM]

Wow I wouldnt have even bought the car if I knew it was treated like that.

A new suspension setup (springs/shocks) would fix that "lowering technique". Youll notice a big difference with just that. But if you want more look into rear sway bars, better tires, etc to handle better. Check out the handling forum

 

[95burgundyesi]

Also if you lower your car with your new set up be sure to get a camber kit. You might want to climb under the car and make sure the oil pan or anythign else hasnt been too beaten up from bottoming out.

While your at it make sure to check small stuff like tie rod ends and other potentially worn out suspension parts. Small stuff like that will make vibrations at certain speeds when they are worn out and decrease the ride quality. When I bought my tsi, there was one outter tie rod that was bad, and Eagle RS-A tires on there with a production date 7 years old!

 

[NATAS]

If you're on a budget go with the Eibach ProKit springs and some KYB AGX struts. You'll only have to spend around $500 and it's a very nice ride. Don't lower it too much though because then it'll still ride harsh over pumps. I'd say 2" front and back is low enough to reduce body roll significantly and give that aggresive stance, but not so low you sacrifice (much) ride quality.

I run that suspension set-up on my 2G with RM front and rear sway bars and just a APR front strut bar and it isn't bad at all. I have about $850 into my suspension including front and rear camber correction kits from RRE ($140), but that's with all the goodies. You could get a set-up like mine which IMO is just fine for daily driving with the occasional trip down some twisties or you can spend around $850+ (base I.E. Megan) for coilovers.

Now if you have a heap of dough to spend on the car then of course a set of "true" (not the $35 Ebay ones hahaha) coilovers will be even better than the semi-budget Eibach/AGX combo. Shit man, anything is better than cut or heated springs. I'd even take OEM over that crap any day. Unf*cking someone else's hacked ass car is a pain, so more power to you for doing it and good luck with everything because you'll need it.

 

[laserspeeddemon]

Since he beat the shit out of the car. I would check your tie-rod ends and ball joints for wear and replacing the bushings with Prothane or Energy Suspension pieces.

 

[GofaST4life]

thankx guys, i really appreciate the info