I've searched plenty, figured I'd ask: time to drop

[2k1soldierboy]

College kid here, so the celi is the DD, I don't auto-x, but do enjoy a good drive, especially up the local mountains and back roads here in the bay. I don't want to be slammed, or have to crawl over speed bumps, but looking for a noticeable drop with better handling, I realize this sacrifices comfort so hopefully something with hardly any bounce from the road would be ideal.

I've done an exhausting amount of research, and have narrowed it down to a couple choices I have in mind: (not in any specific order)

-hotchkis springs + gr2/trd/agx/koni
-eibach pro kit + gr2/trd/agx/koni
-tein s tech + gr2/trd/agx/koni

I would obviously appreciate any input from those with similar setups or past setups that can tell me their experiences with the different combos, nothing is finalized, as I am open to suggestions, figured there's no better place to ask for help.

The final setup will be (? springs) + (? struts/shocks)

complimented with: hotchkis street sways, energy bushings, powergrid endlinks, tanabe front strut, trd 3 point, cusco/tanabe underbrace

[Littleman54]

I had hotchkis springs before going with full coilovers and i can say that i liked both the drop and the progressive spring rate. If you were to go with some shocks, i'd suggest going with either the agx's or koni's since they have the ability to handle higher spring rates and they have a good amount of adjustability.

Not to certain about trd but i do know that gr2's are meant to be stock replacements and aren't meant or built to handle very high spring rates. But some say they had some good luck running them fine with some performance springs.

But either way your going to feel a different once you get a strut/spring combo, handling is greatly improved. Well, good luck on your search.

[2k1soldierboy]

Thanks Littleman54, I'm almost positive that I'm going to try hotchkis just to get a feel for them, did you ever bottom out with those? That's also a concern of mine..

I love how the ones you listed are the exact ones I'm leaning towards, makes me feel like I'm headed in the right direction as far as suspension goes :) from what I see koni yellow's are only sold as singles, which actually makes it much easier to pay off haha! At the same time I think the kyb agx's would serve me just fine as far as the spring rate goes as you mentioned ^ and at the same time save a good 2 bills~

narrowed it down to either:

hotchkis springs + koni struts
hotchkis + kyb agx

If anyone is willing to add their .02

[Littleman54]

Yeap, all depends on your drop, i had no issues with bottoming out with the hotchkis, they were a pretty smooth ride compared to my coilovers. They handle fairly well, they also bring the celica's rear down a bit too, so it's a bit more even. Just decide on the springs you want, the agx's should be good for what your looking for, but either way both are fairly good at what they do.

Btw, there's a meet on Saturday in the bay you should go to, we are planning on doing a little bit of mountain cruising if your interested. I could try to answer more of your suspension related questions there, if you do decide to go.

[2k1soldierboy]

Awesome, just what I needed to hear about the springs and struts! thanks for answering all my questions!

That would've been perfect had I not worked this saturday.. I met Nico from a craigslist sale of all things and he said something about the meet as well, also made me realize I don't know anyone in the norcal section of this forum :faint: hopefully soon I'll meet all the locals at a future meet or something like that.

By the way my name's Frank

[Littleman54]

Oh nice to meet you, i'll see you sometime at a future meet. Good luck on your buy.

[ateens4]

wow, 1 of each shocks for all 4 corners. nice

[2k1soldierboy]

lol ^ you definitely misinterpreted the post

anyways thread is done Littleman54 gave me all the info I was after

[03GTSTRD]

IMO you should go with the Hotchkis/GR-2 setup since you are a college kid with no intentions on racing or auto-x. I have the Skunk2 springs with the GR-2s and I love the setup.

[Carmaster]

What's a good website to buy suspension parts from?

[2k1soldierboy]

haha I actually had already placed an order for 2 rear koni yellows, might as well complete the package :)

I'm willing to spend for a quality and lasting product, I've only cut one corner when it comes to the celica and that was cheaper tires when desperately needed, lesson learned..

As the general consensus of local shops and members all say that you can't go wrong with koni's. Not trying to take anything away from gr2's by any means, its just the choice I have gone with in my particular build.

I think I will be very happy with the koni yellow's paired with the hotchkis tvs kit, the more I look into koni, the more I like it, and I'll be happy to post pictures of the drop if anybody is interested in the setup.

by the way I love your drop! I wish the roads/driveways in northern california were more tuner friendly..

[2k1soldierboy]

I ordered my koni's from: tirerack
http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/Susptabl.jsp?autoMake=Toyota&autoModel=Celica+GT&autoYear=2001&autoModClar=&brand=all

many here in the bay area also like: andys auto sport
http://www.andysautosport.com/toyota/2000_2004_celica/

since you live closer to the east coast I'd say: titan motor sports
http://www.titanmotorsports.com/susbrak.html

general rule: ebay = n/a

[2k1soldierboy]

:sadpace: so yeah.. koni sport yellow's are officially discontinued for the 7th gen celica, if you can find them, all the power to you.. keep in mind lifetime warranty goes out the window when it comes to a discontinued product, just a word of warning to those who were also interested in a set figured I'd save you the hassle.

A tirerack sales rep was kind enough to call me and let me know the status with this product, he refunded my money no questions asked, and didn't push for me to buy another setup which was very rare in my encounters, in fact seemed rather apologetic for being customer service, for that I thank them, although now I am back to square one.

[RekD0514]

Tein S-Tech and KYB GR2

Call it a day.

[insaneGT-S]

Have you looked into the Tanabe DF210's? I have these springs and IMO they are the best drop you can get. The drop is just perfect and the ride is amazing. I can't complain one bit

[Soo__Fuego]

:sadpace: so yeah.. koni sport yellow's are officially discontinued for the 7th gen celica, if you can find them, all the power to you.. keep in mind lifetime warranty goes out the window when it comes to a discontinued product, just a word of warning to those who were also interested in a set figured I'd save you the hassle.

A tirerack sales rep was kind enough to call me and let me know the status with this product, he refunded my money no questions asked, and didn't push for me to buy another setup which was very rare in my encounters, in fact seemed rather apologetic for being customer service, for that I thank them, although now I am back to square one.

http://store.monkeywrenchracing.com/index.php?cPath=42_50_161

in stock

[Littleman54]

If your going to spend 700-800 dollars on a spring/shock combo, you might as well get a full coilovers, since many of them allow you to adjust dampening and give you the ability lower your car to your preference. They generally include higher spring rates, but give you the ability to soften them up, so they aren't as stiff.

[2k1soldierboy]

Thanks insaneGT-S, although personally I don't think I'm at the point where I am responsible enough to maintain a slammed vehicle right off the bat, especially not in the bay area/campus parking..

I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but this is by far the first time I've ever played with my own suspension, perhaps once I get a starter combo, everything down the road will make more sense such as coilovers as stated ^ by Littleman54, I work a lot and still live at home so money isn't really an impossible obstacle but I do understand where you are coming from as far as practicality goes.

thank you very much for your replies every bit helps me make a proper decision, for whatever reason I never tried monkey wrench.. first thing in the morning when customer service is available thanks a bunch Soo__Fuego!

[Soo__Fuego]

If your going to spend 700-800 dollars on a spring/shock combo, you might as well get a full coilovers, since many of them allow you to adjust dampening and give you the ability lower your car to your preference. They generally include higher spring rates, but give you the ability to soften them up, so they aren't as stiff.

i agree, i would take those 700-800 bucks and buy me a set of jdm d2, k-sport, megan or fortune auto coilovers :drool:

[2SuPeRwHiTe000]

I've been running hotchkis springs and tockiko blues for about 10k miles now and they haven't given me any problems.

[2k1soldierboy]

Thanks all, very glad this is an up and lively thread, cheers to all whom has given their .02