im looking to drop my 2005 cavalier and i need to know which suspension kit to buy.....
ive been looking into the tokico d-specs or the koni sports and i need to get some feedback from people on here that own them.
well those are the 2 best struts to lower on, no matter what you pick. (as long as its not cheap 40 dollar coils from ebay). both are adjustable (koni yellows being external meaning not having to remove them from the car where as the koni reds which arent made anymore you have to remove to adjust.)
only thing you have to remember is the d-specs are full replacements where as the konis have front inserts which mean you have to cut the front strut above the knuckle and use the knuckle on the koni so you can bolt it up. wheather you wanna do that or not is up to you and will probably help you make the decision between d-specs or konis
so tokico are a direct replacement and can just bolt right on?? or do i need to mod anything to make them fit also??? thanks for the info....
nope they just bolt right in. put your springs, bump stops and mounts on and just bolt it up
I'd go with Tokico... just because they are a complete replacement and don't need any moding like the Konis do.
Other's might go with the Konis because they have been around longer than the D-specs, and are known to work extreamly well in the JBodies.
It's up to you... but which ever way you go, you'll have great struts!
do i need to buy new bump stops and mounts also? sorry im not very informed in this area...
I could swear all this has been asked in the last week...... It's like deja vu.
I would personally go Koni's. Like stated, they have a good long history of performance. Not to knock D-Specs though, which seem to be building their own good history.
You don't need to replace anything else unless it's bad. I always expect to find something bad when I take suspension apart. Good thing Napa is 5 minutes away.
i perfer koni over d-specs but thats just me.
bump stops no you use the stock ones, just trim it down. as for mounts, depending how good of shape yours are will determine if you need new ones or not
thanks for the pics. the drop looks great. how much did everything set you back? im talking about shocks/struts/spring/bump stops/strut mounts? seems a lil more expensive.
Mine cost me $553.75 all said and done with koni yellows lowered about 2". I cut my stock springs and bent the top of the front ones so that they would sit flat on the mount and cut the backs too but didnt have to bend them. I would not recommend that route unless you know what you are doing because you could screw it up. I paid $550 for the koni yellows shipped from gravana from the group purchase and 3.75 for bolts because they didnt come with the struts. I didnt replace any mounts or bump stops as they were all salvagable. When I drilled the rear strut mounts out I had to shorten the metal sleeves a little, you will understand when you get there if your car was like mine. I did it in a morning before work, about 5 hours of till completion for me, plan on a lot more than that. Rides like a dream now, and handles great!!!
02 LS Sport
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135396
68 Firebird
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135556
56 GMC
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135587
66 Suburban
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135589
Chuck Norris Approved Evil Cav wrote:I'd go with Tokico... just because they are a complete replacement and don't need any moding like the Konis do.
This should not be a consideration when choosing your struts. Putting the Konis in the stock shell is easy as pie. If you can't do it, then maybe modding a car isn't your thing.
You'll need access to a drill and an angle grinder. That's it.
it does factor in because some people dont want to go through the hassel of doing it. i perfer koni over tokico anyway
Dennis wrote:Mine cost me $553.75 all said and done with koni yellows lowered about 2". I cut my stock springs and bent the top of the front ones so that they would sit flat on the mount and cut the backs too but didnt have to bend them. I would not recommend that route unless you know what you are doing because you could screw it up. I paid $550 for the koni yellows shipped from gravana from the group purchase and 3.75 for bolts because they didnt come with the struts. I didnt replace any mounts or bump stops as they were all salvagable. When I drilled the rear strut mounts out I had to shorten the metal sleeves a little, you will understand when you get there if your car was like mine. I did it in a morning before work, about 5 hours of till completion for me, plan on a lot more than that. Rides like a dream now, and handles great!!!
Why did you cut your springs? You can pick up some drop springs for >$200.00 Springs are cheap, and cutting stock ones is dangerous.
I cut my stock ones because everyone said not to and I had to find out why, The reason is because if you just cut them and put everythng back together the spring can slide sideways around the mount and allow the car to drop. Once I figured this out I just heated and bent the top of the spring over so that it seats nicely on the mount. I have cut springs in cars before and it is the suggested method of lowering old cars so I figured it should work here. Besides since it worked and rides nice I saved myself $200. I am sure you cant tell the difference between cut springs and bought springs from driving it. If anyone is lowered in phoenix I would be happy to be proved wrong.
02 LS Sport
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135396
68 Firebird
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135556
56 GMC
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135587
66 Suburban
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135589
Dennis wrote: I am sure you cant tell the difference between cut springs and bought springs from driving it. If anyone is lowered in phoenix I would be happy to be proved wrong.
just stop talkin' right there
No doubt, sorry sir but you're an idiot, the springs found on your Cavalier versus older muscle cars are completely different.
You spend $553 on struts, but cut your springs. I love it. You can pick up lowering springs for like $75 shipped on eBay if you had to.
Dennis wrote:I cut my stock ones because everyone said not to and I had to find out why, The reason is because if you just cut them and put everythng back together the spring can slide sideways around the mount and allow the car to drop.
This is not the reason and you've made things even worse by heating up the spring to form it to the mount.
The reason not to do this is because we're using progressive rate springs and even the highest rated section of the spring isn't rated high enough to support the car and restrict the amount of travel you have to prevent it from bottoming out.
By heating the spring, you've further compromised the integrity and now have further risk of the spring breaking.
Basically... forget what you think you know about springs and do some research into modern suspensions. And please don't give this sort of advice without understanding what you're doing.
have any of you tried it before or are you just repeating what you have heard? Im saying It works IF you do it right. My advise was not to do this because most people would do it wrong. Most people shouldnt try this but If done right it works great.
Quote:
The reason not to do this is because we're using progressive rate springs and even the highest rated section of the spring isn't rated high enough to support the car and restrict the amount of travel you have to prevent it from bottoming out
If this were the case a stock car would bottom out and it doesnt. My konis on the softest setting dont bottom out often. Also when you cut a coil off of a spring it increases the rate.
I knew I would get some flaming for this but thats ok. I know my car handles and rides better than stock. I have put lots of hard miles on the cut springs and have had no problems. The man asked a question I gave an answer. You can do this job for a little over $550 but most people should spend the money and buy springs to save the hassle of getting the ride height right and getting the spring to sit on the mount properly as well as to avoid the danger of not getting it right.
I have done a ton of technical research on modern suspension and the only thing I have found so far about not cutting springs has been on forums like this where most people are not really experts. I understand that some people have had bad experiences with this before but I would bet that the people that just cut springs didnt make sure they stayed on the upper mount before they drove it and the people that heated springs did just that and collapsed the middle of the spring. Doing that would cause a weak spot and cause the spring to break in half causing the whole car to drop.
Ok...end rant...bottom line is that you can have a killer suspension set up with adjustable struts for under $800 even if you buy springs and have to replace a few parts.
I would strongly recommend getting or making a lower subframe brace because a lowered car and one that is made to handle better than stock will put more lateral stress on the lower control arm mounts which causes the subframe to deflect resulting in understeer. A lower subframe brace helps stop subframe brace and takes away a lot of understeer which balances the car nicely.
02 LS Sport
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135396
68 Firebird
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135556
56 GMC
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135587
66 Suburban
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2135589
Looks like tokicos losing the battle here, so I'll throw in my opinion. From what I read about the konis, everone seems to like them, no real complaints. I have the tokicos and I absolutely love them. They handle my sportline drop extremely well, easily adjustable, bolt-on install. I have yet to ride in a car with Konis, but I'm sure the d-specs would hold their own against the konis. Regardless, anyone saying that one is better than the other WITHOUT trying them both is just blowing steam.
well i got what i needed. thanks guys. really good info.
i am thinking about this too d-spec's or koni's
im def going with the tokico's. thanks to everyone for their advice. how much will install cost me if i take it to a shop??
