Ok, so im really fed up with my car looking like a 4x4. So the next job is definitely lowering it. I'm currently in the process of searching for a new job so im not expecting for this to be able to happen until early summer but hopefully before. Anyway so I've been doing some research and from another post i found out about Gravana.
My two choices so far are:
Koni Yellows sport struts - set of 4 with Eibach Sportline Race Lowering springs
and
Gravana Coil over Suspension system by B+G
I know many of you have had experience with Koni Yellows and i have read and heard good stuff same with Eibach, but has anyone had experience with both together as a setup.
Also has anybody had experience with Gravana Coilovers? It would be nice to know the basics, how do they handle, what sort of ride do they give etc.? Now the price difference between the koni and eibach setup and the gravana coilovers is aprox. $60 is it worth just paying the extra 60 for being able to adjust the ride height etc.
Now i plan on fitting whichever setup myslef, i have had experience in fitting struts and shocks before so im assuming i should be able to fit these. Now im assuming i can also use the stock strut MOUNTS for front and rear on the koni's, i know i can use them for the coilover setup as it says so on the page but i just want to make sure before i go purchasing either setup.?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Ashley.
(99 - Sunfire - Red - 2200)(95 - Cavalier z24 - Purple - 2.3 quad four)
Good choice on both set ups...really all depnds on how much adjusting you plan on doing to the Sunfire?
The Gravana set up will match your strut mounts so you won't have to replace anything and from what I've seen and heard of them, they are a very decent ride with the ability to adjust about anything!
Konis have good settings too and Sportlines are what I have ran for more than 5 years (with the Reds).
Really...toss up on which one. All comes to what are you wanting to do that you need to be able to adjust so much? If the answer is nothing....then the Konis may be the best option?
Install...only think I can think of is you'll need to drill out your rear strut mount to fit the Konis as the shaft is a little larger on the Konis than stock. Also, the fronts are inserts and you'll need to use your OEM sturt cartridge to insert the Koni. Not hard at all with the right set of tools.
Eh...old man with a Corvette now...it was bound to happen sooner rather than later right?
if ride height adjustability is important to you, then go with the coilovers.
otherwise i'd say struts/springs for a drop.
unless you are going all out on your suspension and are looking to have the car corner balanced, you won't see the full potential of the coilovers IMO...
Ok thanks guys you've helped a lot!
As for the adjustability i think it would be nice to be able to adjust the ride height of the car, my only worry with struts and springs is dropping it to much or not enough. I don't really have any worries about speed bumps etc because there isn't many around here the only problem i can for see is our driveway, the beginning has a bump up onto the driveway, so i suppose i would really need to measure out how far i can drop it if i went to strut spring combo but with the coilovers i could adjust.
Im not planning on do to much to my sunfire, its only my first car just a drop, some rims really so it would mainly be for looks but it would be nice to get some better performance out of the car for example less body roll etc. But thats not to important to me at the moment.
(99 - Sunfire - Red - 2200)(95 - Cavalier z24 - Purple - 2.3 quad four)
Also as i said earlier in the post the coilovers are only 60$ more, im starting to think maybe i should just pay that as its not that much, not so much for being able to adjust because that will be nice and will allow me to get the perfect height for me but also it seems they are a little more straight forward to fit. But it is nice to here other peoples opinions and experiences with either of the setups before i make a decision.
(99 - Sunfire - Red - 2200)(95 - Cavalier z24 - Purple - 2.3 quad four)
Tein Basics if you want a bit of adjustability.
Otherwise, I'd save myself the hassle of the Koni's and just get D-Specs.
I think Koni is run by a bunch of f*cktards... Obviously, if I need to drill and weld because they're too f*cking lazy, then they don't deserve my hard-earned cash. I *could* have understood when they first came out (Reds), and people we're all over a set of low-low struts actually coming out... But five (or more?) years later, you'd *think* the revision (Yellows) would actually come ready to be bolted-up to the car. There's absolutely ZERO valid response from Koni why we should STILL need to hack up our struts to use their product.
/end rant
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2002 Sunfire -->
- Ractive steering wheel
- ASA 17" EM9 + Nexen N5000 215/45/17 (steelies for winter)
- D-Spec Lowering kit @ 1.4" (issues currently
)
- Rockford P250.1 + MTX MZS1004 + Panasonic CQ-C8313U head unit
- Barely legal tint.
koni originally designed the front struts as a cartridge as GM would not give up the rights to the front strut design... (at least that's what i remember reading on the red's years and years ago) koni also probably realizes that most j-body owners are a bunch of cheap bastards and at the time when the yellows were first released, their product was one of the most expensive struts on the market. add the cost of redesigning them to be a bolt in affair and you'd have a severely high priced strut.
the yellows are a good product. It's not like they are hard to install if you have any kind of mechanical ability. no welding necessary to install (in fact they advise against it as you'd boil the fluid inside the strut) i've had them on my car for at least 4 years and they ride great. personally, i'm not a huge fan of tokico as a couple people i know have had problems with reliability with some of their other products...
Ok i've been doing some measuring today and well i already new my fire looked like a 4x4 but i didn't realise that there was almost a 4 inch gap from wheel top to fender on the front lol! I like the koni's and have read good reports along with Eibach but after doing some measuring im not sure springs and struts is going to give me a satisfactory drop, im looking to leave maybe 1 to 1 and a half inches gap between fender and wheel top.
I've taken a look at the Tein Basics and they look pretty good, nice price aswell. My question is do they require any modifications to fit? Or like the gravanas will they pretty much bolt rite in?
Thanks for all the help guys!
(99 - Sunfire - Red - 2200)(95 - Cavalier z24 - Purple - 2.3 quad four)
firemachine69 wrote:Tein Basics if you want a bit of adjustability.
Otherwise, I'd save myself the hassle of the Koni's and just get D-Specs.
I think Koni is run by a bunch of f*cktards... Obviously, if I need to drill and weld because they're too f*cking lazy, then they don't deserve my hard-earned cash. I *could* have understood when they first came out (Reds), and people we're all over a set of low-low struts actually coming out... But five (or more?) years later, you'd *think* the revision (Yellows) would actually come ready to be bolted-up to the car. There's absolutely ZERO valid response from Koni why we should STILL need to hack up our struts to use their product.
/end rant
like mentioned, why waste a ton of money on engineering thise part for the fronts when the majority of j owners dont even buy expensive parts to begin with. i perfer konis over tokico.
Ashley Chapman wrote:Ok i've been doing some measuring today and well i already new my fire looked like a 4x4 but i didn't realise that there was almost a 4 inch gap from wheel top to fender on the front lol! I like the koni's and have read good reports along with Eibach but after doing some measuring im not sure springs and struts is going to give me a satisfactory drop, im looking to leave maybe 1 to 1 and a half inches gap between fender and wheel top.
I've taken a look at the Tein Basics and they look pretty good, nice price aswell. My question is do they require any modifications to fit? Or like the gravanas will they pretty much bolt rite in?
Thanks for all the help guys!
teins bolt right in but you will need to get strut mounts or use your stock ones.
I've had DSpecs and Road Magnets, they were a good ride, I enjoyed them. I now have Tein SS coilovers, I will never go back to a spring strut combo again that is how much i like these....
Click Sig for Jersey GM's Official Website
Ok then well i think I'm definitely going for coil overs instead of strut spring combo. The tein basics look good and they are a good price too. Thats good that they bolt right in, it will make life a bit easier, although i probably could i don't want to have to start drilling mounts out and stuff, i know my luck something will go wrong haha. So im going to keep searching around for prices now, Gravana do them for just under 900$ (ca) and shipped there just under 1000$ (ca) so they will be more affordable for me and i think more suitable for a first set up. Also i've just re-checked the drop on the teins and they go 2.5 front and 2.4 rear which should give me the drop i am looking for.
Thanks again guys for all the help, obviously if anybody has any other reviews, info etc that they think will be useful please feel free the post it up.
(99 - Sunfire - Red - 2200)(95 - Cavalier z24 - Purple - 2.3 quad four)
