ok i have a few questions on suspension....i just bought a 96 z24 and i used to own a 97 2.2 coupe, which i made a horrible mistake and put some dropzone coilovers on my stock shocks. Which resulted in a harsh and annoying ride. since then ive owned a lowered accord and integra...the accord was lowered on arospeed coilovers which was also a bad idea but was an amazing difference in ride quality then the cavalier. the integra was lowered on skunk 2 coils and had kyb gr2 shocks which as u know are a stock replacement and that rode almost stock. All of you cavalier owners suggest to get koni's, a very expensive shock, with any spring or coilover that drops ur car more than 1.5inches. Why can you get away with this in a honda or acura and still have a good ride quality and not in a cavalier?
It's just the way the suspension is made. Cavalier suspension has less travel than those others to start with, so further reducing it makes a larger difference. It's not a brand issue at all, it's specific to each car.
suspensions differe from car to car. what may be a good product for one car, may be terrible for another
so basically theres not a lot of options besides koni's and a good set of springs or coilovers or a Full coilover setup. Isnt there like a decent to good set of springs and shock combo that could be bought for like 500 or under? I dont want a slammed car just like a nice drop probably like 1.5 inches taht would improve the stance of the car and the handeling without sacrificing to much ride quality.
Hi Bill:
To improve handling and ride quality there is no cheap stuff. You must put some cash to get better than stock suspension even on cars that already perform well. There is another option you can look at. I just intalled the Tokico D-Specs Suspension System that includes the Springs for a drop of 1.6". I didn't get that much drop (just 1.25" for now) but my cavalier has a better stance and looks good and with the system easy adjustability it gives me a wide range of handling/ride options. I like it a lot. Lamentably it has a little higher price than the one you are looking for but it worth the investment for sure. Sorry I can't compare to Koni's because I haven't test them but you can read comments from members that have tested both here in the org. Good luck.
Just for reference:
Click here for the Tokico D-Specs Suspension System
I dunno dude, you could get some stuff for pretty decently cheap. KYB AGX and Tein S or H tech, or supsension techniques (the list goes on for decent cheap springs). Lookin at around 500 bucks for a nice ass beginning setup! I dont think thats too bad of a price tag at all for what you'd get
KYB AGXs + Eibach ProKit
AGX: $361 on eBay
ProKit: $240 on Gravana
Less than $500 no. Very good setup for someone who doesn't want to invest the time/money in getting the exact setup they want.
^ exactly. you dont have to buy konis for everything. if you get coilovers, yes you should get konis for the long run. anything that isnt going to pass a 1.5" drop (mainly some springs) then you can use the agxs which are cheaper than konis