to me D2's are perfect .. they are height adjustable , which means you'll be able to lower and raise your car depending on your mood !! lol's , after having gone from pedders springs to D2 coilovers , i'd never get a spring set ever again .. the freedom and the different amount of settings you'd be able to change are what makes me love D2's so much .. quality is awesome , and the color is hot (in my opinion) ..

but i guess each person has their favorites ..

This post has been edited by an02: Dec 23, 2007 - 8:21 AM

Next update!

Got a 24 point safety check at Pedders yesterday. In my opinion it was well worth the 14 bucks it cost - I now have in my hands a report on all of my suspension and steering systems.

The car has 240,000kms and has never had the shocks replaced so that's their first recommendation (even though they are in quite an acceptable condition).

The front suspension lower bushes and radius bushes are pretty worn and recommended to be replaced, same with the rear lower bushes. No big deal, they are pretty cheap.

The steering gear has the comment "bad internal knocking/rack mounts worn/movement". I've been aware of that for a while and had forgotten about it. I don't think it's that big a deal, they quoted me $600 to fix it. I may check it out and replace it myself.

Plus I need new tyres. They have really bad edge wear (possible to do with the soft bushes) and I was aware that they were pretty stuffed. No big deal. I expect a new set to be less than $600.

So it's pretty much definite that I'll get a set of coilovers now. The downside is that I have to wait another week for all of the suppliers to open back up after xmas before I can get pricing. I'm leaning towards the D2s but I'll get a price on the Teins just for kicks.

The problem is that I have to watch that I don't spend too much money - I need to keep enough to get me through another year of uni!

Got a price yesterday on some coilovers. My supplier recommends the G4 brand (as distributed by Just Jap http://www.justjap.com/g4trackinfo.htm). Apparently they are made in the same factory as the D2s, except they are blue, not purple.

From what I can tell they seem to be better supported as Just Jap stock all replacement parts, etc.

The price is right, AU$1375 for all four coilovers, delivered to my door. I'm gonna get them ordered tomorrow and should only take about a week or so to arrive.

I also got a quote on Tein Super streets. $2600 and a 4-8 week lead time as they don't stock any in the country!

I figure that the Taiwanese units should suit me fine. I mean it's not like I'm racing or drifting or anything heavy like that. It's just a daily driver that I like to drive a little more agressively than the usual person.

You could also go with Ksport they are made by the same manufacturer as d2s and g4 but are orange instead of the blue and purple.

if i might make a brief contribution:

i happen to own BOTH an oem shock/tein s.tech setup AND tein super streets. in fact, i just switched from the coilovers to the oem kit today, as i'm planning to rebuild my ss dampers and wanted to save them the punishment of the detroit winter (freexing temperatures, and salt on the roads...injustices you hopefully never encounter).

the ss dampers are FANTASTIC. worth every penny you might pay for them. i race autocross, and the super streets put the celica in a handling class all it's own. while the car is at a power disadvantage to most of it's competitors, the suspension (and good tire choices) more than make up for it. the ability to corner-weight the car and dial in the appropriate height/damping combination is awesome. they not only handle fantastically, the ride is surprisingly livable day-to-day as well.

however, if you're not racing.... the s.techs are plenty of a drop for anyone who drives more than perfectly-paved carparks (i have snow to contend with, too...but honestly, lowering a car too much makes driving a hassle), and the ride is even better. if you are looking for aesthetics alone, i would highly suggest the s.techs, as they're far more economical than any coilover setup (even with new shocks) and ride better than the oem springs OR fancy adjustables.

that's my $.02, anyway.

>
Thanks uberschall, really appreciated.

For me performance is as important as aesthetics. Comfort is still important but second to the first two. As I've said before they are really only for street use (although I'd love to try the celi on a track some day).

The reasons I decided against the s.techs was that a) they seem overly expensive and b) they don't seem to give a noticeable enough drop. I'd like about 40-50mm on both the front and back. It seemed like the Pedders Sportsryder springs were the best bet if I only had to do the springs but the shocks need replacing too, thus the reason I am leaning towards coilovers.

Whilst everybody raves about the ss dampers, and they aren't too ridiculously priced, I'm hesitant about them because:
a) For warranty problems they have to be sent back to Japan to be rebuilt. In the meantime the car must be off the road for weeks (months?).
b) They have an 8-week lead time as they aren't stocked in the country (oz).

-----------------------------------------

I did a lot of reading about the D2/G4 coilovers last night and after that I'm now a little hesitant. The general consensus is that they are crap but good value. The thing is that I don't want to be having to replace parts any time soon (I'd expect at least 60,000km out of them). On the plus side, replacement parts for the D2/G4s are readily available, the Teins don't seem to be so friendly...

If the ss dampers were in the country I would probably bite the bullet and get them. Is there any other similar price/quality brands to the teins?

I briefly read about people building their own coilovers using some kind of sleeve kit and normal shocks. Any comments about this?

I dont know, but here in Sydney.
There is a place that rebuilt Teins.
Let me know how you go with the G4s.
I was planning to get them, but after hearing mixed reviews.
I'm not sure what to do

>

riding on custom set springs w/ 3" drop w/ shot shocks was like riding a pole up ya arse! big no no.. unless you prefer that... -R6

OK I got sick of my indecision and ordered a set of G4 coilovers yesterday. They should take about a week to get here so I'll install them next weekend.

I'll def take some pics then

>


I'd like to drop mine just a bit, 1.5-2 inches sounds good to me. Where do I begin ?
Should I start a new thread ?

I am thinking Mida's could do the actually lowering, would they supply the parts needed ?

As you can tell, I have no idea and am just guessing as a way to get this done.

Thanks

>
Hi Dave,

I'd suggest getting the Pedders sportsryder springs. I'm sure midas would do it for you but they might not have decent springs. The springs are about $350 and they will probably charge you about that much again to install.

---

In an update to my thread, there was a lot of stuffing around and stuffed up orders and I'm still waiting for my coilovers. They are supposed to arrive today but if they don't I'm going to have to wait until easter before I have a chance to put them on

Also getting some new Kuhmo tyres on Friday. Can't wait - my crappy federals are so slippery in the wet and it's been raining here almost continually for like 3 months now.

>

Thanks Mangozac.

I'll google those springs and see. So I dont need to go into changing struts etc ?
If I needed to do that, I'd probably just give it a miss. Just want to go as low as I can without overhauling the car and under $1k.

Midas the best place you think or somewhere better ? I was just throwing it out there as an option. Maybe I can get quotes from a few places.

Thanks again.
PS Yes, raining down here in Sydney alot too!

>
No, you shouldn't need to change the struts - unless they are getting really old. In order to drop that 1.5" to 2" (the sportsryders are about 40mm IIRC) they shouldn't need changing (as far as I've been told).

Honestly I've had no experience with Midas. The sportsryder springs I mentioned are made by Pedders. I'd steer clear of king springs or crappy stuff like that - they are designed solely for dumping a commodore, not to make a sports car handle nicely (whilst lowering at the same time). If you go with Pedders then whilst you're at it get them to do a 28 point check for $14. Just to make sure everything else is OK

Thanks mate.

So Pedders can install them too I take it ??
Anyone else you can think of that can install ?

Thanks again.

>
Yeah Pedders can do the install too. I'd expect any suspension place can do it. Or do it yourself (as I am) if you are that way inclined...

No worries man. Keep us posted on what you end up doing

Oh ok. Who else can do the install that you can think of ?
Also, these "sportsryders" who else sell's them or are they Pedders only ?

They are the best for performance and a mild 40mm drop that you know of ?

I don't think I can do this myself, I have enough trouble checking the oil !! Not a history of tinkering with cars. Give me a computer... well thats another story ;-)



Also, have you, or anyone, heard of these fella's ?
http://www.wholesalesuspension.com.au/

Or

http://www.shiftperformance.com.au/

Thanks

>
The Sportsryders are made by Pedders so I'd expect that they're the only place you can get them from. In any case they aren't a bad price. As far as I know they are your best bet. Have a talk to Callum (NGHTKD on these forums) as he actually has them on his car. I was going to get them but because I needed to replace my shocks as well I decided to go with coilovers.

Those other sites look OK - it seems like they will be able to get the other brands that our US buddies talked about earlier in the thread. I'd expect that they'll be more exxy though.

Reading from this post down:
http://www.ozcelica.com/deltaforum/index.p...mp;#entry152073

Shows that people don't think much of the Pedders springs.
Such as comments like:

"King springs make pedders and paint them."
and
"LOL @ pedders.."
and
"In a more serious note I've also heard Pedders and King Springs are made in the same factory
that can only turn me off more"

Koni and Eibach seem to have a good rep. Need to see how much they are in Australia.


I think I might need to PM NGHTKD as he doesn't seem to be subscribed to this thread.

Has anyone used http://www.newcelica.org/ ?

This post has been edited by DaveQB: Mar 2, 2008 - 6:43 PM

>

Wow first I've heard of it. I've tried a few times to get access to ozcelica but it never works

My point still stands that the king springs are crap though

When you find out the Koni and Eibach prices let us know.

Woohoo my coilovers arrived!



Will put them on over the weekend. Exciting!