Suspension, Brakes, and Wheels! OH MY!

[HAULN-SS]

do it
do it

[Dave]

thats a good deal, jump on it. See why saving that money instead of blowing it all comes in handy?

[ViPER1313]

OK, IÔÇÖm in the process of buying some suspension parts for my car as well. Currently my front suspension is shot and I have a broken front motor mount. The rear suspension was replaced right before I bought the car, so I can recoup some of my losses by selling it and the good rear motor mount. I have about $1200 right now. Here are my options:

$1000 - Slightly used Tokico Struts / Intrax Lowering Springs / Police Strut Mounts / Aluminum SFBs / Extreme Front & Rear Motor mounts

Pros: Great Deal, high performance parts, police mounts
Cons: Used, guy is pissing me off, not guaranteed to get this deal.

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$1300 - New Tokico Struts / Eibaich Pro Kit / Moog Strut Mounts / Aluminum SFBs / Extreme Front & Rear Motor Mounts

Pros: Exactly what I want, great performance, brand new
Cons: EXPENSIVE

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$1000 - KYB GR2's / Moog Progressive Cargo Coils / Moog Strut Mounts / Aluminum SFBs / Extreme Front & Rear Motor Mounts

Pros: Less Expensive, all new parts, not as harsh of a ride as Eibaichs
Cons: Not high performance, still expensive

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$410 - Aluminum SFBs / Extreme Front & Rear Motor Mounts - Leave suspension for later

Pros: Fixes engine rocking, cheap for now, allows me to work on suspension later
Cons: No new suspension


I could also just replace the front mount, but I think the rear is on it's way out as well and want to do them at the same time. Aluminum subframe bushings are not a necessity, but the current ones are completely worn out and for $95 it makes sense to replace them when I am working on the engine mounts.

[ScottyB]

Adam, don't get GR-2's. they are basically the equivalent of a stock shock and will most likely blow out quickly if you combine them with a stiff coil (even if it's progressive).

sucks about that dude selling the used suspension being a pain to work with, because it sounds like a sweet deal. whats a police mount btw? i hope it means you can mount spotlights and stuff on your car!

[ViPER1313]

whats a police mount btw? i hope it means you can mount spotlights and stuff on your car!

It's a slightly thicker and stiffer mount that came with the Taurus police package. They give quicker turn-in and more control. They were discontinued ~6 months ago and are very expensive and hard to find now .

Oh, and one more reason that the "deal" might not be a deal at all - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=42751">http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=42751</a><!-- m --> . The seller is RI-SHO. The clunking was occurring with his SHO Shop linear springs, which are very low and stiff, and I assume he bought the Intrax springs he is proposing to sell to me to fix this issue. I am afraid that damage might have been done to the mounts though, and I imagine that the SS springs also caused excessive wear to the Tokicos (they are known to kill a pair of GR2's in 6 months.)

I just don't know if its worth the risk to deal with this guy..... will have to question him more at the very least.

[Jeff]

How long are you planning on keeping the car? You spoke the other night as if you may be getting tired of it all together. If you are just gonna beat around in the car for a bit longer and get something else then you might want to hold of on any crazy money at this point. Even if you do plan to keep it for awhile you must decided what it will primarily be used for. If you have the GL as your primary roadgoing piece then you can afford to mod this one up more, but if it will be the highway driver getting you around you might want to leave it more stock and comfortable. Just my thoughts.

[ViPER1313]

No, I have no intentions of selling the SHO anytime soon. I'm keeping it until the end of college and probably after as my toy car - I have always loved the SHO, and now that I own a pretty nice one I have become attached :wink: . I would buy a second one if my parents would let it fly..... I am interested in restoring the SHO, doing all the maintenance it needs and making it a viable Auto-X car / daily driver. I don't feel like tracking it because I can't afford to lose it at this point.

About the GL - it was "given" to me, but seeing as how I have another car now and my parents paid for it, I have no real claim to it and can't sell it. Due to this fact, the GL will become my 15 year old brother's in 6 months, and thus will most likely be wrecked within the next 9 . I can't really complain about that - it's only fair to my brother (not really - he gets the shitty end of the deal.)

[Mike]

whatever you do, do not waste your money on GR2s.

[Jeff]

Ok, letÔÇÖs talk GR2s here for a bit. I want rants from people who have owned them. I have my complete GLH suspension coming from Iowa in about 2 weeks and the shocks are blown. I want to do an OEM type strut with a bit sportier feel as I will be using OEM GLH springs which are a bit lower and a bit harsher, but not racing springs. I'm sure Adam will want to hear these too. I have heard that they are basically over priced OEM struts (from Scottie and others at TD.com) but I have also heard that they are OEM with a twist, like the compression rate is different or they are a bit stiffer. Let us know MM world.

Monroe-Sensa-trac f/ Dodge Omni $45.00
Sample photo

KYB- GR2 f/ Dodge Omni $61

[ScottyB]

Jeff, for for a slightly sporty shock....i bet kyb agx's would fit the bill for you. that or maybe bilstein sport shocks or koni?

[Jeff]

No AGX app. Maybe Bilstein, I think I have seen them for like $81. Konis...haha...they came on the GLHS stock but sell for like $400 now. You can get a blown set for like $200 and get them rebuilt. Rears are imposible to find. The only Konis you can get new are in the coil-over kit I mentioned above. I will look into Bilsteins more, that sounds like a good idea, thanks Scotty.

[.RJ]

GR2's suck.

Koni yellows!

[Jeff]

No Bilsteins for it. I will got GLH and KYB I think for now and Koni Yellas next summer.

[Mike]

i wouldn't do that... do it right the first time. if you don't have the money for yellows now, keep saving.

[Jeff]

Mike, with all due respect, have you ever driven an N/A Omni that is 16 years old? I value your opinion, so I ask, is leaving it stock better then a $350 GLH upgrade with new struts? What is a fast car without handling and braking to match? You got the HOR with modified suspension right? I think I need to at least start with a decent (and rather stocky) base to learn on. This suspension is shot like old yeller.

I have been told by 3 sources my max HP will be 270 with the stock t2 turbo rebuild with no upgrades. Count on AT LEAST that much power when considering other mod recommendations. Yes, I know it will be WAY more then I can handle. Im not claiming to be able to control it; Im just saying what I have been told. If I go with the 63a/r exhaust housing set up I will be over that #, but I am not looking that way I dont think. This all goes back to my drag-racing mentality, its hard to wean myself from the promises of big HP I got when I started this projectIm trying my hardest to not want all the HP it can giveboost rotdamn you :bow:

[Mike]

you said konis are only $400. that is $50 more than what you plan on spending i think, no?

[Jeff]

$400 for OEM Konis, they are reds. They use OEM style springs. I would need to spend $200 from the $350 to still get the GLH suspension components I would need to use the Konis. So, the sort version would be...

GLH parts + Konis = $600-$800 (I say $800 due to the even harder to find rears being more expensive)

GLH parts + KYB = $350ish

And they all fall short (obviously) of the $1300ish Koni (yella) coilover set.

[Mike]

ah if it is koni reds you might as well just replace the broken shit with gr2s.