Mild suspension/brakes setup
 

While I'm wating for my wiring harness, radiator and last few pieces for the rb20 swap, im going to go ahead and do my brakes and some suspension mods. So heres what I'm thinking.

Btw, I'm NOT getting coil-overs, so don't suggest it. I'm driving the car everyday and I don't care for them on a dd.

I have brand new oem shocks.

4lug doesn't bother me..

Brembo slotted front rotors
Hawk pads
braided lines
new oem rotors in the back
oem rear pads
braided rear lines
oem shocks w/2in drop springs
front rear upper strut brace
rear swaybar

Now my question is what to get for the strut bars and springs? I've had el-cheapo springs on my corolla, and it worked but rode junky. I want something comfy but gives it a nice drop. So how about some tein s-techs?

IMO, the S-Techs are terrible for handling. They look nice, and the ride is OK, but if you try to drive spiritedly you will be bouncing off the bumpstops. I believe that strut tower bars probably won't help all that much with that setup, so you should get some cheap ones. Search Ebay for Megan Racing Strut tower bars.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NISMO...spagenameZWD1V
I highly recommend these shocks/springs. They offer a dramatic improvement over the Stock/S-Techs and still provide excellent ride quality. In fact, I would say that the ride quality is better then the S-Techs.

also its best to have the same pads all around belive it or not but your rear brakes are quite important (if u race(on a track) ) lol. also u dont need coilovers most people have them here for looks they arnt better then normal strut/shock combo unless you have your car properly aligned so your standard Firestone alignment wont do. my friend aligned my car he does racecars so i trust him lol, i might need a little more negative camber for the front cause im still pushing a little on tight turns.

here are my alignment specs if it helps u (for a s14)
Front Left Front Right
-1.2 Camber --1.3
7.3 Caster 7.3
0.09 Toe 0.07
14.2 SAI 14.8

Rear Left Rear Right
-1.6 Camber -1.5
0.08 Toe 0.05

and this is fact: No Suspension Part Means Anything if your Car is not Aligned for it!

4 lug doesn't bother me either brother! I gots to shave some money somewhere!

Im not looking to spend 700 bucks, for that much i might as well get coilovers.

I just really want it for looks to be honest. how about h-tecs?

For only looks, S-Techs will do fine.

s-techs have less drop than aunt jemima's titties..not to mention the ride soft as sh*t..get something better..get the brembo rotors and hawk pads all around, only on the front would be hella lame..as for the rear sway bar, just upgrade to a hicas swaybar, it is like twice as thick and would serve your purpose..

Has anyone used Skunk2 springs on their car? They are 2in drop front and rear which is pretty good and the same price as teins.

Also, I have seen tokico shock/spring setups for about 400.

Sticking with the stock struts or cheaping out on the springs is a bad idea.

Spend you money on a new decent set of struts and a normal set of springs BEFORE spending it on braided brake lines(which do very little for you off track), struts bars, or sway bars. Stock struts are under dampened and will fail dramatically quicker.

The struts bars and brakes lines are by far the least important things on that list. Sway bars do a lot, but a good spring strut combo is more important, and you should really get both sway bars, not just rear.

Well the only reason I was going to try to use the oem shocks is because they have like 1000 miles on them and are like brand new. But I don't mind spending money to do it right. I will pass on the braided lines for now and put it toward some better shocks.

I have about 350 to spend on shocks and springs? Anyone have anything to share? I saw a set of koni shocks/springs go for 420 that looked pretty good. But remember, I'm going to be driving the car 100 Miles a day, so it needs to ride somewhat decent.

EDIT: Purchased Brembo drilled/slotted rotors for front and rear and hawk pads. I might get some new oem caliper replacement while IM at it, the right front hangs sometimes.

ditch the strut bars and add that to the struts fund. 350 is not quite enough. Konis are very nice. KYB AGX is another good choice. As for springs there are several options. Tanabe actually makes a decent set. If you cant deal with the ride from any of these spring/strut combos, I would be surprised. They are all fairly mild and if you get a good strut, you should not have a bouncy problem.

So you would suggest the Kyb agx shocks and tanabe springs? Seems pretty decent.

Yes, that is a decent way to go that you will probably be happy with. Won't break the bank either.

Coilovers, even if you dont want them. Your car is front heavy anything besides coilovers is not going to handle that well.

Thats just not true. As I've said before, you are more likely to mess up your handling with suspension with a cheap coil-over suspension then you are with a spring/strut combo.