Upgrading Suspension - a question for the experts

[Grandavi]

I have read a lot in here and think I have a tiny grasp on my suspension and what I want done (and I do mean tiny.. because the techincal aspects carry a lot of huge weight with them and reading the forums is NOT gonna give me the correct answers)

What I want to know (and I dont want the responder to have to type for days) is quite simple. For my 1988 MKIII, I want to lower the car from 1.5 - 2.0 inches (not hellaflush, and not so low that speedbumps rip my exhaust system off)
I also want to keep a bit of comfort so was steering away from Megan's because the one's I have owned previous were extremely stiff. Currently the car kinda "rolls" to one side when I do 80+ MPH and doesnt feel very safe around curves (proper steering ends up with an oversteer condition .. slight, but still annoying).

With $$ not a factor, am I better off going with coilovers as opposed to lowering springs? are there parts that are NOT on the stock suspension I should be adding? (I get a bit confused reading some of the "tricks" people have used to make their car work).
Finally.. other than lowering the car, what parts should I be upgrading just to improve the car overall from what it is.

I am trying to make a parts list. I doubt I will do any of the major work myself, just the preliminary small stuff and cleanups, but I dont want to go into a shop sounding stupid or having them stuff things down my throat saying.. "you need this".

Lowering a car is a brand new world for me.. and I dont want to do it twice.
(just a note.. the wheels are being added afterwards to fit the stance.)

Or.. failing that... does anyone know a shop in Southern Alberta that just kicks ass and can be trusted to do it right?

 

[Grandavi]

just a thought. If someone could point me to a website that has the info I need (to read and learn), that would be sufficient as well. I thought I understood suspension until I came into this area... lol

 

[supraguru05]

Sounds like you just want to do the usual upgrades. For suspension I would recommend getting the energy suspension bushing kit, some brand of coilover (I dont like discussing the options you can search) and some form of after market sway bars be it suspension techniques or whiteline tanabe etc. Those three things I would install at the same time and get the car aligned and you will be more than happy with your cars ride.

 

[Grandavi]

Yes, usual upgrades and thinking that I only want to drop about 1.5" (will know exactly after the body kit is installed). Because I am not totally slamming the car I was wondering if coil-overs were still the way to go or if its recommended to just go with an altered spring setup. (again.. money isn't as much a concern as handling - longevity is). From everything I am reading, there is a lot of upgrades, although some may not be necessary. What I want is my Supra to be able to go into a curve at 150 kph (roughly 90 mph I think) without the "roll" i currently have. Something I couldn't find is if I need to worry about the steering rack at all once its lowered. From what I can see, it should be perfectly fine as stock without any upgrades or changes at all.
I have pillowball bushings from my previous MKIII that had Megan Coilovers (bought it that way, but the pillowballs weren't installed). Do I want to use those? They seem to be a seperate item, although again, I am not sure if they are needed because of the "minor" drop I am going for.

Also, is it worthwhile holding on to the TEMS system by getting a TEMS compatible coilover?

This is one of those areas that regardless how much I read, I still feel lost.. lol.

 

[supraguru05]

I wouldnt worry about tems to much. The issue with springs is if you install them and the car is to low then it is difficult to raise it. If you use coilovers you have height and preload adjustment to fix it. Its tough for me to gauge what you are considering to much roll. Eibach springs may provide you enough lowering but they still have a progressive rate.

 

[MK3er]

Coil-overs sound like they would be the best fit for you. IMHO they last longer, provide better comfort, and perform better than any spring/shock combo your gonna come up with. As well when you lower your car you change almost all of the angles related to steering & suspension, meaning an alignment will help but not solve what you changed. But if you don't drop it much more than 1.5-2 in then it wont be too much of a problem but know you wont be able to get a perfect alignment without buying more parts.

 

[bioskyline]

when going coil overs most delete the tems,. i dont know of any coilovers than use tems, but tein makes there own tems like system (google teim edfc)

or you could put coilover sleeves on the illuminas, add a spring and that will keep the tems.

 

[Grandavi]

thanks so far! : )
I was thinking coilovers are my best bet. In regards to the alignment, thats the main reason I made this post. I want to replace all the suspension needed to correct the "lowering" effect on the overall handling. Therefore, I was wondering if I need to buy control arms, sway bars, etc.. that are made specifically for a lowered MKIII.

 

[White Zombie]

Well you wont need to buy control arms, nice thing about a Supra is that it has a double A arm suspension. If you dont go too crazy low (as you said your not) your control arms will still have the proper geometry. Im using the Meagan Tracks for this reason.
I can alter ride height without affecting spring preload or affecting the suspension geometry.

Personally, I changed the spring rates on my Megans . they were way to stiff, now they feel great. firm on the street but not "bouncy" throwing me all over the seat I can actually feel the shocks doing their job now !

 

[Grandavi]

That's what I noticed with the Megan's on my 87.. they were extremely stiff. Great for if I wanted to "drift" around corners, but not too comfy for a long haul. Megans seem to be excellent quality, but I think with Eibach or Tein, they aren't quite as firm (but I dont know that from experience). Therefore, I was ignoring Megan's simply because I knew they were too solid for me. Never thought about changing the springs though.

 

[jdemara]

Well you wont need to buy control arms, nice thing about a Supra is that it has a double A arm suspension. If you dont go too crazy low (as you said your not) your control arms will still have the proper geometry. Im using the Meagan Tracks for this reason.
I can alter ride height without affecting spring preload or affecting the suspension geometry.

Personally, I changed the spring rates on my Megans . they were way to stiff, now they feel great. firm on the street but not "bouncy" throwing me all over the seat I can actually feel the shocks doing their job now !

What spring rates are you running front and back now? I might be purchasing a set of these

 

[White Zombie]

I took the rear rates and put them up front and bought a set of afco 550's and put them out back, this way i only had to buy one "new" set of springs. According to Megans website(IIRC) you can run above or below (+/-) 200lbs difference than what the dampers came as . In other words, if the dampers are valved for 1000 lb springs (like the tracks) then you could run 1200 or 800 and the dampers would be matched ok. turns out when you do the math on the rears, theyre 780 lbs. I didnt figure the 20lb difference mattered ;-)