Your opinions on KYB vs Tokico + Eibach Pro-Kit?

[Squrl888]

Hey guys, my first post here! I was gonna post a picture of my new Vibe but I needed to post this question first as I am getting dangerously close to buying new struts.

I have a base 2005 Vibe with 175k miles. I don't know when the PO replaced the struts last. When I'm driving over bumpy roads I hear almost a rattling sound coming from the front passenger side when I hit bumps. My uninformed opinion is it's the strut mounts. I'm just learning how to work on cars so I set up an appointment for Monday to have my cars suspension inspected. I'm wondering if it's struts/strut mounts/ or sway bar links...what else could be causing this noise?
I was at the GM dealer for the airbag recall (which they can't do anything about it) and had my throttle body cleaned in the meantime. They said that the struts had some minor leakage but they marked it 'yellow' on the sheet for intermediate danger (as in 'replace soon' but not absolutely necessary yet) I thought that any strut leakage means the struts are blown?

Anyways, I also notice that the Vibe is pretty unsettled and almost scary to drive going around bumpy highway corners.

So everything seems to be pointing to replacing my struts.
Now here's the question that the topic of this post.
I'm interested in making my car more fun to drive, I'm a college student so money is kind of tight, but I have a job with a lot of hours and I wouldn't mind spending a few hundred extra on a big improvement in my car.

My Vibe is a daily driver with about 50/50 highway and city driving. Comfort is important but I also wish it was more composed along bumpy highway corners and a bit better at taking turns.

So I'm definitely going to get the Progress rear sway bar for my car, that's a given..but the two choices I've come to now are replacing my shocks with KYB Excel-G from RockAuto OR lowering my Vibe with Eibach Pro-Kit springs and using Tokico Blue shocks as well.
RockAuto also sells the KYB StrutPlus struts which are the full assemblies so I can save some time and effort compressing springs, also I might be saving money on strut mounts/dust boots/etc.

The Eibach + Tokico option is about $350 - $450 more.
I'm looking for more fun-to-drive/control, comfort, reliability, and finally decent handling in snow. I'm located in Minnesota so snow clearance is important. Pro-Kit only drop 1.2" so snow clearance SHOULDN"T be a problem, but I figured I'd bring it up incase anyone has run into problems with a small drop like 1.2"
So is the Eibach + Tokico option worth almost a full paycheck extra for me? How much better is it?

BONUS QUESTION: Do springs ever go bad? I'm on my original springs and my car is at 175k. My car doesn't have much rust at all it looks like and it was rustproofed by the original owner as an option from the dealer. Do springs last the life of the car or is it a good idea to replace springs anyway with 175k on them?

Thanks guys, sorry about such a long rambling post. So many questions on my mind!

[lannvouivre]

If you want to go lower, you need KYB GR2 struts instead (edit: looks like Excel-G is what they call them now). If your struts are leaking, they will go totally bad within the year. If you can press down on the fender or bumper on each corner and the car bounces multiple times, they are already bad.

If your springs are not rusted through, there's no reason to replace them really. Regardless, though, when you replace the shocks, the springs come off all the way so you would not be charged extra on labor if you got new springs.

As for strut mounts, turn your wheels side to side while parked and watch the wheels while doing so. If they are grabbing and jerking unevenly, the strut mounts are bad. Your problem sounds like bad sway bar links. They are easy to inspect, so inspect your links.

[thebarber]

Prokits are a mild drop so any struts will be fine

If you've got the scratch and means, get new strut caps/bearings and pre-assemble the struts/springs for an easy DIY job