Kirkie5691 2003 Vibe GT

[Kirk5691]

Hello all, I thought I would post a pic and tell you a little about her and some of the changes. 03 GT 6speed, all weather mats, proper tune up, 4 Monroe quick struts, sway bar links, ball joints, control arms, drilled & slotted rotors with ceramic pads, High flow cat 4" custom exhaust to the bumper new o2 sensors, Momocourse 18" wheels purchased for $50.00, Tiger Paw GTZ's 225/45/18. Chat me up with questions or Ideas. Oh almost forgot, new motor/trans mounts, serp belt w/tensioner, shifter bushings.

[vibrologist]

Nice Vibe! Where do you live? I like to come by and take it for a spin.

Are the quick struts any more comfortable than the originals? I believe the springs are a little different, softer I hope.

[tpollauf]

Nice ride. Was the new motor a rebuild or new from the ground up? Did you install it or someone else prior to you getting the Vibe? Yeah, where you located (update profile for us)?

[Kirk5691]

Thanks guys, I'm in Saginaw, Michigan will update profile. tpollauf she does not have a new motor, purchased with 152K now at 162K. Now for Vibrologist, I cant speak to the spring rates on the monroes, when I purchased the car both front struts were leaking the boots were missing and upper bearings were trashed the rears were in similar condition. Plus it had some $2 tires that were bald on it, so it rode like Fred Flintstone had just carved them.
I had a set of Goodyear Eagle GT's 225/60/16 laying around from my Riviera that I installed. They improved the ride and handling but did nothing for the clunking creaking and banging. I installed the monroes for economic reasons, less expensive to buy the whole strut than it was to build them from individual parts. The monroes provided much better roll resistance and kept the tires in contact with the road nicely. I made the change to the 18's about one month later and shazam! I had something that handled pretty well. Like all monroe products at about 3K they started to soften up a little now at 10K they are damn mushy with lots of body roll but a nice ride considering the car has 45's on it. So I am in the market for a bigger front bar and some links with beef. I have yet to decide what to do with the rear, I would like it to rotate better so I will probably go with a larger or stiffer bar there also. I hope this helps.

[vibrologist]

Like all monroe products at about 3K they started to soften up a little now at 10K they are damn mushy with lots of body roll but a nice ride

Thanks! This pretty much answers my question. I am looking for a softer ride in my Vibe. Monroe quick struts seem to be the best option.

I got a good chuckle out of your Fred Flintstone reference.

[vibenvy]

Glad to see you started a Garage thread! I look forward to seeing more progress and updates from you and your Vibe !

[ImUrOBGYN]

Nice. I can tell you from experience a good, beefy rear anti sway bar really livened things up for me. Handling is for more neutral and any understeer is quickly erased with a little off throttle lift. I can even rotate the rear if I want to.