My local firestone says they will swap out the springs from the assemblies for $100. I'm pretty confident about removing /reinstalling them all in the car - it was that spring compressor that was the worry for me. With that, I'm gonna get springs. But which ones?The Eibach's drop it 1.5 the Progress ones 2.1. I like the idea of the deeper drop. Does anyone with these sets installed have anything positive/negative so say about them (recomending one over the other)? For background, I've owned a Mustang GT and Miata before - so I'm used to a fairly harsh ride. I don't want to have it beat me to death though!
I am looking at a set of Tein's on racingworks.com for $142. I am not sure if the rated 2.6" drop on front and 3.4" on rear is too much or not... REDTRDMATRIX.com has a matrix w/ Teins but they look no where near as low as a Salsa vibe I saw, it might even be yours Sub-vibe-R. so i am skeptical, whether I should go for the $142 Teins that I hear so much about or go w/ $250+ Eibachs that also seem like a good brand. Any comments appreciated, any better pricing anywhere greatly appreciated!!!! pictures help lots as well, if possible!!!
18x8.5 inch Bronze Falken Hanabi Rims, 235/40/18 Falken Ziex Tires, Factory upgraded front spoiler, AEM short ram intake,DC sports ceramic coated headers, magnaflow high-flow catalytic converter, Greddy 2.5 inch axle-back exhaust and midpipe,Tein S-Tech lowering springs, Progress rear anti-sway bar,DC sports Carbon Steel series twin bar strut tower brace, Fidanza flywheel, Spec stage 2 kevlar full disc clutch,Speed Source Brass Shifter-link bushings
Well done Flip on your post.quote:I am looking at a set of Tein's on racingworks.com for $142. I am not sure if the rated 2.6" drop on front and 3.4" on rear is too much or notAccording to there web page. The Tein springs are 2.3" drop for both front and back. I see the Tein's come with silencer sleeves. That helps to cut down on noise from the springs touching one another on the first two coils. I have installed Hotchkis springs on two vibes, the only problem is the bottom 2 coils (front) touch one another making a soft clunking sound over small bumps. After a couple weeks it seems that most of the spring noise is gone.
Satellite 03 GT Retirement ----> Moderator for Genvibe.com 2002 - 2007 A fact of life: After Monday and Tuesday even the calendar says (removed)
I too bought/installed Tein S springs. The drop was ~2-1/4". They rode great, the drop looked just right, no noise, etc. (did not come with any sleeves or anything) Unfortunately, the drop was a bit much for my way-oversize 275/40 x 17"s, so I pulled them out and just trimmed the stock springs 1/2 turn.Re installation, I'd say 65 -70% of the work was the re and re of the struts; the spring compress/replace was pretty simple with a rental compressor. (mine was free from Canadian Tire)
Come to think of it, I think Advance Auto will supply you with free loaner tools as well (such as a spring compressor). Not 100% sure on that, though.Also, I'd like to hear some current opinions on the Ground Controls. They are the ones I am most interested in so far. Positive and negative comments about them are equally appreciated.
Former owner of a 2003 Vibe GT---Great car that gave me 8 years and 83,000 miles of trouble-free service.Current owner of a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited AWD.
quote:Come to think of it, I think Advance Auto will supply you with free loaner tools as well (such as a spring compressor). Not 100% sure on that, though.AutoZone has a "Loan-A-Tool Program". You can rent there Strut Spring Tool for $42 plus tax and keep it as long as you need it. Return it and get all your money back.
Satellite 03 GT Retirement ----> Moderator for Genvibe.com 2002 - 2007 A fact of life: After Monday and Tuesday even the calendar says (removed)
quote:I am looking at a set of Tein's on racingworks.com for $142. I am not sure if the rated 2.6" drop on front and 3.4" on rear is too much or not... REDTRDMATRIX.com has a matrix w/ Teins but they look no where near as low as a Salsa vibe I saw, it might even be yours Sub-vibe-R. so i am skeptical, whether I should go for the $142 Teins that I hear so much about or go w/ $250+ Eibachs that also seem like a good brand. Any comments appreciated, any better pricing anywhere greatly appreciated!!!! pictures help lots as well, if possible!!! I installed Tein on my Vibe and they dropped it of around 2,5" front and 2,25" rear. No noise, just a good drop, a good ride too and a very good look.And $142 looks little expensive for me. I got them from e-bay for $105 + shipping ($35 if I remember)
I picked up Eibach Pro-kits at Adventon.com They were under $200. Best price I could find anywhere.If you care about giving your car that "lowered cool look" don't by the pro-kit springs. The drop is very subtle. Even parked right next to a stock base Vibe, my GT wasn't obviously lowered. The tire:wheel well spacing is totally even all around. Lowered cars usually have more gap on the sides of the tire than at the top. The stock Vibe/Trix has more gap at the top than the sides which lends it that mini-SUV quality. Even more so on the AWD.A lot of people looking for significant drop are disappointed with the Pro-kit springs. But since they are the same ones used by TRD, you can rest assured that they give you the optimal balance of ride and handling, in addition to strict quality control. I don't know about the progress springs, but if I was looking for more "flash" than "dash", I would go with the Sportlines from Eibach.If you want performance, get the TRD/Pro-kits. My car soaks up regular bumps with no problems. There is no bouncing, hobby-horse effect, and for light bumps it is even smoother than stock, especially at near triple digit freeway speeds. Big potholes and sharp speed bumps transmit more impact than the stock springs used to. But I don't have any bottoming out problems and very rarely need to slow down for drainage ditches.The handling differences after putting in the springs and the Progress AR bar are dramatic. Sucker is much tighter. Still understeers and has trouble powering out of turns, but it's tough to make a FWD car truly neutral. Although not F1 race-car flat, there is dramatically less body roll with on-ramps, acute turns, and sweeping corners. It's also a lot more fun to drive now.I did the install myself, but the disassembly and reassembly of the struts was a real pain in the a$$. $100 is worth it to have your shop do it. Mine wanted $400 for the whole job. Car & Driver spent $550 getting TRD springs put on a Camry at a Toyota dealer. So you can really save a lot with DIY.-Burt
Vibe GT: 225x45x17 Michelin PS2s on OZ Racing Rims | Eibach/TRD Springs | Progress Antiroll Bar | GMD Exhaust (pulled due to freeway drone) | G2 Painted Calipers'02 Audi A4 Avant Quattro | 3.0L | 6-speed | bone-stock'90 ZR-1 375 HP | 375 ft-lb | 4.6s 0-60 | 176 MPH
quote:I've got Tein spring and they are very good.Droped the front of 2,5" and 2,25 at back.For $105 a set, it worth ithey whered you get them at?? i tried to IM you but it wasnt working...thanks
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Thanks to all for all the information here! I gonna go with the Pro-Kit ones even though the drop is not as low, I've not read a post about them that was not positive in most all reguards (handling, sagging, etc).Thanks again to all the responses!
quote:I've got Tein spring and they are very good.Droped the front of 2,5" and 2,25 at back.For $105 a set, it worth ithey whered you get them at?? i tried to IM you but it wasnt working...thanksE-bay my friendI found 2 sellers I bought mine from this seller, fast shipping, good serviceI saved $10 on shipping to Canada and he does not need a confirmed address (which I cannot have in Canada)http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... =33582$105 + $30 shippinghttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2441687574&category=33582$105 + $30 shipping and $5 insurance
It is hard to say. May be it depends on the stuff loaded in the trunk...On the Tein web site, S-Tech should give a frop of 2.3 front and 2.1 rear.JDMTOUCH sais the same as Tein and AJDN claim 2.3 and 2.1.Personally, I've got 2.25 front and 1.75 rear. But those mesure were not very accurate and they are close to the Tein mesures.May be if I mesure my drop again (after allignement and some km put on them) those number could change a little bit.
I'd say:1. Some people don't remember to take good "before" measurements, so they have to guess a bit.2. Sometimes the springs are not fully seated when installed and take some mileage to settle in.3. Both the old and the new springs have a certain + - tolerance, so the change in height can vary.