mcannaday

Hey guys,

let me start off by saying that for the past week I HAVE been searching through the forums, using advanced search, etc. Which has given me much knowledge and helped me.

My car: 1996 SC400, 196,000 miles, stock springs and struts.

Car has body roll like no other. when going over small bumps, especially in turns, the rear spasses out, like a twitch or small fishtail. Also, on some larger hillish bumps, the rear of the car can reach airborne, and if there are any passengers in the back, their heads usually receive a nice surprise from the roof! (today actually, I hydroplaned 6 full 360s on the road, it was quite scary).

I need new struts and bushing from what I have read. As much as I like coilovers, I dont have the budget to fix this urgent problem.

What are your recommendations for upgraded spring/strut combo? I would like a stiffer suspension with better handling. Lowering is not important to me. I am rolling on 16.5 stock lexus rims.

Which bushing sets do you recommend or have tested and liked? for steering rack, and control arms.

Also, any other thoughts on what might need to be replaced to fix my problems would be much appreciated.

Tabaka

iTrader: (8)

With your mileage and budget, I'd say just get a set of tokico blues. They are affordable and decent quality. Just get OEM bushings as these cars get sold and traded within a few years of ownership. No reason to dump a lot of cash on high end bushings unless you're in this for the long road.

mcannaday

Thanks, I entend to keep this car for a while. My older brother bought it from the original owner and passed it down to me. It will probably stay in the family. with that being said, which brand do you recommend? What about spring replacements to couple with the blues?

account2x

iTrader: (5)

Supra bilstein shocks with factory supra twin turbo springs are a nice combination.

nlc

^^^ wat he said n they can be bought in decent shape for about 200-300 depending on condition n mileage...i jus got prothane front bushing kit.. Ihavent installed it yet but im lookin fwd to it, i hate how my baby is looser than a 2$ *****.
Maybe others can chime in on there experience with the various bushing kits.

mcannaday

Any other opinions on tokico Hp blues? Bilstein HD or sport?

sj408

iTrader: (6)

tokico blues are only for oem replacement IMO, if your looking at a performance oriented shock definetly go bilstein or koni, Not sure the difference between the bilstein HD and sport but im sure 1 call to a bilstein rep could be very informative.

Bilsteins or konis coupled with a quality spring setup like H&rs or better would provide excellent street manners while maintaining a DD worthy ride.

One thing to think about in any case is how much drop you want, I always laugh when i see people with a 2 inch + drop and freaking kyb's or tokicos. Struts/shocks that arent properly valved for lowering see an early death due to the stress of lowering.

ps.... if you hydroplaned and 360'ed 6 times literally then you need driving lessons.... Stiffening your suspension will only make it more prone to such. But methinks 6 times is a bit exaggerated.

mcannaday

It was 4-6. I'm really not sure. And it wasn't my driving that did it. Yes, probably should have been going below the speed limit given the conditions, but once the rear tires hit the bump and it did its routine rear twitch, it turned into an uncontrollable spin frenzy. Thank god it was a low car like the Lexus, otherwise it most likely would have rolled. It was also downhill, making it even harder to correct out of.

Which konis?

mcannaday

I've narrowed it down to two options....
Either:
1. Koni yellows with supra stock springs
2.tokico HP blues with ______ springs. Any help there?

lfrers

iTrader: (9)

re use OEM springs