chris92gxe

What are the cheapest aftermarket shocks available for our car and where is the cheapest place to get them. My stock struts are shot, and anything will do for now. Thanks


92GXE, touring wing, 18” racing wheels, Port&Polished intake, custom intake, custom yellow interior, racing seats, back seats taken out and replaced with subs and amps, NOS kit, Suspension tech. Lowering springs, custom grille, soon to be custom painted and have the whole engine rebuilt for big shot NOS and custom SC and tranny converted to 5-speed.

brubenstein

Just today I put in KYB GR-2 front struts. I got them in GB500 (NY) for $68 each. Made a world of difference in my 90 GXE (stock springs). Too bad on my test drive some broad in a Navigator went through a stop sign and broadsided me 3 blocks from my house. What a PIA. It was a cherry 90 GXE with 42K.
If you think this crap only happens to you young'en I'm 47. Bummed in Brooklyn.

chris92gxe

So what happend to the car. Is it totalled. That really sucks man. What are you gonna do with the car now?


92GXE, touring wing, 18” racing wheels, Port&Polished intake, custom intake, custom yellow interior, racing seats, back seats taken out and replaced with subs and amps, NOS kit, Suspension tech. Lowering springs, custom grille, soon to be custom painted and have the whole engine rebuilt for big shot NOS and custom SC and tranny converted to 5-speed

brubenstein

It doesn't look like it was totalled. The driver's side front fender and door are crumpled, the windshield is cracked and the driver's window was smashed. Behind that the paint was just scuffed. The front wheel also got hit, so I don't know if there was any front end damage. I'll take it over to Geico Monday, and then off to the body shop. The car can get straightened out, but there's a lot of agrivation and hassle with this crap. No wonder I never liked SUV's.

amax935

Sorry to hear about the accident, but wohoo I'm not the oldest anymore, (42) OMMAXA=old mans max assn. OEM, or OEM equivilent struts replacement will probably outlast your max on stock springs.

The main point to consider is labor. You gotta take the springs out (or at least almost) to put in new struts. So labor is about the same to replace with Eibachs for about 225.

brubenstein

Even if you go with new springs you have to pull the springs off the old struts to get the top strut mounting plate/bearing and the cushions for the springs. Also remember to always buy new strut boots. My old ones had fallen apart. You could get all new parts, but this would add at $50 per strut.
All I had to do was buy a spring compressor for $35, and I did the work myself. It took the better part of the afternoon with all hand tools. The car also has to be aligned after replacing the struts.
The rear struts still have decent dampening and the front and back are reasonably well matched. Good thing to, because the rears need a lot more stuff taken off to get at. If you change springs I think you'd really want to do both ends.
I'm really anxious to get the car fixed, because this is the first time I feel like I have real control of it. (The OEM GXE struts are that lame.) I'm also curious to see how the new struts feel after the shaft seals bed in. Right now the ride isn't at all harsh on broken pavement and small bumps (very nice ride) and no "po-going" at all on dips and such. The car also understeers a bit more going into turns, because the increased dampening increases roll stiffness on transitions.

chris92gxe

All of my struts are shot on my car right now and I have the springs finnaly sitting at the right level I want. I was wondering that if I change my struts, will it raise the car upa little. My shocks now have no compression, and I di=ont want to have to lower my car again after putting new shocks on it.



92GXE, touring wing, 18” racing wheels, Port&Polished intake, custom intake, custom yellow interior, racing seats, back seats taken out and replaced with subs and amps, NOS kit, Suspension tech. Lowering springs, custom grille, soon to be custom painted and have the whole engine rebuilt for big shot NOS and custom SC and tranny converted to 5-speed.

brubenstein

In theory, there should be no change in height when changing struts. BUT, the KYB's do have a gas charge and will push the rod out with a small force, and I don't know if the lower spring perch is in exactly the same spot (it should be). I should have measured things before and after the front strut change, but I didn't. Right now the wheel well lip height is 1/4" higher on the front than the back. If someone with original struts can also do the measurement we would have idea. (1/4" isn't a big difference and can easily be swamped by tire pressure or stuff in the trunk.)

chris92gxe

I realize that with regular lowering springs that the new shocks shouldn't change the height, but my springs have been cut even lower so it sits lower. I have a feeling that the car will set like it did with just the lowering springs and not the extra 2" after I cut them. Make sense to you? Its kinda hard to explain. Hope you can understand what I mean.



92GXE, touring wing, 18” racing wheels, Port&Polished intake, custom intake, custom yellow interior, racing seats, back seats taken out and replaced with subs and amps, NOS kit, Suspension tech. Lowering springs, custom grille, soon to be custom painted and have the whole engine rebuilt for big shot NOS and custom SC and tranny converted to 5-speed.

brubenstein

Strut should have no effect on static car height.
The ride height of the car is determined by the springs (weight and spring rate). If you cut 2" off the free length of the spring this won't lower the car 2", it would be less. As you make the spring shorter, you raise its rate. Say you have 12" long 150 in/lb springs and the front springs support 2000 lbs (1000 lbs per front wheel), each spring would compress 6.6" from its free length (1000/150). Overall compressed length 5.4". If you cut 2" off the free length (now 10"), it becomes 16.6% shorter and its rate goes up by the same percent to 175 in/lbs. In this case it would only compress 5.7" from the weight of the car. Overall compressed length 4.3". So the car would sit 1.1" lower by cutting its free length 2".

chris92gxe

I'm not saying I cut 2" off the springs. I'm just saying that after cutting the springs the car sits 2" lower. I cut more than 2" off. I understand what your saying though. You still think that the new shocks wouldn't effect the height that my car sits now.