I've got bad front strut bearings that are getting REALLY bad! I already have mounts on order and will be replacing struts at the same time to consolidate labor cost, and since the car has <92k miles anyway. I am concerned that the bad bearings have been causing extra wear on the springs since the springs are really getting noisy now while turning the wheel (can hear the springs "wind-up" and pop). This noise was very subtle when I bought the car about 1 yr. ago, and has slowly gotten worse. It's been really bad for several weeks now and that's when I finally figured out what it was. I am also interested in improving the handling of my very soft GXE suspension. I've been doing research on this site and others about struts and springs, but just have a few final questions. Could the bad bearings have caused damage to my springs? If the springs should be replaced, I'm probably going to by Maxspeed springs and KYB GR-2s. Maybe the stock springs are just getting old anyway? How long do these things last? If the springs are just fine, which would provide a greater increase in handling (drop is not a big deal to me, but small drop is pretty cool): Maxspeed/GR-2 combo, or keeping stock springs and buying same or better shocks?
Sorry about the long post, but I'm new to all this and I'm really stressin' about this decision. This website has been amazing! So much information!
Thanks.

 

The springs are 100% fine, and if you're looking for suspension information:
http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php?MaximaHandling

 

I have seen this page. I've spent a lot of time there. No pages in the FAQs answered the question you just did, and for that I thank you.