Hey guys,
Just installed H&R springs and KYB GR2 shocks in my 96 gxe. The tires are gxe stock sizes: steel wheels and tires. The ride now is very bouncy, with hard hits over rough roads...also when at speed, hitting a small bump will cause the car to shift, almost as if the front wants to go one way and the rear the other. Are these observations normal for this setup? Maybe my stock, hight profile tires are causing the shift? Or possibly my mechanic messed up the install? Any feed back would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Did you cut your bumpstops? If not, do it. Also, some new rear shock mounts form me would make a world of difference

 

i'm surprised you have a hard ride with the GR-2's. aren't those generally accepted as being stock replacements? and how low of a drop did you get with the H&R's? you should probably get the KYB bumpstobs/dustboots and the long travel rear shocks as stated above ^^^

 

GR-2s are OEM replacement springs that are a little firmer than OEM but not made to handle stiffer and lower springs. They just don't have the damping you need to control the H&Rs, so that's why you're bouncing all over the place -- the wheels just bounce up and down harshly because the shocks can't smooth out the movement. This is also contributing to the skittishness you're getting.

If anything, your high profile tires are making things smoother because they act as cushions.

 

H&R's lower about 1.5" or so. GR2s are somewhat stiffer than stock but not terrible.

This setup is normally considered to be pretty soft. Granted you will feel the road more especailly with the big bumps.

 

Yes, GR-2s are definitely on the soft side, and that's the problem here: they don't provide enough damping force. You need more damping for stiffer springs.

 

The GR-2's are a very firm strut. When you couple them with a sport, progressive wound lowering spring the ride suffers a bit. Your stock wheels and tires are actually keeping things slightly soft for you.

If you'd like to keep a lowered setup yet improve the ride quality, sell the GR-2's and get yourself a set of Tokico Illuminas. They will ride very nice with the H&R springs that you currently have.

Hopefully your mechanic installed everything correctly. You do need to reset the front toe (alignment) after you change suspension components, did your mechanic align the car? If not, thats probably why it's jumping all around the road.

 

does the rear need to be aligned at all after suspension work? i didn't think so considering we have that awesome bar that keeps it from being independent!

 

I've had the H&R/GR2 combo for a few months now and i am on stock 15's. Personally, i like the combo so far. We'll see how i feel once i get 17's.

The ride is still good overall. But i do feel the big bumps a lot more than stock. My ride isn't bouncy at all and the car doesn't shift. I have KYB bumpstops too. Do you have them? Maybe that's the problem?

The stock wheels are making the ride 'smoother'. When you get bigger wheels, the ride will become more harsh.

Hope that our comments are helping. Good luck!

 

thanks for the feedback guys...NO, I didn't get KYB bumpstops so maybe that might help out. I wanted to get stock SE 5 stars but im pretty worried about the ride quality with lower profile tires. Im pretty happy with the drop (lookwise) but the bouncing is pretty annoying and something I didn't mention before, when the car has 5 people in it, the rear tire scrap the fender...is this normal for this setup?

 

WOW. That doesn't sound normal at all.

It almost sounds like you're riding on cut springs. Anyone care to take a stab at this?

 

The GR2's are pretty stiff, definately not soft on the soft side at all. I have them with H&R's and like said before, you do feel a bit more of the road than with just OEM setup

 

Make sure the springs are seated correctly - most likely the mechanic messed up. Not sure where you're located, but have someone check it out for you