I was driving with some friends in my car recently and while i was driving it felt like the rear end of my car was sagging. My rear struts seem to be fine although they are the originals, and when i talked to my uncle (worked in the auto industry) he thought it might be my springs. My question is this, if i thought about replacing the springs would my struts be ok with a slightly dropped spring? It's much cheaper to buy aftermarket and i wouldn't mind a slight drop, but i've also heard that it can hurt the struts. My front struts have been replaced, but other than that the entire suspension setup is stock.

I was looking at Eibachs or H&Rs (the Eibachs are about $243 and the H&Rs are $275, both from stillen).

Opinions and advice are appreciated. Thanks!

 

It's rare for springs to go bad but it's possible. It sounds like your struts are blown. Is the ride super bouncy out back now?

 

No, it's pretty solid, but when i had 2 guys riding in the back it felt like my rear end was lower than it should have been. I know the bouncy feeling from blown struts b/c my front one was out for a bit before i could replace it and it doesn't seem to be that

 

Since the factory suspension is designed more for a smooth ride, whenever you have people in the rear seat, the car will sit lower, guaranteed. The shock absorber/strut is designed for the height of the car and the amount of travel the suspension will have. The dampening piston inside the shock is designed to be centered inside the cylinder when the car is at rest. If the car gets lowered too much, the shock/strut could bottom out inside the cylinder.

So all the bs aside, you could use the stock struts if you don't go too drastic with the lowering. But I don't know how much you could lower the car.

 

Yeah if they were big guys the back will sit real low I see it all the time with Maximas and Altimas like **** how many people is back there...I had the Tokico Blues and Eibachs and they were pretty good even with two people in the back...and look at Tire Rack for the springs and call Stillen and he will price match if you go that route...

 

I prefer a stiffer suspension anyway, don't need the "luxury glide" or whatever you want to call it lol, the drop is I think around 1.5" on the front and 1" on the back. Could the stock struts handle that? And would that get rid of the sag on the rear end with passengers?

 

Rear struts are like $60 a piece for GR-2's. Just go aftermarket if you're lowering the car. If your (old) struts are fine now, they won't be for long after you lower the car.

Your OEM struts could last a month or a year. But they WILL inevitably blow faster than if you'd have stayed stock. So instead of having the labor done twice, do it once and do it right.