A few months ago, I had a thread about not being able to get an aftermarket suspension because my parents didn't allow it. Yesterday my dad said that it was OK if i get the suspension, but it has to be a very good one. If it's not good, I'm not allowed to buy it. There's one catch: I have to get it installed at a shop. Can anybody clue me in on the prices? I'm guessing it's going to be no less than $200. Also, if anybody on the org close to Cincinnati, Ohio has their own shop and is willing to help me out, please PM me.

I decided to get Illuminas, but I'm not sure about the springs I want to get. The KYB AGX were my second choise, BUT they lack something that I really need: lifetime warranty. Another reason I don't want AGX is because they are said to be harsh in the winter time, and overall harder than the Illuminas. The two springs that im torn between are the Tokico springs that come with the Illumina kit on Ebay for about 560 dollars, or stechs, which will come out to be pretty close to the 560 dollars also. I need good advice to help me make my choise, not just "stech is lower yo!" Either one of these springs is going to be low enough for me and my sawblades. I'm asking about the comfort, handling, and reliability. Since s-tech are so low, do they shorten the life of the Illuminas? The s-techs might be too low to handle and ride well because of the short travel, but I'm not sure. Another thing I'm wondering about is what else do I need to make this suspension work? I can't afford the long travel rear shock mounts, and I don't really want them either because I hate when the rear sits lower than the front. Basically, I'm looking for the bare minimum I need to buy to make my new shocks/springs work. My car has 70k on it now, so I don't think the brushings and all those things are tired. Waiting for responses, I'm ready to order the suspension. Thanks...

 

Go with the Illumina kit. You'll love the ride I have Illuminas with Eibachs and it's perfect for me, I haven't heard of anyone not liking the kit. You don't need long travel rear shock mounts, but do get dust boot covers and thats it enjoy!

 

I have the Illumina kit, and love it. Get the KYB dusts boots and make sure your strut mounts and bearings are ok, then you are good to go. As for the install at a shop i would say shop around. When I got mine done it cost me $150 for the install, and it took like an hour. Most shops try to tell you it is an hour per strut, which is not true.

Good Luck

 

Question:

Is there any other purpose of the dust boot other then keeping dirt/debris from touching the strut rod?

 

I have the tokico illuminas struts and shock. You'll love em. i went with eibach prokit springs. Sits nice. Do the kyb dustboots and check the stickies for the part numbers. I know they are not the stock ones for a maxima. I paid 200$ for a shop to do it. Don't let any shop do it. Find a good shop.

 

save all this winter and get some D2s or K-Sports, or Tein Basic Coilvers

 

I have an Eibach prokit with KYB AGX. The drop is mild and handling is great. I like my suspension stiff (currently set to 3F/7R) so whatever harshness people are referring to does not apply to me I'd also highly recommend getting new dust boots. Mine are completely torn up so I'm gonna have to take apart the suspension again to put new ones in.

However if I were to redo my suspension I'd go with either Tein S-techs springs, or Tein basics for a slightly more aggressive drop.

 

Yeah you should try out the Eibach Pro-Kit Springs, they aren't too low and you don't really need deep pockets for it.

 

Check around for the prices. And I'm sure you and your dad could install them easily. And new rear strut mounts won't make the rear set lower, they will give the rear more room to travel before bottoming out.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll get KYB dustboots also then. Any other responses? No coilovers, i cannot afford the camber kits and other things needed for them.

 

1) You may need a camber kit if you do a deep drop, like the s-techs (varies car to car), but the camber kits are very inexpensive ($20-$40). A very few people needed camber kits even for a small drop, so you can't be 100% sure until you get an alignment.

2) Read the warranty VERY CAREFULLY. Some struts are only insured if you don't drop the car more than X inches. I'm not certain, but I think the KYB struts are only warranteed if you don't drop more than 1.4 inches. Check this out beforehand. To sum up, you may have ZERO warranty if you drop it past a certain point!

3) Install should be $140 - $220. I got several quotes before choosing a shop. That's the range most of the quotes were in. It's about 1.5 hours of actual labor (they may try to charge you for 2-3 hours though! Shop around!)

4) For years of trouble-free driving, you would be smart to change the strut mounts, strut bearings, and strut boots. It won't cost any more in labor to put new stuff back on instead of the old stuff.

Good luck!

 

Just drove around to 6 different places. All prices were between 200 and 300, with the exception of one. The guy said 610 dollars + tax. I laughed in his face. Found a good shop 3 minutes from my house that will do it for 210 or less, the guy said that he's not sure how long it will take so he said a high price at first, but it will probably be cheaper. I think that's a pretty good deal.

I guess I'll just get the tokico kit from ebay. Are there any cheaper places?

 

Did you check out your local exhaust shops? There are some decent one's in NY that have labor rates of around $40 - $45 per hour and do suspension work as a major part of their business. I bet one of them would charge closer to $150.

Also check the group deals section to see the suspension prices there.

 

i paid my boy 50 dollars to do it, only becauses he needed the money.
i just did a suspension a 97 prelude and charged him 150.

oo your in OHIO they should charge around 200 250 is reasonable at a shop

 

How much can you spend?

 

What you need to do is buy some good quality springs like Eibach Pro-Kit.
They lower about 1.5" and have a sporty, but great ride.
A lot of people have paired them up with Tokico Illuminas, that you are going with.

I happen to have some Eibach Pro Kit springs that I am selling.
I bought them from another guy that lives here.
He also has a Crimson Blaze Maxima(auto........yikes) and takes really good care of it.
Well, he is selling it to get an Audi, but they were only on his maxima for like 5 months.

I can sell them for like $150 plus shipping.
Let me know.

 

Removed. Wrong Thread!!!

 

sorry man, only lookin for new