The kid I bought my gst from put lowering springs on the car, and the car rides like crap. Its stiff, but not a nice stiff - its an "every freaking little bump hurts every bone in my freaking body" stiff. I'm not sure what springs are on the car. What would I need to do to improve the ride? I was looking into the KYB AGX's. If I put them on but kept the springs that are currently on, is the ride really going to be any different? Also, is there anything I'm missing that I would need to get?

Sorry, suspension is one area that I'm really clueless about.

 

are you sure he didnt just cut the stock springs. And if he in fact did buy lowering springs, it sounds like he bought cheap ones. The only way to fix it is to replace them

 

I'm pretty sure he didn't just cut them, but I wouldn't be surprised if he got them off of ebay. So if I just got better springs, it would make a difference, and I shouldn't need to upgrade my shocks/struts?

 

Since you, or us, have no idea what you have for suspension components, here's a start. Tokico/Eibach or AGX/Eibach, if you want ride quality adjustability you'll have to get adjustable versions of those shocks.
If your car is dropped, not lowered, but dropped, and you want ride quality, you'll have to raise your car or the wheels will keep hitting the inner fender when you go over bumps before getting new shocks. If you're leaning towards replacing the shocks.
At this point, it's hard to tell if your suspension is stiff because of the springs or the shocks. Can you check to see what kind they are and get back with us? Also, most aftermarket name brand springs will be stamped with their name on it.


One thing to note and keep in mind, you have a GST. That means it is wheel hop prone without the stiffer suspension. Once you put softer suspension on it, it will cause the front wheel(s) to hop instead of just roasting tires. Wheel hop is a bad thing for FWD and can be costly. It sounds to me like the previous owner wanted to keep power to the ground and save himself from the headache.

 

sorry, whats the difference between lowered and dropped?

I'll post back when I figure out what I've got down there.

 

Just took a look, and I have "Dropzone" gas shocks. The springs are red, but I couldn't find a brand on them. I'm guessing they are also Dropzone, since thats what color their springs are.

Obviously, they are cheapo. What do you suggest I do for improvement, and please think as economical as reasonably possible - I'm pretty broke. (Read: lowest priced options while not getting crap.)

Sorry about the bad angles on the pictures.

 

Does anyone have any answers/opinions?

 

Buy a new regular high performance shocks (not adjustable you don't race on the tracks)and coil lowering springs If have nice roads in your area.

Once again the good but not so expensive springs is Eibach.

Your SHOCKS are gone Just looking at them. they areVERY VERY rusty. looks likethey arevery old.

The SHOCK is Gone. Replace 4 of them front and rear. If you haveextra money buy new springs.

The look of the springI think it isstill good.

 

The stiffness that you feel can be the springs having a high spring rate such as 600 lbs/spring with a combination of non-adjustable shocks too.
I assume that the dropzones are non-adjustable, which means that they are the cause of the stiff ride because they don't allow for quick decompression.

Here's a break down of the springs and shocks for further reference:
Springs push the wheels back down onto the pavement - without shocks springs will naturally cause bouncing it's inherent to being a spring. The lower the spring rate (softer) the more bouncing it will do. The higher the spring rate, the stiffer the bounce and the quicker it will settle on its own.l

Shocks damper the compression and decompression of the springs allowing for good transition between the two forces - too stiff and the springs aren't allowed to compress or decompress smoothly as they should which can give a feel for the road and everything you run over. Too soft and the springs will compress and decompress too fast, which may cause the wheels to hit the inner fenders and not to mention the bouncing.

You need a good combination of spring rate and shock ability.
As noted, Eibach and KYB will work fine together. An adjustable shock allows for fine tuning of the ride. Just remember that it's the shock's job to damper the springs natural tendency to bounce. Also, don't forget to get an alignment done after doing anything related to the suspension because your camber and caster will be off.

Lowered - gives a car a sporty stance, but doesn't completely compromise engineered cornering ability of the car

Dropped - gives a car a racing stance, but most like has compromised cornering ability since the suspension was not engineered for it, but instead for the stock height of the car. The only way to fix this is to use aftermarket/custom suspension components.

Your wheels are supposed to have negative and positive camber when turning the wheels left or right, being lowered with a very stiff suspension and without proper suspension components is similar to putting two wheels on a shaft. Turn the wheels and they remain as vertically straight (90 degrees) as they possibley can without realizing the contact patch below the tires will shift. Both wheels will lose contact patch. The stock suspension allows for the inner and outer wheel to adjust for the loss of contact patch by angling the wheels accordingly.
That should be enough info to help, hopefully it hasn't confused you altogether.

 

wow thanks. That post should be made into a thread and stickied, cause I'm sure it would answer a lot of people's questions or at least help them out.