500$ suspension budget

[pandrade]

Hi guys i got a 87 supra turbo whith manual trany and stock lsd, i got 500 bucks to speend on suspension. My model came whith super moniter and TEMS. my main focus is for agressive street and some auto cross, i realy dont care about a rough ride (since im always on motorcycles im use to rough rides). I know eibach makes lowering springs for this model and tociko makes the illumnas 2 which are TEMs compatible i like them cause the adjutable levels and long life, if you guys got any shock and spring combos i would be glad to hear them

[El Supracabras]

$500 will get you some decent lowering springs and a set of new mid grade struts. Add +$1000 to your budget if you want to make any significant upgrades to the suspension.

[pandrade]

i was leaning twords the tokico illumnas 2 since i got TEMS and eibach lowering springs or h&r whith koni yellow. I wont have 1k any time soon

[cre]

If you're really after an aggressive and predictable track feel you'll need to look for springs with a linear spring rate. ST's are the only ones I know of that are available at the moment; Everything else is progressive. I'm not a Tokico fan but they're the only TEMS compatible damper out there. If you don't mind manual adjustment (preferable as you can tune each to compensate for any bias) then I'd recommend Koni.

If everything on the car is stock right now then anything you buy will feel amazing.

Also even just replacing all of the suspension bushings will probably make a huge difference for you.

[pandrade]

So far all the upgrades i have on it if a full custome race exsaust including test pipe its all 3 1/2 in from the turbo on down no cats and its as straight as humanly possible

[pandrade]

i was doing a bit of shoping around and found that H&R makes race spring for my supra ( they say there great race springs and they lower more than eibach) ill probably go whith these springs but now i need a shock to match these stiff springs any sugestions, the Tokico are looking good but im open for any other shock especialy if its in my price range and offers better cornering performance

[cre]

If you're set on adjustable but don't absolutely have to have the TEMS system (aka manual adjustment) then I believe you'll find the Koni are a good deal stiffer at the firmest setting. I prefer this setup anyway as you can tune each wheel individually to account for bias from uneven loads (ie: empty car with just the driver upsetting things on one side). The crap part about these is that I believe you still have to release the strut from the hat in order to rotate the piston to adjust the valve (It's not a huge deal if you're running drop springs as you don't need a spring compressor nor do you need to pull everything out to make the adjustment). This has been a complaint for some time but I don't think there's anything they can do with many struts due to how they're built and how they mount. Regardless I know a lot of people have ditched TEMS in favor of these and were quite happy once they got everything dialed in.

No idea how you're going to manage all this for <$500 though... More like $700+. Just struts are going to cost you $500 or so.

[pandrade]

I think that would be the best choise, and the 500 budget is now up to 700$. i dont really need the TEMS it was just a nice feture but if i gain a better handeling ride ill just forget that it is even there. Now which series koni's would you go whith since the yellow doesent seem like it would be that great for autocross ( im thinking there would be somthing a bit stiffer from them, at a loss of ride quality which i dont mind)

[cre]

Actually, the Koni Sport (yellow) are quite stiff at their firmest and I don't think Koni even offers anything else for the MKIII. Don't think of any new suspension components in relation to your old shabby ones... you'd probably be blown away by a dirt cheap set of KYB GR-2s right now. Don't over do it on the dampening... it's what keeps the wheels in touch with the ground when you do hit a bump after all.

Once you get decent springs and dampers start saving for new bushings and beefier sway bars... those make a massive difference.

I haven't rode in a vehicle which had Koni dampers but everything else 20 years old so I can't comment on how they'll feel as a solo upgrade... I can't emphasize enough though that you should not expect two components to make up for 20 years of wear and rot on a number of other directly related parts.

Here's Koni's guide on adjusting the shocks: http://www.koni-na.com/adjustment.cfm I've been told and have read that they can indeed be adjusted without being completely removed from the car though. Regardless... if you want good AND adjustable then you just have to give a little.

Are the H&R springs linear rate or progressive?

[pandrade]

Yah i relize that i have to revamp the whole suspension, not just shocks but im doin it little by little untill i have all the components, the springs i dont know but there H&R's top line springs and for a decent price they beat eibach's street springs