I need some opinions here as I'm about to make some changes to my suspension setup and I'm not sure if I'm on the right track or not. Currently I'm running on Skunk2 coilovers with stock struts. I managed to pickup a set of front Tokico Illuminas which I am going to put in with the stock springs. I'm reverting back to stock ride height for winter driving, and I'm probably gonna sell my Skunk2's and pickup some Tein S-Techs for the spring.

Now, here are the few things I'm not sure of.

1. Is it a bad idea to put in adjustable gas shocks in the front and leave the back stock?
2. Is there anything else I need to replace to accomodate for the adjustable shocks?
3. Does anyone know how much of a drop the S-Techs give and how smooth the ride is?
4. Would different springs like H&R or Eibach go better with the Tokico Illuminas or are they all about the same?

I guess my goal is to have a slick looking lowered ride that's not gonna kill my kidneys every time I hit a bump.

Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: If anyone's interested in the Skunk2s, PM me for more info

 

just to make a comment...

the best handling proteges I've seen were:

P5 with illumina/eibach combo
p5 with tein full coilover
stock MSP


We installed Illumina/Tein on Anarchistchiken's p5 and it is awesome. ...drop is about 2" all the way around after it settled.

Don't mix and match strut sets. Do it right or don't do it at all.

 

Advice taken ... it's just too bad I'm completely broke right now and can't afford the rear struts at all. The front ones just came at a good time at a good deal, and I gotta replace the stock ones, so it leaves me no choice but to mismatch for a while until I save to get rear struts as well. Thanks for the advice, you covered most of my questions.

Well except for one I guess ... is there anything else in need of replacement to go with the new struts? My car's a P5 for those who may not know ...

 

nope, just bolt in and go.

I would wait to install everything at once then instead of mismatching. double the labor on the rears and if you start wearing on the fronts who knows how long before you get the others installed and then your fronts will be worn....viscous cycle.

if it were me (I'm super cheap) I'd buy the tokico hp's, tein S-techs or eibach prokit and the awr sways (front and rear)...don't egt any fancier than that...you'll never out drive that suspension.

 

Damnit Rod, you make sense like always! I had the same thoughts but I guess what kept me going on this idea was that if I'm riding on stock springs and if the shocks are set to a stock level, then they should be fine for the most part (at least that's what I thought).

My main problem is that my front passenger strut is completely fubar and the driver side one's not doin much anymore either, and considering I drive 20 miles a day to college and back I figured I should try to replace those asap, and ebay was the answer as always. I mean two adjustable struts at $200 is a really reasonable price and I would've paid at least if not more for stock ones. I guess I'll just have to get my *** in gear about saving a couple hundred bucks to buy the rear ones as soon as I can. Thanks for the advice though ... it's just that I don't have much time or money to work with here.

P.S. Is there a site that sells the Illuminas separate for front and back or is eBay gonna be my answer again?