my struts are bad (making noise and leaking) and need new ones. here the dilema, should i buy new struts or a used set. I was thinking of getting some ones take offs from there wrx or sti. would the sti fit my 02 wrx? and if its better to get after market struts, what brand is good and would it work with the factory springs. im trying to spend as little money as i can(300-400) for the set. let me know what you think and if you know any one who has them for a good price. thanks guys...
depends do u drive a sedan? 04 sti will fit but i would not recomend it i have them on my 03 and u will be in the same situation in a couple of months. I personally would get KYB AGXs they are like 450 on NASIOC but they are very good.
Struts for the most part should last quite a while (up to or exceeding 100k miles) under normal driving conditions. Because Panda is using stock springs, there is not much reason to go with aftermarket struts. Nice used stock ones (~$100-150 for a set) will suffice. Unless he plans on doing some future autox or track days, KYB's imho would be overkill and a waste of money.
i dont plan on really racing it much, just spirited driving. i had tranny work done and i dont want to do that again!!! i have been trying to find some used stock ones but havent gotten any luck yet. there are a lot of shocks on ebay-kyb,tokico etc.. still wondering if they would be any good with the stock set up? they range between 300-400 dollars for the set. i just wanted take offs(assembled) because it would probably be easier to put in. this is a family car as of right now so cant really lower it or have too firm. what is the best choice and where can i get it? 02 wrx sedan
if you want cheap springs get TEINs. they are cheap as far as function..they might lack a little. you can get full tein coilovers for $700 right over your limit. then you wont have to get springs later on either.
Personally i would just get some stock struts untill you decide for sure how you want to use your car... The wrong suspension will kill the ride comfort.
very true. but then if you just get struts you will end up having to (later on) get either coilovers or springs when you change your mind. and then youll have to sell your struts and youll just spend more money. in the end.
If your undecided i think the spending 100 extra dollars is worth it... better then getting suspension and decideing you can't live w/ the ride quality.
there are some kyb gr2 for sale on ebay-$250 for the set, any good? ok with stock springs? also some tokicos with lowering springs for $500, a little high but if it rides good....maybe! any one used these?
gr2's are oem replacement struts. Will work great with oem springs... but so will used oem struts as was already suggested. the tokico dspecs are adjustable struts. I know Taras and Mike Wagner are using the dspec stuts with different springs. Ray (sogonerg) has the tokico (strut and spring combo). I'd imagine you'd want to use slightly stiffer spring rates with the tokico struts then what they come with. I remember Ray's car feeling like it was well over-dampened (felt like a stock sti/06+ wrx but worse). This will of course compromise the comfort you sound like you've grown accustomed to in the stock spring/strut combo...
