So let me preface this by saying that I feel all I've been doing on this forum lately is asking for advice. Thank you for continuing to participate in my numerous inquiries. On to the topic. Sorry for the lengthiness. I recently got a hold of a set of Prodrive springs. I decided to call around and get some quotes on installation and alignment (yeah I know I probably ought to do the install myself, but I'm kind of limited on time and equipment here in Atlanta). So anyways, I called a couple of places in Augusta and then decided it might be good to check out GTE. So the first question he has for me is how many miles I have on the car (80k+), and then says that I will most likely blow out the struts by putting the springs on the car after riding stock for so long. It's not that I don't believe them, I just wanted to see if anyone else has experience changing the springs after putting a lot of miles on the stock set-up. Will I really blow out my struts? I mean, I know that after-market springs will decrease the strut life, but I didn't figure it would be a nearly immediate thing. So anyways, I started thinking about the prospect of having to get new struts, and started considering just returning the springs and going for a set of coilovers (I've heard good things about Megans). So now, I'm in very unfamiliar territory. Coilovers are a mod that I had never really seen myself getting into, and other than the basic function and purpose, I know very little about them. So, are there any unforeseen costs and hassles when running coilovers? I know you have to get them rebuilt from time to time, how often is this needed and how much does it cost? And finally, can they make for a semi-comfortable street set-up? Basically, this car is more than likely going to be my daily for at least another year or so. After working for a little while, I hope to be able to put away some money and buy a new daily, thus turning this into a weekend/track/fun car. So, I like the prospect of slowly modding the car towards the eventual direction I want to go, but I also don't want to make it unpleasant to drive in the meantime. Whew, I got kind of long winded on that. Help me! Personal experiences are super welcome. Oh, and happy new year! (I've been lame tonight since the LSU debacle).
A set of springs and struts, luckily for you since you have a bugeye will run you about $700ish. Tokicos and RCE's, or your prodrives. A set of coilovers will run you between 700-1000, be more effective for track/fun, and IMO be just as/more comfortable on the street. Just ask Alex or Doug@topspeed or SS or slowwrx or importimage on the BC Racing Coilovers. End of story. Also, if you want to check mine out, feel free to let me know. We do live near each other IIRC.
Well after doing some research on nasioc, it really seems like I would be happy with just springs and struts. So back to my original question, should I actually be concerned about my current struts? If they're really going to blow out in the near future, it just seems like it would be a lot easier to go ahead and get new struts along with the springs and avoid the hassle down the road.
Go with the Koni yellow inserts. They have a life time warranty. I have returned one due to loss of dampening and they shipped me a new one. Plus they are damn good.
If you are going to use the springs you have +1 for just getting some Koni Yellow inserts. If you still have the stock struts and you install new springs IMO you will probably be disappointed. Add the Koni(great strut for the $) or another adjustable strut and you will enjoy your new springs.