What is the cheapest way to improve handling

[Kanmuri79]

I had thoughts of doin king springs until i local suspension bloke rubbished em. What stuck in my mind was the fact that he said warranties on the king springs allow only above 25mm of sag before kings will look at it and other brands such as h&r and eibach is something like greater than 5mm. Hearing that killed the idea of kings for me.

[Andrew357]

I had thoughts of doin king springs until i local suspension bloke rubbished em. What stuck in my mind was the fact that he said warranties on the king springs allow only above 25mm of sag before kings will look at it and other brands such as h&r and eibach is something like greater than 5mm. Hearing that killed the idea of kings for me.

I have used King Low springs with KYB ExcelG shocks with no sag issues, I have used SuperLow springs with my Koni Sport shocks with no sag issues.

Besides, the only other off the shelf spring you will get for a 36 series Camry is from Lovells. There are heaps of brands on the market but very little who make anything for a 36 series Camry.

[Kanmuri79]

I had thoughts of doin king springs until i local suspension bloke rubbished em. What stuck in my mind was the fact that he said warranties on the king springs allow only above 25mm of sag before kings will look at it and other brands such as h&r and eibach is something like greater than 5mm. Hearing that killed the idea of kings for me.

I have used King Low springs with KYB ExcelG shocks with no sag issues, I have used SuperLow springs with my Koni Sport shocks with no sag issues.

Besides, the only other off the shelf spring you will get for a 36 series Camry is from Lovells. There are heaps of brands on the market but very little who make anything for a 36 series Camry.

Well thats a good thing if youve had that response from your kings but theres definitely alot of ppl out there who arent kings fans. I did a quick search on auto anything for the 02 camry springs and it came up with a few options. I checked out the tein one on the tein website which lists a set for the 02-03 camry acv30... that wont fit?

[bathuu]

HI Andrew,

Should I leave my rear spring stock and just change front with lowered king? I am bit concerned about load rating of lowered spring. My rear stock sits 2-3cm down when loaded up and if it is gonna be same with lowered spring then I will have a clearance/rubbing issue right? I don't want to be bottoming out on bumps when loaded up.

[Andrew357]

Well thats a good thing if youve had that response from your kings but theres definitely alot of ppl out there who arent kings fans. I did a quick search on auto anything for the 02 camry springs and it came up with a few options. I checked out the tein one on the tein website which lists a set for the 02-03 camry acv30... that wont fit?

I am not saying there aren't people out there who have had problems with King Springs.

The Australian Gen5 Camry is a 36 series. Not a 30 series. The spring may/may not fit and if it does I don't know if the spring rates for it will be correct or not.

HI Andrew,

Should I leave my rear spring stock and just change front with lowered king? I am bit concerned about load rating of lowered spring. My rear stock sits 2-3cm down when loaded up and if it is gonna be same with lowered spring then I will have a clearance/rubbing issue right? I don't want to be bottoming out on bumps when loaded up.

I had no scrubbing when I installed Low springs all round (along with replacing the shocks to KYB) and I didn't even need to roll the guards; even with a full car. However, if you drop to King SuperLows, you will need to roll your guards; even if you are just on your own with little/no load.

[bathuu]

thanks for the reply Andrew,

I measured the gaps between rubber and fender, surprised to find out the rear is sitting actually lower than the front when car with no load and only full tank. I have 215/55/16 rubbers on stock sportivo alloy /as seen on bottom/ and tyre pressures are 38 psi all round. The gaps are

Front Right - 7.5 cm /It is understandable that driver side is sagged slightly/

Front Left - 8.5 cm

Rear Right - 4.5 cm

Rear Left - 6.0 cm

1) What is the gap spec for stock settings? If it is around 8 cm and king low drops only 3cm then I will have around 5cm gap in the front. Should make a change for my replacement plan? Perhaps go "super low" for the front and "low" for the rear etc. I am also planning to run 18 inch wheel with 235/45/18 rubber in the future. In this case, will super low cause rubbing issue on 18s?

2) Are my rear springs sagged?

Cheers

[Andrew357]

I don't know the stock heights as I never measured mine ever. If you want level height, front you'd go L and rears you'd go SL. I don't care much so I went for SL all round.

As I said before if you go SL, you will scrub. I was running 235/40/18 at the time.

edit: You also mentioned you aren't going for the lowered look so I HIGHLY recommend against SL springs. The ride is really uncomfortable (and the chassis sits low but the body still looks like a 4WD).

[bathuu]

Thanks for the reply Andrew

I will then just go with the Low. The last question - is the ebay cheapest place to source the springs and shocks? I am planning to buy cheap and fit myself then get the wheel alignment done at suspension place to keep the cost low. Can these ebay shocks and springs be quality and genuine items. I know the sellers are Aussie based. Or should I source it from brick mortar dealers or suspension places? I am thinking to pull trigger on following deals.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TOYOTA-CAMRY-SEDAN-09-2002-06-2006-F-R-KYB-EXCEL-G-SHOCK-ABSORBERS-/330974092103?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4d0f97db47

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TOYOTA-CAMRY-ACV36R-2002-06-4CYL-SEDAN-FRONT-REAR-LOW-COIL-KING-SPRINGS-/160714279003

Cheers

[Andrew357]

From memory GSL Rallysport (http://www.gslrallysport.com/) might get you a better price on the shocks. I can't comment on the spring prices though.

Doesn't hurt to call them and see what they can do for you.

[Andrew357]

Oh, before I forget; because you have the Sportivo you will only see a drop of about an inch.

The Sportivo sits slightly lower than the other models.

[bathuu]

Thanks for the replies Andrew,

I guess even it drops only a inch, I think I am still gonna change springs as my stock seems sagged unevenly all around.

I give GSL Rallysport a call and see if they can do cheaper than ebay one.

Cheers

[Andrew357]

Thanks for the replies Andrew,

I guess even it drops only a inch, I think I am still gonna change springs as my stock seems sagged unevenly all around.

I give GSL Rallysport a call and see if they can do cheaper than ebay one.

Cheers

Replace both. Your car will handle better with the lows and you will save on labour getting both done at the same time (time or money).

[AsankaK]

inb4 "Besides getting better quality tyres"

Tyres make a HUGE difference to the way the car handles, before I had cheap chinese tyres on a 2007 camry ateva (Auction car, tyres were already on it)
Got fed up with the car slipping under engine load/rain so changed the tyres to original dunlops and MAN it made a huge difference...
just my 2c

Edited January 23, 2014 by AsankaK

[bathuu]

Today, I have changed shock and springs and no wonder that old shocks were shot. It was a quite bit of time consuming DIY to compress springs and swap shocks etc other than that pretty straight forward job.

Car now handles much better and feels rigid.

I understand tyres make huge difference and will upgrade mine in due co****.

I am eyeing on cheap solid 17 or 18 inch alloys and if i can't find any I will just stick quality rubber to my stock 16.

Cheers

[Andrew357]

Don't forget to get an alignment.

[bathuu]

Is it necessary, considering I have not touched adjustment rod? Plus if my crappy tyres wear out unevenly I would be very happy to replace it quickly. At this stage there still quite bit of thread left which sort of stopping me replace them.

By the way how do I dispose old parts? Obviously I can keep the springs but shocks are shot. So it is going to be drilled and disposed. Does it go to general waste or specific places like tyre and oil etc? Is it worth to keep springs does it have any sale value?

Edited January 26, 2014 by bathuu