Holy suspension set up !

ya the strut doesnt do that much when its just sitting there

 

Like Mafix and Youds said.
The springs hold you up. The struts control the spring compression and decompression so you don't get launched too much. Those are collapsed springs. That's exactly what my right front did when the spring finally went - and I 'only' got 19 years outta the orginals!!

 

"Worse of a ride" is rather subjective. Lowering springs, by their design, will always give a stiffer ride than OEM. It may seem even stiffer still since your springs are much softer now than they were originally (way too soft). If you want the OEM ride, go OEM springs. If you want the benefits of a lower suspension, than yeah, it'll be stiffer, but you'll feel more control than OEM and especially a sloppy blown spring. The lower you go, the stiffer the ride has to be to keep you from bottoming out. Same w/ low profile tires. You're trading comfort for handling.

When I got new springs for my GTS, I opted for Eibach pro-kit since the drop was mild (1") compared to other springs and I stayed w/ OEM (KYB GR2) struts. Bit lower, bit better handling, bit of a difference in ride quality, but not much.

I don't know much about the Stanza except that it was never designed to be anything but an affordable commuter car. I don't know if there's enough of a anti-sway bar to warrant lowering, or if you're running tires good enough to handle higher speed cornering (etc). Like a stereo, your suspension is as good as the weakest part. If you're not planning on upgrading everything, probably just get the most affordable, decent quality OEM-style spring and save the suspension money for your Celica. Just a thought... I'm sure you'll get others.

 

thats the strut dust boot cover - sometimes called bellows.

as stated previously, struts/shocks have ZERO to do with the ride height of a vehicle. it is purely the job of the spring to determine ride height, which would help to explain aftermarket versions are called 'lowering springs.'

myself though, i've always found the KYB GR2 struts/shocks far too soft for my liking. i spend the extra $ and just get the Koni Yellow struts. the Tokico Illuminas (aka Whites) are adjustable, and cost about half as much as the Konis.

the most important way i can describe upgrading suspension (just like engine work) is that its like a puzzle. you have many pieces, and each adds its own beneficial effect to the overall picture.

upgrading just struts or just springs, will help in SOME ways, but you wont see the full potential until you touch each portion of the suspension.

even replacing older units with OEM pieces is better than nothing.

i have an 86 mr2. its gone thru 7 major suspension upgrades, and all that suspension work has cost me twice as much as the original purchase price of the mr2 itself. the result is amazing though. firm and crisp handling, but not bone jarring. a little body roll, but with throttle/brake and steering inputs, its very manageable.

struts, springs, end links, front and rear sway bars, front and rear strut braces & the full bushing kit.

the most OVERLOOKED piece of just about any suspension... tires. oversized wheels, personally, i think is ridiculous and for uneducated dipshits. super short sidewalls increases ride harshness. i went from the stock 14" wheels to 16" wheels - hated them. got 15" wheels - love them, with a 55 series sidewall. and i've got some of the best autox tires around - Falken Azenis RT615.

btw - getting a set of lowering springs is NOT a bad thing... but, do some research to see if the springs rates INCREASE as the height DECREASES. if not, then you are buying shit. Whiteline makes some springs for the AllTrac Celica ST165 - 2" drop, but crap spring rates. absolute mush. far too soft, and the tires would bottom out over any bump.

anywho... just my 2 cents.

 

there'a an easy way to fix that.

find out which kyb/monroe part works for your car, then find out if that strut/shock works for any other car (ie. nissan sentra, etc) and see if koni makes a strut/shock works for that car as well.

www.summitracing.com

or call your local auto parts store, and ask them for some assistance.

 

Amen on the tires and wheels. I was at the police driver training course recently and was chatting w/ the instructors. They were saying that not only do the ridiculously low side walls on so many cars these days cause harsher rides, but they also cause way more blow-outs since there is so much less sidewall to absorb the shock.

I was checking out the pursuit cruisers on the course. They all got decent sidewalls and top quality tires. Maybe even a police version of the quality tires, but don't know that for sure. I was just impressed that cars built to chase bad-guys don't bother w/ 22" rims and 1" sidewalls. Made me check out NASCAR this weekend more closely - same thing. I guess if that's the look you want while cruising Main Street at 10 mph that's one thing, but don't think a super low profile is automatically the best thing for sport handling.

By the way, I'm not a cop, but work for Sacramento City so get to use the course for defensive driving training purposes. We get trained since so many people see us in a City marked vehicle and try to involve us in accidents so they can sue they City, viewed as easy money. If you ever get the chance somewhere - what a blast! The high-speed maneuvering course and oval skip pad course are awesome!!