I've been doing lots of research around the forums and such but ultimately, I am torn between the h-tech and Hotchkis lowering springs....

I know all the specs and have seen some pictures of each, but I just want to know what other people think. and their arguments for each. Looks-wise, wheel space btwn fender and tire, ride comfort, etc.

I plan on upgrading my rims to 18's or 17's and am concerned about scraping and speedbumps and driveways, which is why i want to stay away from s-techs. It's my daily driver, so I'm more concerned with looks and comfort than performance. Also, as for price, i can get either of them for ~$210 shipped to Hawaii. So no need to consider price in the argument. I don't have any body/lip kit and will be running on stock struts for as long as they can last with no plans on upgrading anytime soon.

I had the same problem about 9months ago, but finally made up my mind and went with H-techs. I'm very happy with my choice the rear could be a little lower but for daily driving its ok. Here are some pics i hope they help (btw wheels are 18")

Few h after install
http://i52.tinypic.com/6h6gdd.jpg

1week after install
http://i55.tinypic.com/bfnf37.jpg

Few months after install
http://i51.tinypic.com/9vh743.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/35bzf52.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/205rq0j.jpg

nice! that was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.
any comment on the ride quality compared to stock?
problems with speedbumps, driveways?
You got approximately the look I'm going for...
My question is, do average people know that u lowered your car with the h-techs? I am worried that when I tell my friends i got it lowered, they not going notice a difference.
btw What rims and tires are those?

hotchkis*

id much rather go with stechs..but im also biased and have an original set (when they were lower then new production stechs) would love for the back to be lower though

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4914489125_9d73f564fd_z.jpg

Ride quality is very similar to stock, no problems with speed bumps or driveways (but Im always careful)

Non scion owners probably wont notice the drop, although if you had a lip kit they might

wheels are enkei ekm3 18x7.5 with a 45 offset.
tire 225/40

i have h-techs also,i love them,not to high not to low,but as someone mention the rear could be a bit lower but its pretty decent,i scrape cause i have the lip but other then that its all good,ride quality is very good,a little but bumpy but nothing you cant live withouthttp://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af22/stef749/102_2711.jpg?t=1283390453

yea i have to say i have htechs with the full rs1 lip kit. and i love the ride height. with the lip kit its looks a little lower then it is. i was in the same boat as you when i first started looking at springs but, i finally decided on htechs. and ride quality is excellent feels stock. and rides great. but hotchkis is also a great brand. but i ahve always liked tein springs so i kinda lean more towards them. here is how mine looks with htechs.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e272/1fasthatch/DSCN0993.jpg

so i have 3 votes for h-techs...hmmm. it looks pretty good from that distance, but can't really tell how much wheel well space there is, and the rs1 lip kit definitely makes it seem lower.

any opinions on the hotchkis?

can't say much about hotchkis other that the drop looks even but i went from s-techs to h-techs and the ride quality and performance got better, overall i have no complains about h-techs.

nice! that was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.
any comment on the ride quality compared to stock?
problems with speedbumps, driveways?
You got approximately the look I'm going for...
My question is, do average people know that u lowered your car with the h-techs? I am worried that when I tell my friends i got it lowered, they not going notice a difference.
btw What rims and tires are those?

Just like everything else, especially with aftermarket upgrades there's generally a lot of choices available. Sometimes it simply comes down to personal preference and sometimes there actually is a quality or performance difference. I've had the Hotchkis TVS Stage 1 suspension on both of my tC's. And honestly I've been very pleased with the look, performance, and quality of the parts. Also with all of the suspension upgrade parts being from the same manufacturer means that all of their suspension parts have specifically been designed to work best with the rest of their suspension parts. It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with "mis-matching" suspension parts from more than one company. I had their TVS Stage 1 for more than 60K miles and held up very well. Then bought my new 08 tC put the TVS on my new one. As for the stance, I have a 1 finger width gap from top of tire to fender in the front and back about a finger and a half. Ive never had any issues of scraping. I'm just careful when I have to get over things like that.