ScionVan

I just wanted to get some of this info out now because if I waited till I finished the FAQ, the world would have already ended by then....
Anyway just some thoughts up upgrading the susp on the Scions:

- If going down about 1.75" or more, you will want to cut your front bumpstops. This will ensure that the car will sit correctly, and that you give the front suspension additional room for travel. Remember, the word of the day is: TRAVEL!

- If going down 2.75" or more, you will want to start looking into short stroke struts/shocks. Reason? For more travel! When lowered this much (or more), the stock struts and shocks are almost at their full compressed state. So when you go over bumps, they bottom out almost immediately, leading to that rough, pogo-ing/bouncing feel you want to avoid.

- If you want to go down real low, without using air, and while still maintaing a good ride quality, invest in a good set of coilovers. Most of the cars in Japan don't run on airbags, they use coilovers. Make sure you get coilovers with shortened stroke bodies, as they will allow you to go down past 3", while still maintaining lots of suspension travel. When it comes to coilovers-as with all other car components-you get what you pay for. Let's just say that there's a Scion out there that's down almost 4" and rides BETTER than stock. But it's not cheap.

- With a set of quality, progressive rate (spring rate increases as suspension compresses) springs, the Scions can corner like a ****! There is a freeway offramp I take home every day that consists of a wide, right-handed sweeper, followed immediately by a tight left-hander. In my rwd daily driver, I can usually take it at almost 70mph+, but I have to be a little careful not to kick the rear end out, and the first turn actually requires quite a bit of concentration. But with an xB lowered 55mm with some 5Zigen springs, with stock shocks, and a set of 17" wheels with 205/40-17 tires, I was able to take the same offramp at 60mph+. The amazing thing is how well-composed the car was; there was no need to fight the steering wheel, or even pay much attention to it. The car hugged the apex and just carved right through the turns with ease. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: a Scion with a good set of wheels and tires, coupled with a well set up suspension, and even some aftermarket sway bars would probably outcorner most all other FWD cars on the road! Of course, even before you get to that point, your suspension will show you the limit of the engine, and you'll be yearning for more power to push it faster through the corners! With just springs and wheels/tires, I'm already at that point!

projxB

some words of wisdom from wise man known as Van. :D

as far as coil-overs go, we both know i need to go lower, we already discussed this, so with what we currently have on the market or coming out in the future what would you suggest Van. im currently looking for set, but have not heard much feedback on whats out there now, besides the guy with the Tein wagon set, and hes almost got me convinced on getting that set, but i am open for any suggestions you or anybody else may have. i come from a german car background so i am not really familar with all this JDM stuff.

thanks in advance,
ryan

BB_Bling

Swaybars are good. :)

Hotchkis was saying mid November for their release... just about time to check base again and see if they're on track!

Nothing like a nice lightweight car that can handle well!

scionara

I need front struts because my front suspension travel is not much and the xB's front struts bottom out so easily. So with that said, can someone post what replacement struts are available out there or specs I can use to cross reference other struts.

Docofmind

I bugged my KYB rep just last week on some info about the scion and if he knew of when they would have some replacements available. Sadly, he didnt even know what the scion was.

I am going to the SEMA and AAPEX show tomorrow through fridayy so i will def be askin them what is the scoop. Since the car has been available in japan for awhile so im assuming they may already have something, just a matter of time before it shows up here.

Van, whats up with the braces????

ScionVan

The tricky part about swapping out the front struts to shortened units is the fact that the OEM struts don't use a simple threaded collar and strut insert, but instead has a crimped on top. So you can't just easily replace the strut insert like you can with lots of old skool struts. What you can do, however, is remove the crimped top, cut and section the strut housing to accomodate the strut insert you plan to use, weld on a threaded top, and voila...shortened strut via stock struts! Good short inserts to use are from the AE92 corolla chassis (hmmm, or was it the AE101?). Anyway, an easier alternative to performing all this work is to spend the extra bucks to get some of the readily-avl stuff from Japan. As I mentioned before, some of the more $$ coilovers from Japan come with shortened bodies and allow you to dump your car down pretty far, while still maintaining a good ride.

With domestically-available aftermarket shocks and struts, don't expect to be able to get shortened units any time soon. Companies tend to offer the US consumer watered-down versions of everything, and this might be another such case. (For example, for the way more popular AE86 Corolla, all aftermarket struts/shocks avl in the US are the same length as the stock units, but in Japan, even TRD Japan offers shortened stroke replacements!)

Sherwin: Braces are basically almost done...but it seems like I'm going to be having the manufacturer sell them under their name, because they decided to start selling stuff under their own banner instead of just being a behind-the-scenes manuf, so I'm helping them "come out" and will probably be a distributor for their whole lineup for this region...

JDMxB

With the tanabe springs that one of my friends is getting soon, how much would you cut the bumpstops...1/2, 1/3, 1/4???

Everyone says yea, cut them, but no one mentions how much.

Thanks.

ScionVan

Just like everyone has mentioned in the other post about this topic... as long as you trim at least 1.5" or more from them, you should be a-ok. Don't remove them completely though, because you still do want something in the suspension to prevent a full bottoming out from damaging the suspension.

G-Force

it took 2 years before KYB made shocks/struts for the WRX...

hahajoey

will lowering an xB...
on tanabe DF210(2.5") i think
drop with STOCK SHOCKS AND STOCK EVERYTHING
but running 18" wheels/tires blow the shocks
stupid VIC at dsicount tire scared the pants off
of me and coaxed me into buying the NF210.
now i am REALLY un happy with the height!
im scared when i get 18s. it'll look like.. umm LOWER UR CAR!
u know? i want the perfect drop and i think DF210 will give me
the height i want! but i have nf210.. i duno.
did i get lied to? vic said that someone lowered his car(well he lowered it for someone)
on DF210, and the guy blew his shocks.
i dunno if that was his sales tactic, or if it was the truth!
he didn't have df210 in stock,. BUT he did have nf210.
someone help me!

JDMxB

Tanabe DF210's lower your car 2.2 inches in the front and 2.0 inches in the rear.[/b]

randode

iTrader: (-2)

the Tanabe's look really nice. it doesnt have as much gap over the front tires as the spy 2".