This is a question for those of you that have lowered your boxs, how much did the ride quality change? was it just slightly rougher, alot rougher or did you barely notice any change?

 

With the right springs, its better. Mine is way less"bouncy" than it was with the stock springs. Way flatter in corners too. Best thing you can do to your box.

 

stiffer with goldlines.

 

A lot of that depends on the springs that are used. Some springs are progressive rate, and others are linear. I put the TRD springs on, which lowered the car just a little over an inch. Ride is fine, and I don't think that kind of drop will cause premature wear of the stock struts/shocks. On the other end of the spectrum are springs like Arospeed, which drop it about 2 inches. I would have to guess, that with that much of a drop, you're gonna blow out the stock struts/shocks are lot sooner. If you think about it, you're going to be pre-loading the struts/shocks with 2" of pressure, which they didn't have before, so they'll wear out faster.

I had an SRT-4 that I installed Eibach Pro Kit springs on, and they lowered the car about 1.75". I also had front and rear STBs, and that ride was STIFF. Tradeoff was there has hardly any body roll, and the car handled like it was on the proverbial rails. But with the rather weak hp and torque output of the xB, I wouldn't bother with trying to get the same kind of setup. It's a box, and I'm enjoying it for what it is...

BTW, eBay is a great source for springs. When I was looking, they had TRD, Tein S, Eibach, Arospeed, and a few others (just do a search on "scion xb"). Another thing you might want to look into is what it's gonna cost to get them installed. The dealer wanted $400, plus a 4-wheel alignment. I paid $180 labor for installation and alignment from a local tire shop. It pays to shop around on the parts and labor.

Good luck...