For 3 months I researched different suspension components in hopes of getting the tC to handle better according to my driving skill and preferences. My plan was to install TRD shocks with H&R Sport springs until I did the math (parts and install time) and figured for a little bit more money, I could go with H&R coilovers. Originally I was against the idea of installing coilovers, after all, my car is a daily driver and may see a race track once or twice during my ownership. However, when I got a great deal at All Springs.com (Turner Motorsport), I quickly changed my mind. I was thinking I would give it a try and if didn't like them, I could purchase TRD shocks and H&R springs and put the coilovers up for sale in the classifieds... luckily, I won't have to.



Installation

I had Josh at FasterScions.com do the install. Since he specializes in Scions (obviously) and owns a tC, I figured he would be able to do the install in about 3 hours and do it right... he did it in under 2. Since the front coilovers came assembled and only needed a few of the original parts for mounting, it made his day, and most importantly, it got me on the street a lot quicker.

Ride Quality

I've never driven a car with coilovers and most of what I've read/heard about them is how hard the ride is. Because H&R doesn't publish their spring rates, I had no idea what to expect short of a few comments from Joe Dezod and others. When combined with a TRD sway bar set to "Race/Track" (and stock RE92 tires), the ride is stiff yet controllable and not uncomfortable. After changing the sway bar to "Street", the ride quality improved greatly and made it feel very similar to the TRD shocks/springs/sway bar [Race] combo with a touch more road feedback. I feel the latter setup is best for daily driving, so I'll leave the "Race" setting on the sway bar for the track.

Handling

Even with the stock tires, handling is vastly superior over OE. Body roll is negligible on the street, the wheels stay planted over bumps, and steering is neutral. Despite my best efforts, I have yet to find the limits of this suspension on the streets without resorting to extreme stupidity and endangering the general public and myself. Conversely, when others act foolish, emergency handling is razor sharp and kept me out of path of a [presumably] drunken SUV driver in the next lane. After some experimentation, 1.75" drop in the front and 1.5" drop in the back seems to be an optimum setting (and looks nice IMO), and as expected, steering response has improved and should be even better once I get a four-wheel alignment.

Thanks to Josh at FasterScions.com, Joe Dezod, H&R Springs, and Turner Motorsport for their help and professionalism.

 

nice......i was thinking about these! On the comfort, is it comfortable or can you feel the bumps? Let me know cause im thinking about haveing a change of heart for these than the TEIN Basics.

 

You can feel the bumps, but it's not uncomfortable. You probably won't notice a difference over your current setup assuming your sway bars aren't set to their stiffest settings.

 

H&R are the $hit........

 

how high can you go on those coilovers? stock height maybe? thanks.

 

^^^ I didn't try it, but I believe the highest they adjust is 0.75" lower than stock.

 

I have H&R and have tracked them...they are excellent

 

Is the stiffness adjustable, or just the height?
And if so, are they like all the others where you can adjust the hight on the car, but the rears must be removed to adjust the stiffness?

 

I don't think stiffness is adjustable.

 

^^^ Correct, stiffness is not adjustable. However, with the proper sway bar adjustments, they should be more than adequate for the track.

 

It is =]

 

Just wondering how changing the swaybar settings had an effect on how the car rides? Swaybars shouldn't have anything to do with how stiff the suspension feels. They don't add any additonal springrate or dampening. You should only be able to notice the difference in body roll.

 

nice writeup, any pics?

 

As you know, the sway bar is basically a torsion bar. As one side of the suspension compresses, the sway bar twist and compresses the opposite side which reduces body roll and keeps the car flatter in the turn. The downside of this [for example] is if the left wheel hits a bump, it transmits to the right wheel, and that increases according to stiffness of the sway bar. As I was going over bumps (even minor bumps) in the road, both sides of the rear suspension were compressing and reducing suspension travel making the car feel stiff. Once I reduced the stiffness of the sway bar, the opposite side of the rear suspension was able to move more independently, soak up the bumps and provide a smoother ride. However, the compromise I had to make in softening the sway bar is increased body roll, but as I said in my write-up, you have to push the car to the point of being unsafe on public roads to really notice the difference.

As for pictures, all I have is a crappy camera phone, but thanks to vendor requests, I'll have some pretty decent photos on the way in a week or two.

 

 

I can see your point but only over really large bumps where one wheel is cycling up and the other wheel isn't moving as much. For instance if you have ever seen a car with stiff swaybars pulling into a steeply angled driveway. Usally the back tire will come off the ground. The tension from the swaybar is keeping the other tire from dropping out any further. If you were to lift that car up in the air that tire would then fully droop out. Over a small bumps on a road where both wheels are cycling up and down the swaybars are also free to move up and down. There should be little to no tension on the swaybars over these types of road surfaces which will allow for full suspesion travel. In a bumpy corner at speed where the swaybars are loaded up I could see a stiffer swaybar having some effect on the stiffness and travel of the rear suspension. That's just my take on it.

 

I used to think the same thing, but it's as plain as day after the change. After my alignment yesterday, I returned the sway bar to the "Race" setting and did a few laps on a what would be a typical road found in L.A. (Forest Lawn Drive for my L.A. peeps). It's not a bumpy road by any standards, but it's not glass either and there was a noticeable difference in perceived stiffness in a straight line as well as around corners; the same applied on my freeway loop of a "washboard" section of the 134. I guess it's one of those things that have to be experienced rather than read about. :?

 

That's too weird. I want to take a ride. I really want to see how those coilovers handle. I don't really care for the TRD susupesion. The shock valving and spring rate is on the soft side.

 

Do your fronts creak a bit at very low speeds... Its my only complaint but Im guessing just due to the 2 spring design. I've driven the car on mid ohio before any adjustments and now with a these and some other suspension work and WOW.

 

Oddly enough, it's my rears that are starting to make noise, I think I'm going to try some Rear Spring Noise Stoppers from www.optomizescion.com.

ETA: It was just a loose sway bar end link.

Road Trip

After getting a four-wheel alignment, it was time to hit the road... 267 miles later, I ended up in Vegas. The 15 highway offered up a variety of road conditions to test the suspension from fresh asphalt to truck ruts, and the coilovers rolled over them with ease. My three and a half hour drive was free of any bouncy feel or harshness, yet offered a pleasant amount road feedback. If you are willing to spend a little extra money, these coilovers should be in your future.