Drunken_Hamster

Yo, know this has probably been done to death and I'm gonna get told to 'search' without anyone reading the thread, but, I actually have done some of my own research, and I just want clarification.

Car is an 09. It will be my daily driver, but I want it to be as fun and sporty as possible, while keeping all mods simple, consistent, and reliable. Good for a daily. Looks are not my priority. I don't want a slammed, cambered, stretched vehicle. I want a daily performance machine that I don't have to worry about driving around on crappy roads, speed bumps, steep drives, or my uneven, lumpy, dirt/gravel/mud/crushed concrete driveway.

As far as my research has gone, it seems a TRD setup would be my best bet. I want a full package suspension setup, which, if I'm correct, will include springs, struts, sways, tower bars, and possibly a camber kit, and possibly solid suspension bushings. I'll probably start with the sways, then springs and struts (or coils), then tower braces.

To describe 'perfect' daily fitment to me, that would be a 1 or 2 finger wheel gap, rolled fenders, flat sidewall(so, a 225 on an 8" wide or so), with the wheels spaced out enough to clear the fenders by like half a pinky width on compression. Absolutely NO rubbing and NO BS.

Dunno if that hard limit of 1.5" of drop will get that wheel gap level, but since that's the best for performance, 1.5"-1.75" is my limit. Like I said, I don't want to have to worry about things like scraping and all of that crap. Car's a daily/weekend warrior. I MIGHT take it to an autocross or two, but nothing competitive, so I won't need any adjustments. I'm a set it and forget it kinda guy that doesn't wanna have to fix anything any time soon. Hence why I got a Toyota to replace my gas guzzling, slushbox, heavy truck.

Anyway, thanks guys. TL:DR; Are TRD suspension parts the right way to go for a performance-oriented drop and suspension upgrade on my daily without losing ride quality or load capacity and without being scrape it and rape it low, or is there something a little better without killing my broke ___?

(Seriously, I can only save $500-ish a month after November. TOTAL. Half of my savings need to be 'emergency money', too, in case something big goes wrong very fast, soo....)

Drunken_Hamster

Been doing more research. Pretty much wanna go one step 'further' than TRD on this. So far my setup is gonna look like this.

Eibach Pro-Kit Springs
Tokiko Dampers
Progress Rear Sway Bar
Progress Camber Kit F/R
Energy Suspension Polyurethane HyperFlex Master Bushing Kit

Does this look good? Or should I go with an ST suspensions sway bar? Or a Hotchkiss front and rear set? Should I go lower on the springs like H&R? ((I've read that the Eibachs are the same height as TRD, but a tad stiffer???))

Any other brands/kits/parts I should be considering for this?

((PS, I DO have access to a lift. I read that the front swaybar was a pain but easy with a lift. However, the car will still be a daily. Just a reminder.))

ShadowReeper

This will suit you very well for what you're trying to accomplish. I believe Progress makes the thickest sway bar for the gen1 tC so you'll have the most stiff sway bar, which will cut out a LOT of body roll. Just make sure that if you go through all this, that you do not skimp out on tires. Get a decent set of all weather tires so you can really take advantage of your new setup. You probably won't even need the camber kit if you're only dropping 1.5-1.75" unless its just cheap enough that you'd like to get it anyway. Also, FYI, anytime you replace anything rubber with polyurethane, expect to have a bit more of a vibrating/harsh ride.. Poly doesn't absorb vibration the way that rubber does which is exactly what you want, just understand the sacrifices that will need to be made. If you change to poly motor mounts, you'll hear vibrating all in the cab, just an example.

Drunken_Hamster

Yeah, I don't think I'll be getting poly motor mounts, and I'm still on the fence about the suspension bushings. It'd be nice to know how much worse it'll get beforehand.

I've seen lots of pics of drops, and even what seemed to be a trd drop in person. Sometimes I think it's perfect and sometimes I want lower. At the same time, I'm planning on a sub and custom box, and those are heavy.

And to top that off, I've heard of trd's settling to 1.7". I don't wanna get a 1.8" progress drop only for it to settle another half inch somewhere down the line and ____ up the geometry.

So, like, what do I do? Looking for 1-2 finger gap after settling, able to not sag ___ with a sub build, and no rubbing with 25" tires and flush fitment. (I'll roll fenders, but no flares or cutting or anything for now.)

Basically, go low with the progress springs and hope they don't settle weirdor ultra far, go with the H&R and never know the spring rate, or go with the eibach/trd and hope they get low enough? (wish I could make my own springs, lol)

ShadowReeper

Haha, You should go coilovers and adjust them where you want them, give them a week to settle, then dial them in. Then you don't have to fool with swapping springs when they settle too far for your liking. I know this is quite a bit more expensive, but in the end, YOU are in control of your suspension and how you like it. With coils you have the option to get custom rates and lengths from Swift Springs if you want a more stiff spring in the rear to compensate for the added weight of the system. (Which is what I'm about to have to do myself)

Drunken_Hamster

Well, you're not wrong... But I really didn't wanna be waiting ultra long to get modding. :/ (brokeboi)

ShadowReeper

If you want an affordable setup that won't break you, get the Tein Street Basis Z. They reuse your OEM mounts and are adjustable. Ebay has them for $479, free shipping (https://www.ebay.com/itm/TEIN-Street...xwW:rk:19:pf:0).

As for the sway bar situation, get a rear sway bar and gauge how you like that. The front sway bar doesn't make a huge noticeable difference. The rear is the main culprit for all the bodyroll and crap handling.

Drunken_Hamster

That's a hell of a spring rate on those.... Don't wanna need spine surgery or have any passengers hate me... Kinda funny, though, that those coils' tallest height is exactly as low as the car should go for performance, haha. Seems like they adjust height by adding preload, though. Which would make them even stiffer... Or am I interpreting the 2-collar design incorrectly? ((I assumed 2-collar adjusts that way and 3-collar/full sleeve was a TRUE height adjust setup with preload being separate.))