Well, Saturday me and two guys I work with took my tC into the shop and installed the TRD springs ourself. Both of them had done spring installs before but this was my first.

The shop had everything we needed, hydraulic lift, impact wrench, breaker bars, etc.

The install was VERY EASY. There were 4 of us and it took 3 hours total and that was with 3 of us standing around while the 4th did the work going "Yup Steve-O, that looks good" you know, like government work

I would say the hardest part was lining up the rear top-hat correctly, took us a few tries because of the angle, but nothing that loosening a bolt and twisting couldnt fix. The install guide tells you to take off the windshield wiper and cowl but its not necessary. When you loosen the top 3 bolts on the top hat the strut will lower down and you can get a wrench in there nicely. That will save you some time right there.

The drop is PERFECT. I am MORE happy with it than I thought I would be. The wheel sits perfectly in the wheel well now. The front and rear are level, so its not an aggressive street stance. If you want the front lower than the rear then I suggest waiting on a different spring set to come out. The car sits perfectly level, which, in my opinion looks awesome on the tC.

My buddy took pics during the install. Nothing major like a step-by-step but just some pics of us goofing around in the shop. I also took some pics of my car this morning which I'll probably post sometime tomorrow. It looks great.

If you want to drop the tC just a little, and have it sit nicely on the stock shoes then I HIGHLY suggest the TRD Springs.

About the ride. Its sweet. Highway ride is NOT rough. Neither is street. The springs I would say are just slightly stiffer than the stock ones so they dont rub, but they dont compromise on ride. The lowered center of gravity makes the car STICK around corners. I was driving aggressively today on my way to work and the cornering is much improved. I can tell that it would be a little better if I had the sway bar, you can feel the rear end roll to the outside a little, but nothing major.

As far as rubbing, I cant get the car to. I tried hitting a few speed bumps (which were rather large) and got NO scraping what-so-ever. I cant get it to hit anything, not that I'm really trying, but in normal driving conditions, nothing scrapes or rubs. Very nice.

All in all, it was the best investment so far on my car (well, only besides the floor mats).

I really recommend the TRD springs!

 

I recently did a search here for something which I cannot remember. I found a thread with someone from the Carson Scion parts department and sales there. Anyone know who this guy is and if they still offer discounts to Scionlife members? Thanks.
Nice write up, I don't want anything too agressive. These springs sound perfect. What rim/tire combo do you have?

Is the rear vision any better? Meaning, since the car is level can you see out the back any better? When I did a test drive I noticed that I could not see as much as I would like while backing up.

 

I have the stock rims/tires and will have the stock rims for the life of the car. They look too good for me to change them. I might change the tires though for better contact, not sure.

I'm not sure what you mean by seeing out the back. I havent had much of a problem at all seeing out the back. You just need to learn the size of the car, then you'll have no problems manuvering in and out of parking spaces

 

Thats good to hear... glad that ur happy with the trd springs...

Did u get an alignment after the install was done? How was the camber?

 

since the drop is onlye 1.25 inches or so the camber virtually hasnt changed.

We marked the alignment bolts before removing them and replaced them in their exact position (or very close to it). The alignment MAY be off by like .000001 degrees or so. The car pulls about 1-3 feet to the right over about 1000 feet or so, so its off so slightly that I dont notice it when I drive.

Im getting my oil changed this weekend, so I'm going to have them check the alignment as well. But I dont think its off by enough that they would have to adjust it.

 

Anyone got any pics of the TRD lowered tC with stock wheels? I want to see how it looks.

How far did it drop? Got a clue?

 

it dropped enough to notice, but not too much. it looks great. I'll get pics up tomorrow. I dont have the cable to d/l the pics from my camera right now. The springs say 1.25" front, 1.5" rear. I would guess thats just about right.

Check this in the meantime though http://zoltiz.com/cars/tc/springs/

 

Nice solid b/a pics on the link. Thanks man. Still think I want something a little lower.

Thinking Tein springs from what I am hearing.

 

no cliff note? jk

 

TRD springs fs... hint hint...