ok, i've heard a lot about the amount of drop springs provide, or the nice ride they provide, but if all i care about is the handling inprovement they provide, which springs should i get?

TRD?
TEIN s. tech?
Eibach pro kit?
Hotchkis?

i realize that the xB is not a high performance vehicle, but i do want to make it the best handling box it can be. i don't want to fork out the dough for coilovers but i do plan on gettting the hotchkis sway bars (i had a sway bar on my subaru 2.5rs and it was like night and day).

any opinions would be appreciated.

 

you left out spy and goldline???

 

should i not have? tell me why...

i think i tried to narrow it down to springs that at least from what i've gathered are more performance oriented then "looks" oriented.

but i'm more then willing to be proved wrong.

 

well, performance wise....TRD is the way to go...they are the stiffest it seems, and keep the car very flat through turns.

 

as close to solid bar as you can get!

 

ya, they arent the smoothest out there, but the TRDs DO improve handling tremendously.

 

The goldlines work good. Arin, Adam has been pushing his goldline pretty hard. The whole handling package from hotchkiss, springs, front and rear anti swaybars would be a good way to go. Then add a front strut brace and one bb-ist rear boody braces and look out. In fact take a look at bb-ist xb, his is setup to takes some turns.

 

Go low and go stiff and then get the best tires that money can buy and then you'll get performance.

 

thanks for your comments... the TRD do seem the way to go when it comes to performance.

any comments on H&R?
http://www.hrsprings.com/site/frameproducts.html
"H&R also manufactures their sport springs at a spring rate that is 25-40% stiffer than most stock springs. Such attention to distinctive styling as well as precision form provides the motorist with smoother performance and more accurate handling."

from what i've heard most of the aftermarket springs made are around 10-15% stiffer; it seems like the H&R would be a good choice too. anyone know about these? anyone know the spring rate of the TRD's?

just found out that the H&R's aren't even produced yet... they won't be out for 2-3 months.

 

has anyone tried the TEIN S. Tech springs?
http://www.adventon.com/acb/showprod...tGroup_ID=2593

killer deal, i just don't know if they are more for looks/comfort or handling/performance.

perhaps someone knows from another application?

 

Stiff springs are not always the answer. Real road racers spring their cars as soft as possible and not bottom out and tune with sway bars and shocks. Stiff springs FEEL racy but can put you in the weeds if you hit some rough pavement on a corner. The object is to keep the tire in contact with the pavement, stiff springs on the street fail to do that often.

Personally I like my Eibachs but I have not tried any others.... Hmmm, maybe a spring shoot-out on an auto cross course!!!
ken

 

i would say tein, trd or eibach would do the trick. to get a better ride out of the car adding a strut bad and sway bar will be the best.

 

great point ken. i agree that the shocks and sway bars play the biggest part in handling... it's just a shame that there aren't many aftermarket shocks out there. that's why i'm leaning towards the TRD setup - shocks&struts - along with the hotchkis sway bars i think that'll give you the best performance. of course this is why coilovers are probably the best bet, but my pockets just aren't that deep.

 

sure, but any real race car also has springs about 5 to 10 times stiffer than stock scion springs.

and they don't necessarily spring them as stiff as possible to not bottom out. that is only true in some cases of race cars that have extreme downforce.