I've been searching for a smoother ride with greater control for my xA, and over several months ended up adding Monroe shocks & struts, followed by Tein H-Techs springs. After a week of driving on the fully changed setup, I was convinced there was too little wheel travel up front, so I took some measurements.

On the front struts, with the recommended 1" trimmed off the bump-stops, there is only 16mm of distance left for the shock's piston to compress. Any further and the bump-stop contacts the base of the shock. Which is not good, since the H-Tech spring still has 55mm of travel left before it is fully compressed.

Has anyone else with this combination noticed this? The Monroe strut design appears to be a mismatch for the H-Techs. And an even shorter spring would leave the strut piston locked in a fully compressed position.

It's not easy to see since the wheel and piston boot are in place when the car is operational. But you can slip your finger in there, behind the front tire, and feel how close the bump-stop and piston tube base are to each other.

No wonder I can feel every small pavement grove, this setup only has 5/8" front suspension compression!

 

The monroe strut isnt made for the xa. You might be better going back to the stock strut.

 

It's been hard to find a definitive answer on strut/shock application. Koni specifies the same strut and shock parts for xA/xB/Echo. So one would assume Monroe would do the same for the three models.

When I was running stock springs with Monroe struts/shocks it was a big improvement over stock. However the stock springs were too resistive and impeded the lower compliance Monroe's. The H-Techs are vastly superior to the stock springs, providing better jounce compliance with excellent control.

As you suggest, it's time for more experimenting. Maybe I should through Koni shocks into the mix, since they don't use a Comfort Zone groove, they may provide freer movement with the lower springs.

Next round = Front-Monroe Strut/Stock xA spring, Rear-Koni Shock/H-Tech spring.

I haven't see anyone with this combination yet.

 

The Monroe shock design causesthe xA or Xb to sit about 1/2 inch lower than the stock strut for any given spring. I would suggest going back to the stock strut up front.

 

TRD springs with Monroe shocks in the rear. Progress or TRD rear sway bar. After that the wide fender flares in the rear looked funny so I added OTG shims to bring the rear wheels out. Handles great, rides great. The TRD springs are not a lot stiffer than stock and way softer than some of the other springs on the market. Long drives are a breeze and the car is loads of fun on curves.

 

This is true, and I didn't realize how critical that 0.5" of travel was going to be with the H-Techs. I hated the stiff quality of the stock struts, but the Monroe struts with stock springs was an improvement. As you suggest I may need to stay with stock struts up front if I want aftermarket springs.

I agree that most improvements occur with modifications to the rear suspension.

 

Koni's and Eibach ProKit all around for the win.

 

That's one of the combinations TireRack recommends, and overall the reviews were very positive. I'm eager to try the Koni's.