Re: Suspension upgrades

["Nathan" <etherwolf@sopris.net>]

Ahhh, you remind me of myself a year ago... ;-)

I put on almost the exact same setup. Bilstein Sports and H&R Sports. I love them, although
sometimes it would be nice not to feel EVERY imperfection in the road. The car definitely handles
better, the drop is about perfect for me, and it was about what you mentioned price-wise (around
$750 with new bushings and bearings as well).

The job isn't all that difficult, provided you can come by an impact wrench, a spring compressor,
and about 4-5 hours since this is your first time.

As for the alignment, that's $50 I'm willing to have done with the lasers and the stuff by a
professional myself, but there are plenty of good instructions on how to do your own alignment out
there. If you get like a cup kit or something, be aware the most tire shops can't align a car lower
than the 1.5" drop you get out of most "sport" spring sets. Mine is dropped right to the limit of
what every tire shop near me can do.

I have to warn you, though, that almost everyone you'll talk to who has a setup like mine curses
themselves for not getting coilovers instead. I'm pretty bummed that I could have gotten a H&R
coilover set for about $800 barely used right after I put mine on, but whaddaya do?

That's about it. If you have any questions about the procedure, I'll see if I can't dig them out of
the year-old recesses of my gray matter. ;-)

Cheers,

# Nathan
1996 GLX

----- Original Message -----
From: "Cabell T Treadway" <Cabell_T_Treadway@raytheon.com>
To: <jettaglx@igtc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2002 12:57 PM
Subject: Suspension upgrades


Hey all,

I know this might start a debate, but I'm looking to work on the suspension
for my 97 GLX.  I think it's already pretty well been talked about, but I'm
wondering what the thoughts are on various setups.  My car has 83k on it
now, and about half of that has been on New England roads, which some of
you know are pretty lousy with potholes, etc.  I think it's about time to
replace the stocks, and this is what I'm thinking.  I don't have the cash
for coilovers, as the prices I've seen on neuspeed.com and etc. are in the
$1200-$1400 range.  I think Bilstein Sport shocks ($130 each front, $90
each rear) and Neuspeed Sport Springs ($260 for the set) might be
financially feasible, roughly $700, give or take.

Is this a decent setup?  I'm not a racer, but I would like the car to look
a little more aggressive and give me a little better handling, without
creating an overly harsh ride.  A firm ride is not undesireable, however.
I love my brother-in-law's 91 M5, and that's pretty firm.  Neuspeed.com
says the above mentioned setup will drop about 1.5" in the front, 1.0" in
the rear.

One more question.  If I go with this setup, is it something a fairly
competent DIYer can handle without access to a real great garage?  I live
in an apartment complex, and I do oil changes, etc in the parking lot, but
I don't have a garage at all.  I know I'll need to get an alignment
afterwards, but I'd rather not pay a shop to do this if I can handle it.

If anyone has this setup or can recommend another one in the same price
range for the kind of performance I'm looking for, that would be great.
Feel free to email me off list or respond to the group.

Thanks in advance,
Cab
72bug
97glx