Performance Factory Ride Height

Nam1911a1

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Are there any options out there to have a factory ride height but with a stiffer ride and handling of a performance suspension.

I don't know what kind of lowering springs are on my car because they came on there when I bought it. But they are purple. It rides just fine but I have to be really careful with scraping pulling in and out of certain lots and driveways.
 

Excuses443/

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You can get struts with adjustable damper.... or coilovers.


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Nam1911a1

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Is it possible to use some type of aluminum strut spacer to bring the ride up up to factory?

I know in trucks a small 2" lift is had by an aluminum spacer up front between the top hat and the strut tower. Longer bolts and BAM!
 

RedRyder

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Get the Progress rear sway bar and a set of springs that lower the car 1.5 - 2" (ideally with a set of aftermarket struts), and you'll have better handling than stock without sacrificing much ride comfort (if any) or height (these cars ride very high to begin with so it's easy to lose a little with no consequence).

I had a 2" drop for years with Eibach Sportline springs/Koni yellow struts and there was no curb, parking block, or driveway that ever came in contact with the car. And that was with the lip kit that added another 1-2" below where the bottom of the body normally was.
 

Varnell

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Eibach sport plus kit is the way to go for improved handling, yet reasonable height. Comes with with lowering springs and sway bars. Koni yellow struts are ideal to pair with them, but for that price you might as well get Teins and ride at max height. Don't forget upper strut tower braces, b pillar bars, and c pillar bars.
 

SupraGuy

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Answering the original question...

Ride height is generally determined by springs. Stiffness can be altered with dampers. Stiffer dampers will give you more "road feel" which is usually what people want with the suspension upgrades. Upgraded sway bars will help a fair amount with cornering feel and body roll.

The actual performance of the suspension will be overall better, even on stock springs. I've experienced this when I bought stiffer shocks for the Supra, even though I'm running stock springs, therefore stock ride height.

Certainly there are suspension upgrades that offer greater improvements in handling with a mild to moderate drop, but just finding a nice stiff aftermarket strut can provide improvements with the stock springs. Pair those with a decent set of anti-sway bars, and there are definite benefits to be had.

Of course you'll also get a stiffer ride with larger diameter rims (less sidewall) but that's fairly marginal, and generally comes at a cost in overall weight, which is also rotating mass, and unsprung weight, which is about the worst place to add weight, handling and performance wise.
 
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