So, as you can see, I have an E88 135is. I've never wanted to really modify the car. I've kept it almost 100% stock except for white LEDs in the halo's instead of amber. (I find the amber look really dates the car) Buuuuut then I got my alignment done and couldn't get the car in spec perfectly. He said the suspension is probably going bad - he thought shocks.
So, I'm thinking:
- Squared setup, 8.5x18 in the front. 313's to keep the stock look. If I could squeeze 255 in front without much rub then that'd be amazing because I think 255's are cheaper than 245's. That said, my car is rubbing with 225's right now because the tires are new and the suspension is likely going out on the front faster than the rear. I want squared not for handling as much for cost. I go through a full set of michelin's every year, if not more. The guys at the shop aren't giving me warranty discounts anymore and are making me pay full price for each set because they hired people who read the staggered warranty part now.
- Coilovers? Could do corner balancing then, yeah? (Not like I really care) I don't want the car any lower. It's pretty low as it is and causes enough issues.
- New bushings? I've heard for a while that the rear subframe bushings are pretty bad for stock and this might improve how the car reacts to bumps in the rear?
- New control arms? This is something people talk about as well.
Overall - my complaints with the car are: Tires wear out way too fast. I get 10k on rears. 15k on fronts. I need square setup to get full 30k warranty and at least get those tires for cheaper. The car kinda "floats" or bounces a bit too much when it encounters bumps at speed these days. It's hard to tell when suspension is getting worse or the roads are - as the roads can degrade really fast around here. The bumps can cause the car to bounce to the point where it will almost lift off the ground if there are enough bumps in succession (280 in SF going north- you know the one!). Last night, this really set in. I was on a particular road here in the SF Bay Area (17) and a god damn Honda Accord 2.0T Sport was way more controlled on that road than I was. We were going way too damn fast (I was surprised - I was like, "What the fuck is an Accord doing at this speed?! HOW IS IT HANDLING THIS ROAD SO WELL?! IT'S AN ACCORD!!!") They were able to carry speed over the bumps quite well. I didn't see their car getting too uncontrolled whereas mine would easily jostle over these bumps in the road and TSC would flash a lot. I have these same issues off Skyline and other roads here. I know there are limits with what a person can do with bumps in the road but - in general - the car doesn't deal with bumps very well at all. So, I've been guessing for a while that the shocks are getting worse and worse... It's just day to day driving, you don't notice it as much and it's not to the level of horrific unless you're really pushing it. (And if the road is smooth - it's not too bad) But last night - seeing another car, a damn accord, easily have no issues whereas I felt like I was at a rodeo about to get bucked off... Yeah, it set in that my shocks are probably roasted.
So - what are the best steps forward? B12 (obviously those are not coilovers - what are the benefits over stock? What would coilovers allow (more clearance options cause I could raise height maybe?)?), 3M/1M arms, buy some 313 rears and spacers, and some bushings from somewhere? I'm not sure what it takes to get the 313 rears on the front with 245 but I'd really like to do that in this change.