Springs, should i change them?

halistan · #1 03-23-2001, 02:42 PM

OK,
i posted this on the other page but no one has answered yet...i'm feeling no love here :-) but anyway, i am thinking about having my struts changed because they are wearing out and the ride of my car is getting really bumpy. I would like it to get back to it's ld nice smooth self but some members here in the past have said that changing just the struts on thier SVX's didn't help much and that they thought you might have to change the springs too. Do springs go bad? If so, when should they be changed? Is there any way to tell if the springs need to be changed as well, because if i don't have to i don't want to (too expensive) but if they do go bad i might as well do it when i change the struts. Can anyone shed some light on this subject for me?

~Ray

svxistentialist · #2 03-23-2001, 03:34 PM

Not being an expert on suspension, but having worn down a few bed springs in my day, my view is you would waste money on springs Ray. They can tire, and if so your car would be sitting lower than usual.
I have had a number of cars with torsion bar suspension, these do sag, you crank them up a notch or two, everything back to normal.
Go for good quality struts, what makes the car go so well is the excellence of engineering in matching the spring rates with the damper rates. New OE dampers will bring back all of the magic. If it doesn't, and your car has high miles, get your motor engineer to check if any of your suspension bushes need replacing, this can make the handling sloppy in a multilink suspension set-up.
Do not be pushed into putting in hard nylon bushes by some petrol-head race mechanic. It will stiffen up the suspension, sure, at the cost of serious and unacceptable road noise transmitted to the interior.

Joe

1994SubaruSVX · #3 03-23-2001, 03:49 PM

i am changing my struts to the koni setup because i just trust the quality and i want to upgrade my ride. i figured since i was changing the struts it could not hurt to save on some labor costs so i decided to go ahead and change the springs too. i will be installing the gc springs and the koni struts in about three weeks. chuck in florida has this setup and he said the ride is a firm but the handling and responsiveness is unparalled. altogether this whole process is going to cost me around $1500. i guess it all depends on what you are looking for. i dont like replacing old parts with oem parts if i dont have to. my logic is: if it needs to be replaced and i can find something better even if it costs a little more then it is worth it. good luck and i hope you find what you are looking for.

halistan · #4 03-23-2001, 05:07 PM

Thanks for the info, My car isn't really sagging, it's just bumpy so it very well could be the bushings. I was told the last time my car was in that my front stabilizer was wearing out too, so i might have those all changed instead of worrying about springs. Thanks again for the info

wasions · #5 03-24-2001, 12:28 AM

If this is a stabilizer BAR, don't replace it. The only way you could possibly wear out a stabilizer bar would be to run about three pro-rally seasons on it. Same holds with your springs. If you haven't been racing the car (REALLY racing) they're still good.

If it's a shock-absorber-like thingie, you could wear it out, but it's not likely. If it's not leaking, it's probably good.

Save your money for something pretty - like drilled, cryo-treated disks!

Oh, and, Have a nice day!

Steve

1994SubaruSVX · #6 03-26-2001, 01:13 PM

i have actually got to have my bushings checked when i go to do the springs and struts, mine may be worn. you should specifically check the sway bar and control arm bushings. i hope i dont have to replace those!!! i definitely have a love hate relationship with this car.