So I've been looking for stiffer springs that do not lower the car, we got ze beeg bumpos around these parts, especially in springtime when things start to thaw! Also, it seems totally unnecessary to pay big bucks just to get decent damping that matches the springs, when there are lots of heavier cars being built that must have something suitable, if a guy could only find them. If you feel the same, the following may be interesting.
Daughter's 323 blew a RF strut., Why is it only RH ones blow? - I now have 3 bad RH and 3 good lefts!
Anyway, since it is such a pain to track down all the right bits, and the price for them if found is about the same or more as the whole assembly, I bought complete front units. KYB Strut-Plus SR4005 & SR4006. These are what used to be silver GR2, but now are black (just changed per KYB site), with all the springs and pads, mounts, etc.
The interesting part is that the springs are a totally different design from any of the 6 cars I have. It has more coils, which are much thicker wire to compensate, and they are progressive wound. The bottom close wound coil takes most of the car weight, so is almost bottomed sitting still. It is wrapped with some kind of polyurethane to quiet things down. Ride height is pretty well exactly what it was. Unfortunately, the roads were real crap and then she drove off with it, so I got little chance to really try it, but it felt like a completely different car, far better than any of them have with good but stock springs/struts (including the KYBs that just blew).
I have no idea when the change happened; maybe KYB has been supplying these all along. You'd never know if you are cheap and poor like me and just bought the struts instead of the assembly. Widely available at a pretty constant price of $138each including shipping, though a bunch of places have them incorrectly listed as being for cars with electric adjustable suspension - how many cheap ass 323/Pro do you think actually came with that? I would say it might be worth calling wherever you buy and asking what colour they are and how many coils, so you don't get old stock with old design springs. I forgot to carefully count coils, but there is at least one full coil extra (5+ instead of 4), and the bottom one is wrapped.
FRM
Daughter's 323 blew a RF strut., Why is it only RH ones blow? - I now have 3 bad RH and 3 good lefts!
Anyway, since it is such a pain to track down all the right bits, and the price for them if found is about the same or more as the whole assembly, I bought complete front units. KYB Strut-Plus SR4005 & SR4006. These are what used to be silver GR2, but now are black (just changed per KYB site), with all the springs and pads, mounts, etc.
The interesting part is that the springs are a totally different design from any of the 6 cars I have. It has more coils, which are much thicker wire to compensate, and they are progressive wound. The bottom close wound coil takes most of the car weight, so is almost bottomed sitting still. It is wrapped with some kind of polyurethane to quiet things down. Ride height is pretty well exactly what it was. Unfortunately, the roads were real crap and then she drove off with it, so I got little chance to really try it, but it felt like a completely different car, far better than any of them have with good but stock springs/struts (including the KYBs that just blew).
I have no idea when the change happened; maybe KYB has been supplying these all along. You'd never know if you are cheap and poor like me and just bought the struts instead of the assembly. Widely available at a pretty constant price of $138each including shipping, though a bunch of places have them incorrectly listed as being for cars with electric adjustable suspension - how many cheap ass 323/Pro do you think actually came with that? I would say it might be worth calling wherever you buy and asking what colour they are and how many coils, so you don't get old stock with old design springs. I forgot to carefully count coils, but there is at least one full coil extra (5+ instead of 4), and the bottom one is wrapped.
FRM
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