95 LS Suspension Suggestion

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Im am going to rebuilding my entire suspenstion. All adjustable everything, and Full coilovers. While I can do all the work myself, (including alingment) the labor cost is $0. So I can focus on parts prices.

List out coilover kits: Brand, model and if able experience.
List out Sway Bar kits: Brand, model and if able experience.

As you see there is a theme.

Heres the list:

Coilover
Sway bar
Frame Support
Camber kits
Caster kits
Trailing arm bushing replacment bearing
Lower control arms

While this is going to take time to build, (money;:rolleyes:) I would like to keep an eye out for the part i want, and if it drops in price, find it used or on sale, I can jump on it. Let the list begin.

:rimshot:
 
are you looking to build a race car or just a fun driver? if so you wont need to replace half the stuff up there.

you could do alot of what i did for my mirage. but i wanted it as close to a street driven race car as possible.

racing logic ultra complex coils with sprint helper springs $1200 ++ very stiff and great reliability
oem evo front bar with poly bushings, ITR 21mm rear bar with poly bushings poly cost me ~45
no frame support
no camber/caster kits
RRM heims trailing arm bushing $160 for the pair
stock LCAs
replaced all other moving rubber with heims/bb ~300 bucks
corner weighted


the car is blow out your kidneys stiff even on low settings and responds as such... i only have a 2 inch drop. if you plan on driving your car everyday, going all out like this will most likely make the car unenjoyable except in the proper conditions.
 
It will be a daily driver. I want it so I can do a mild drop for daily driving, hence the coilovers, so it will be about a 1 inch drop.

I also want to take it to the track and do some time attacks, or something of the same. Not drag.

I dont know why you wouldnt recommend camber caster parts. I dont want to wear out my tires. I think that leaving your camber unchcanged after any type of suspension work is stupid, I see cars all day long that are "dropped and have severly fucked up tires. 8/32 on the out side with cords showing on the inside. So unless you want to buy my tires, they will be installed. This isnt a high schoolers car. This is going to be a daily driven, 350 hp sleeper. No wild body kits, no crazy ass accessories. I want someone to look at it and laugh. Say its clean but slow, and then blow the doors off.

Besides that little rant, thank you for your other suggestions. I will look thru the parts and see what the response is. Thank you
 
i was detailing how MY car is setup. mirages have a strut-style front suspension so my coils have camber plates up front, and we can adjust our rear camber stock. my car has been track driven for years and i know how much tires cost ;)

if you're looking at a 1 inch drop you are wasting your money NOT going with a shock/spring combination. reasoning : coilovers don't last daily driven. they are recommended for minimal miles, and rebuilt every year. depending on your location, perhaps more. in the NE i go through a set of full coils every year. you could even run konis and ground controls (perfect for track and time attack).

also for a 1 inch drop you wont have exrteme camber. if you area really worried, just buy camber bolts.



hard to believe these RL coils were BRAND NEW 8 months before this picture was taken. about 25K miles.
n510286762_2299897_259162.jpg
 
I live in California, and I dont drive thru snow at all. No road salt or crap like that. :rolleyes:

I can tell from your brake caliper that you have been thru many snow seasons. I dont envey you at all except maybe your smog regulations, or the lack there of.

As far as the 1 inch drop, that is for the street. To and from work, and just the random fun drives around town. I will then go to a 2 1/2 inch drop for the track, and prior to racing, will align the car. I do however need camber adujustments in front and rear. The caster is for fine tuning, and isnt a major need.

I might even go as far as buying two sets of camber kits, one set for my 1 inch drop and then another set for my 2 1/2 inch drop and just swap them out as I go to the track. Preset and ready to go.

While I am waiting for money for the build, I dont plan on cutting corners.

Besides all of that, I do appreciate your input.

As far as rebuilding your stut system every year, why? Struts are a long term, (usually 50-90k mile) parts. If your going thru them faster then that, you have another issue you might need to deal with. Stuts (even performance) have the ability to take abuse. Thats the point and only job they perform. Even out abuse that the road deals to the car. to rebound the effect created by your springs. Stiff or not, something is wrong.

I have had lowered cars before, my most recent being my 94 Accord. I had a 2 inch drop on it, and put really nice KYB's in it and they lasted for 65k before my motor took a crap. Minimum outside seapage (which is normal BTW).
 
we have as bad of smog as you guys! except for the carb legal stuff. we dont have any paperwork crap to go through. just the plug in test and exterior visual.

with a camber bolt, you just pull off the tire and turn the bolt to get your allotted amount of camber. no need for 2 sets.

struts and shocks yes are long term. but full coilovers, manufacturer recommended, need to be rebuilt after every season. for me, the season is from may to october. that entails buying the hydraulic cartridge and replacing them in each coilover at the tune of about 180 shipped. i usually clean up the coilover and cover it in a teflon spray but these RLs are nearly 4 years old now. im going to replace them with something else for this year. most likely koni yellows and h&r race springs like i have on my white one.
 
Im not going to be using camber bolts. They dont allow enough change in the suspension to be worth putting in. Im actually going to be using Upper control arms in the front, and then normal adjustable camber kits in the rear.

Im really not shy about buying good parts, and using them. Having two seperate upper control arms to me, is easier. I can trade them out in 30 mins a side and can do it at the track. Instead of having to do it at the shop then aligning it, then going to the track. The price of the second set of kits out weights the time and hassel of constantly changing the measurments.

As far as the coilovers, I see what your saying. I still just dont see any benefit in any other setup. If you could tell me a mechanical reason why they would be worse then another setup then i could understand better. If not then coilovers still seem better to me.

Im not sure if you caught the fact that Im an Automotive Technician, so I know how to do the work, I just dont know what the best of the best parts are per dollar vs performance. That is what Im after.
 
Still no suspension love? I would have thought anyone getting to tell someone else what to buy was part of the fun being on forums.

Or no one like suspensions and you use whatever the hell under your car.

:rimshot:


Im sure you like to spend money only once, as I do. So come on guys, what do you like, what lasts and kicks ass? Whats worth my money?
 
No worries there. I dont buy anything from ebay that doesnt have a major label on it. Finding it cheap while time consuming, isnt my only concern here. So where to get it for me isnt the question, but as to what to get. Minus the price tag. Thru its performance and its longevity I seek.
 
Tanabe Sustec ProType 2 Coilovers
Skunk2 front upper control arms (for camber adjustment)
-Your not going to find any way or reason to adjust castor
Rear Camber arms, or just use washers if on a budget
Factory front sway bar with poly bushings/links if yours are cracked
Suspension Techniques rear sway bar/tie bar combo
Poly Bushing kit is nice but not necessary from the sounds of what your needs.
Same for rear lower control arms, no performance improvement, they just look neat and may, or may not provide some extra clearance for an exhaust.

I had great success autocrossing with this setup, though ive left out a few things. Coilovers arent really necessary for what it sounds like your really looking for, seat time and a finely tuned alignment will net you more gains than fancy parts.
 
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^^^ used to autox with us. what happened to you chris? lol


its not like the olden days with the maroon mirage :lol:
 
Know what I just realised, I know what heims are now. I couldn't firgure it out before, and all the research i was doing was misleading. I kept seing the joints, but saw buchings also. I was thinking the heims were the type of bushing.

Now that I know better, how many do I need, and what parts do they replace? I can start doing a few at a time. Which is nice, since they are only about $10 each.
 
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