Coilovers with stock wheel size?
 

Hi all,


I need to get new coilovers again as my rear OEM have started leaking again after being installed for less than a year...


I am considering splurging on coils this time around but I don't to change my wheels.. I invested in OEM-size nice BBS wheels and personally, I think 18" or 19" wheels are kind of ugly on this car. I also don't want to ruin the driving characters on a 200hp car by getting unncessarily wide wheels just to sit flush



Did Toyota really trap us here by only making coilovers work with wider wheels? Seems a little silly


I know spacers are 1 solution but i've gathered that that they are iffy.. especially on the track

wut

oem suspension is coilover design
no aftermarket coilover has worse clearance than the oem coilovers

you'll be fine bolting on any suspension designed for this car

the issue is guys who stab a 17x9 under stock wheel arches, the OE coilover has interferance issues depending offset


its fine for the stock 7,7.5, 8 inch applications

I know the OEM suspension is coilover design

I’m not worried about clearance.. more so.. my OEM size 7.5” wheels will look sunken into the suspension will they not? Effectively making OEM wheels look ridiculous with aftermarket suspension, is that why everyone gets 9” wheels? I just don’t want wider wheels... like the way the car feels with these light wheels

Oh your question makes more sense now.

Toyota didn't hose narrow wheel lovers, they gifted people who like grip the clearance for a decent tire width to go out have some fun and be faster than they have any right to be. So many shitboxes don't have the clearance for more than a 225 these days.

Yes if you're really so concerned with looks give it a shot and if you don't like it order a set of 20mm bolt on spacers. Good luck.

Thanks... :)

Also 9 inches are slow

20mm Front and 25mm Rear spacers bring the stock wheels flush. 17x9 +40 to +35 fit within the arches and spring perches on a stock car. +45 depends on tires.

I have coilovers, when went with new wheels I went with 8" wide 40 offset. I was scared of too much poke. Well I was wrong its too sunken in for me. Wish I went 9" 40-35 offset

What kind of suspension you have won't change how flush the wheels are... if you lower it 1" on lowering springs, or 1" on adjustable coilovers the wheels will sit exactly the same.

If you're happy with how the car drives now, "splurging" on coilovers will be a waste of money. They'll be stiffer, and likely much less comfortable.

I would also look into how you keep getting leaking rear shocks before spending more money on coilovers.

Yeah you could just get some Bilstein B6 or Koni Yellow dampers and call it a day.

- andrew

Because as opposed to buying a new strut + spring assembly from Toyota for 300$+ I could just spend $1500 on all 4 corners


I'm in canada so things here are more expensive for no reason.



and the roads are garbage thanks to all the salt its pothole heaven over here

Keep in mind if you go to an adjustable coilover setup there are more components that may require maintenance/servicing and/or possibly break.

As noted by previous folks already, should look into why the shock is leaking. If it is due to the road conditions, it likely would not be better on aftermarket adjustable coilovers. Something w/o adjustment like Bilstein b6 may be the easiest solution.

As for the wheels...new wheels w lower offset or spacers. Most oem setups will look a bit “sunken” in if the car is lowered...

OEM shocks are going to be more durable and last longer than adjustable coilovers, if you're consistently ruining the stock parts you're probably not going to have a good time with aftermarket either. You definitely don't want spherical bearings in the upper mounts if it's daily and winter driven.

Who is assembling the shock/spring/upper mounts that keep failing? Is is just one side, or both rears? How many km's since the last replacement before it started leaking again?

I'm in Canada too, and $1500 coilovers aren't going to ride as nice as stock at all. I'll happily take you for a ride in my car on KW V3's if you're in the GTA. It's not overly harsh, but it's definitely a lot stiffer than stock, and definitely more than $1500.

I'd offer to send pictures of how sunken in the wheels are, but I'm running 10mm spacers up front and a lot more camber (-3.2). Rears will be a better sense of what you'd be looking at. Front might be decently relevant, I haven't run close to stock camber up front since it was on stock springs.

Unrelated, it's not the salt causing pot holes it's the freeze/thaw cycles.