Should I have just went with Coilovers?
 

I ordered the Eibach Sportline springs from ebay and I got an email the other day saying the were shipped and there coming January 14. They cost around $250. I'm having second thought though because after reading i'll probably need to replace my struts which will cost money and plus the install and alignment I'm looking at more money than coilovers. Did I make a huge mistake? I was planning on running the sportlines with stock struts but I know that's not a good idea. Basically how much money am I looking at after i get the springs? Next time ill do more reading before making a choice so fast.

not sure about the sportlines specifically but I am running Hotchkis sport springs (~1in drop), been running them for over a year and a half now with stock struts and everything is fine.

Im just hoping that since the sportline has more of a drop it wont ruin the struts. thinking about just returning the springs and getting coilovers. I feel like ill probably save money. Hopefully the ebay seller will take them back. Wondering if I can just canel the order but I doubt it since they have already been shipped.

I have sportlines on my car that I installed myself. Honestly if you don't plan on installing them yourself then you are going to be way overcharged for the work and I wouldn't trust a shop to do it for me anyways. Just get a friend and read ALL the DIYs on installing springs and you'll be fine. The top nut on the strut is the only "tricky" part, because you don't want to spin the rod and blow the strut.. but even then it's no biggie with the proper tools. As for changing the struts.. I wouldn't. If I was going to do that then yea I would've gotten ST coils. I plan on eventually getting some KW V3s, but the sportlines are a cheap solution that will suit me until I feel like coughing up that kind of money.

Ill proabbly just do it with my friend. how long have you been running the sportlines? I just hope the struts will last me over 15k miles i currently have 5,500 miles.

I've only had mine on for about 2k miles.. but there are plenty of people on here that have ran them around or over 15k I believe. Also the drop on our sportlines is actually not as much as sportlines on plenty of other vehicles and people have ran them over 50k without issues with their struts.

I don't think the strut failure rate is really that high. Sure it happens but I feel like there are a lot more that don't fail than do.

This. I think you are getting ahead of yourself OP. Just install the springs and enjoy. It could be YEARS before you blow one. Just replace when needed.

How do you like the Hotchkis?

Yes.

You paid $250. You'll pay $300 or more to have them installed. $550 total.

For $850 you could buy the best entry level coilovers, ST, and install them yourself for free. Then you can choose the ride height you like. Be aware if you go more than 1.5" lower, you may want rear LCAs, if you don't like more than -2° rear camber.

If you live where they salt the roads, you might look at BC or Stance coilovers, but they'll be a little stiffer than stock and the STs.

Fyi, on my Volkswagen Corrado, I ran Eibach 1" springs, and after 2.5 years my stock shocks started leaking. Granted that was 15 years ago and shock design has improved. But typically the lower you go on stock shocks/struts, the quicker they'll wear out. They aren't designed to run in a compressed state for a prolonged amount of time.

If you're paying to have them installed then you're better off with coilovers.

Your struts will easily last over 15k miles if installed correctly.

I have Sportlines as well, and maybe if I didn't know any better I'd be happier with them, but I came from a car with ~$3000 coilovers and these struts feel underdamped to me running these springs. If I could do it again I would probably just do coilovers, even the cheaper ones are going to be better matched than the stock struts on random springs.

Coilovers are also a much easier install and make it much easier to return to stock later.

Idk why people never mention and/or are adamant about the lower model Teins...but for $800, the Tein Street Basis looks very very enticing - especially since it's one of the few (maybe the only?) spring/strut-combo (actually a coilover) that offers a true short stroke/body shock/strut at a very reasonable price.

I would choose Tein Street Basis over any lowering spring + Koni strut combo for this reason alone. Yes, Koni struts are great and have awesome valving and quality...but those shocks are stock length/stroke, so they will always be in a rebound and/or compressed state/position when lowered on springs...and I don't think that "awesome valving" would be so awesome anymore, since it would be out of it's element and design always being compressed.

^^^ Idk wat u talking about..

The Koni's won't be 'out of it's element' when on lowering springs because the ride height won't be far away from stock. Also, this means little if anything to the shocks other than slightly higher pressure inside the shock at ride height.

OP, get a buddy and install your springs yourself, it's really easy, and with all the DIY's available everything is well documented. Get a pass through socket set and some spring compressors from harbour freight (PA if you're in Canada). Don't use a impact gun on the shock shaft, you will damage the seals in the shock. Be sure to compress the springs before removing (and installing) the upper shock mounts.