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A few months ago I bought a 2005 SC in Midnight Amethyst Pearl with 55000 miles.
In Great shape.
I love her
Her name is Ruby Bridges
me in Sequoia National Park 2 weeks ago.
FIRST things i did:
I had the timing belt and water pump done
and new front shocks (mistake?)
and 4 lower control arms
plus misc. stuff.
BUT
I was less than happy about the handling, body roll, etc.
So I did a few months of research and sourcing parts-
The key is coilovers, and lower the car and it will handle way better.
I will get 19 or 20 inch wheels with better fitment later.
~~~~~
TOMORROW
First modifications will be installed at Fantazy Motorsports in Northridge, CA.
I am very excited!
1- COILOVERS-
I chose the MeisterR CRD after reviewing many options. Adjustable and I can drop the car a few inches. They have free shipping and they showed up super fast.
Should really tighten her up. Plus help lower the car about 2 inches. MeisterR CRD
2- SWAY BARS
GS front
ISF rear
new poly bushings
new control arms from Figs.
Should alleviate most of the rubbery body roll, especially with the top down.
3- REAR strut tower brace
Should also help with rear body roll.
Custom made by a guy in Russia!
He is joemg in this forum and he is great.
It took a while (35 days!) to receive from Russia, but the parts showed up 2 days ago.
He made a small run of them- so grab them while they still exist.
PM me for more info
4- MOTOR MOUNTS
Megan Racing
5- Stearing rack - poly bushings kit
from Figs
6- Lower Front frame brace
TRD
I think this is overkill, but joemg had this too, so I got it.
All should take 3 days and she will handle awesome!!
Ran into a snag with the rear sway bar.
The brackets for the ISF are too large to fit the holes and the existing bracket won't hold the right bushing.
So not happening in this pass.
Gotta figure out a work around.
Anyone have ideas?
1- The car was lowered and
~ 2 inches is TOO MUCH for Los Angeles streets!!
Scraped several times and bounced off a few things.
The height seems great for spirited driving as it really wants to steer into turns.
But will raise up again and prob split the difference
2- the FRONT sway bar bushing wasn't an exact fit and CLICKS
and feels like there is play.
It clicks a ton. Constant clicking but not the same rate of click.
After 2 days it nearly stopped then I hit a bump and it was back.
Anyone have this issue?
3- The coilovers are a great thing and not a great thing.
a- great- feels nice on some bumps it eats them and I feel like it is sportier in the curves.
BUT
b- not GREAT
hits bump stop hard!
and
has a shimmy.
Like the car is made of jello when I hit a bump at speed.
ESPECIALLY on freeway.
It feels like the coilovers stop the shimmy fast yet
It telegraphs a bump into a shimmy and the rear of the car gets jello like.
4- I still don't have the correct rear sway bar bushings.
I ordered SuperPro from Figs but they re backordered.
So I ordered ISF bushings from Siberian and they are too big to fit SC bracket.
Figs tells me the IS300 bushing will fit the 17mm bar and the SC bracket.
But time will tell.
5- The steering rack bushings really seemed to give it better steering feel.
OVERALL
I started a project and I am not super happy with the results.
My first day was I ruined the car and wanted to go back to a ll original equipment.
The second day I babied my new dropped car and still felt a little shimmy and hard bounces.
I started the coilovers HARD, then I went all soft
then 5 clicks to harder
then 5 more clicks to harder.
Should be 16 clicks total soft to hard-
NOW
My battery died.
I heard this is common but hadn't happened since I have had it 4 months.
Any thots would be helpful.
?? can I get a better feeling ride with some responsive handling?
Am I only half way there?
Are there people out there that can drive their lowered SC;s with coilovers on varied street surfaces?
canyons then freeway then bumpy road?
Have had the battery issue with 2004 as noted many times here. 1 week not started battery is dead. two months ago went to Walmart and picked up one of the new high tech batteries (glass ?? or something), installed it and just started it yesterday after 3-4 weeks and had plenty of juice to start without a problem. Sams has same battery and price, $150, however, Walmart warranty is 5 years versus Sams at 3 years.
2- the FRONT sway bar bushing wasn't an exact fit and CLICKS
and feels like there is play.
It clicks a ton. Constant clicking but not the same rate of click.
After 2 days it nearly stopped then I hit a bump and it was back.
Anyone have this issue?
Check to make sure it's torque correctly. Did you get the SuperPro 28.5mm bushing?
3- The coilovers are a great thing and not a great thing.
a- great- feels nice on some bumps it eats them and I feel like it is sportier in the curves.
BUT
b- not GREAT
hits bump stop hard!
and
has a shimmy.
Like the car is made of jello when I hit a bump at speed.
ESPECIALLY on freeway.
It feels like the coilovers stop the shimmy fast yet
It telegraphs a bump into a shimmy and the rear of the car gets jello like.
The shocks will need time to settle.
4- I still don't have the correct rear sway bar bushings.
I ordered SuperPro from Figs but they re backordered.
So I ordered ISF bushings from Siberian and they are too big to fit SC bracket.
Figs tells me the IS300 bushing will fit the 17mm bar and the SC bracket.
But time will tell.
I use the Siberian (yellow) bushing as well with the original bracket, just use razor knife and trim it off.
Hello and congratulations on the car, I have had mine since 2002 and love it.
Can you adjust the softness or stiffness of the coilovers?
I installed the Megan racing coilovers with 15 levels of adjustment about 5 years ago and keep them halfway all the time and it works for me.
You mentioned that you are going to purchase wheels also...this is my experience with the three sets I have purchased.
First set:
I did not have much experience with fitment so I went with a set of wheels and tires that fit like the original, too small and not wide enough. I remember they were 18 inch but don't recall the width.
Second set:
I went with 20 inch all around staggered. That was a mistake- I did not like the ride on the low profile tires and the all black look. Had them for 6 months and sold them.
Third set:
I have had them for 3years now and still love them 19x9.5 rear and 19x8.5 front - it gives you the opportunity to play with the tire profile if you need more cushion.
I originally had a 275-30 tire in the rear and a 235-35 in the front. now I have a 275-40 rear and 235- 40 front and I like it much better.
thanks fo the wheel info.
I am leaning to the same size 19's - and might go to the 40
what offset are your 19's?
Sorry- I don't recall the offset.
I bought the wheels and tire package from Carid.com, very helpful reps. I told them I wanted, for wheel to be close to the fender without rubbing and they did it.
For the wheel/tire, I suggest
Front wheel/tire = 245/40/19 => diameter will be 679mm (stock is 653mm) and sidewall 98mm (stock is 98mm)
Rear wheel/tire = 275/35/19 => diameter will be 675mm (stock is 653mm) and sidewall 96mm (stock is 98mm)
Your car will be 1/2in taller, but you have coilover, so it's easy to correct.
If you go with the 40 profile for the rear, it'll look odd.
Rear wheel/tire = 275/40/19 => diameter will be 703mm (stock is 653mm) and sidewall 110mm (stock is 98mm)
08-30-20, 07:15 PM
Starting a new build- 2005 in 2020
