Lets talk springs...
 

ill update this post as you guys provide the info cuz im tooooo lazy to hunt it all down. lol

Spring brand
front drop/ rear drop
front spring rate/ rear

Springs

B&G
1.4/1.4

DF210's
1.9/2.2
3/2.2

DZ Sport
2/2

Eibach Pro
1.2/1

Eibach Sport Line
1.7/1.4

H&R Sport
1.4/1.3

NF210's
1.4/1.7
2.5/2.2

S-techs
2.2/2.2
168/196 LB/In

TRD
1/1.5

Coilovers
numbers listed are max drops

K-sport
???
224/123

KW V3
2.3/2.3
285/progressive

Nex
2.5/2.5
6/4

Tein Basic
2.8/2.3
224/174

what other options are there and whats the info on these?


(the list is in alphabetical order, not drop height order)

One thing I love about the 210's is you can still do a radical drop yet tuck some 18's in the wheel well. I have heard you can go as big as 245/45/18's without rolling the fender if you run 210's...I cannot confirm this though.

if you can run that big of a tire with no issues then you could also get away with a 235/35/20 or 19 .... just saying....

Tanabe coilovers dont have an exact drop rate for them but they go as low as the teins in the rear and about 1 1/2 lower in the front : )

Stickied

Progress springs for the xD are 2.2/2.2 just like the S-Techs...

has anyone ever gave nex a shot?

That is just it, I don't think it will work but I might be able to do a test fit since I work at a shop. A 245/45/17 is what I ran on the front of Z28 and even those would rub in reverse.

hey I found these d2 racing coilovers http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...26tbs%3Disch:1

D2's are a fairly decent, Company that manufactures them is the same company that manufactures K-Sport. For cheaper brands, being able to service and rebuild in the states is always a good thing to look for. Been rolling on K-sports for about 5000 Miles and love them

added:
Also for the K-Sports, ill input a little on the drop amount.

I'm came off of DF210s. Drop in the rear is pretty much equal maybe SLIGHTLY lower.

drop in the front, I went about 2" lower than DF's in the front for the first week with room to go a little more on the Coilover (but no room in terms of ground clearance LOL). so 4-4.5/2.2?

I added manufacturer websites and manufacturer to the already excellent list of springs. I also listed the drop the manufacturer says you should get from the springs. This is not to contradict any previous statements about drops, it’s just information from the manufacturer’s website. Drops are list in inches.

SPRINGS
B & G S2 Sports Springs (Part# 92.1.084)
http://b-gsuspension.com/searchapplicationguide.php5
1.4/1.4

Tanabe Sustec DF 210 (Part# TDF121)
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/df210.asp?id=1
1.9/2.2

Tanabe Sustec NF 210 (Part# TNF121)
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/nf210.asp?id=2
1.4/1.7

H&R Sport Spring (Part# 54607)
http://hrsprings.com/scripts/appguid...Scion%20|%20xD
1.4/1.3

DZ Sport
No manufacturer info found
2/2

Eibach PRO-KIT Performance Springs (Part # 8293.140)
http://eibach.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.exe...12042600016874
1.2/1.0

Eibach Sportline (Part# 4.9382)
http://eibach.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.exe...12042600016874
1.7/1.4

Tein S-tech (Part # SKC10-AUB00)
http://www.tein.com/tech_info/c10.html
2.2/2.25

TRD (Toyota Racing Development) (Part # PTR11-52081)
http://www.trdusa.com/partscatalog.c...=38&vehicle=xd
1/1.5


COILOVERS

K-Sport Kontrol Pro Damper System (Part# CSC050-KP)
http://www.ksportusa.com/asp/coilove...roduct_id=cd01
Min & Max drops are not listed on the manufacturer’s site

Tein Basic Damper (Part# DSC10-LUAS2)
http://www.tein.com/tech_info/c10.html (Bottom of page)
Min Front drop: 1.57 Max Front drop: 2.91
Min Rear drop: 1.54 Max Rear drop : 2.76

KW Coilover Kit V3 (Part # 35258003)
http://www.kw-suspension.com/us/kw_variant_3.php
Min Front drop: 1.3 Max Front drop: 2.3
Min Rear drop: 1.2 Max Rear drop : 2.3

Nex Racing SS Series (Part # SS1-SC04)
http://www.adrwheels.com/product.php...ilover&cat=119
Min & Max drops are not listed on the manufacturer’s site

Tanbe Sustec Pro S-0C (Part# TSC121) Please NOTE: This part is listed as a Yaris 5 door compatible. It may or may not work on a Scion xD. Rates listed are for a Yaris. Drops on an xD would likely be more as the xD is a heavier car than the Yaris.
http://www.tanabe-usa.com/s0c.asp?id=6
Min Front drop: +.25 Max Front drop: 1.75
Min Rear drop: 1.25 Max Rear drop : 2.75

Frustrating trying to find spring rates, as some sites don't list them. some of the above links do not work btw. if i hear anything back from some manufacturers i'll post my findings. otherwise if you DO know, please post and inform the rest of us.

well after reading all this it seems I need to go and ge the Tein S-Techs to get that extra inch or so that im looking for. The TRD's i have gave it a good mild drop, but not as low as i had hoped. i don't want to go to the ground, but i want to sit right on top of my tires. it seems like the Teins will get me that extra 3/4 to 1 inch more i need.

i've looked online and seen that they are going for around $200 bucks or so for a set. anybody out there looking to get rid of a set and maybe swap for some TRD's?

I may be interested in looking for some kind of trade deal or something like that with my TRDs if someone is interested.

As far as Springs and Coilovers go with suspension. Im looking for the best quality ride as possible, while factoring smoothness, handling, and how the car will handle bumps in the road. Is this something I could achieve by upgrading my springs/coilovers or both? Not very educated on suspension so just looking for a bit of help. Thanks all

your suspension is also a personal choice. how low and how much you want to spend. i personally have had TRD lowering springs and now i am riding on Tein S-Techs. overall the Teins lowered it just like i wanted. eliminated all the wheel gap on 18's. personally i think it rides just as well as stock, the only thing i had to do was cut out some of my fender liner beings that i rubbed when i came down off bumps and what not.

coilovers are awesome but a lot more expensive. i got my springs for less than 200 bucks and had them installed in less than two hours in a buddy's drive way.

and i haven't yet, but i would recommend changing your shocks also if you go more than 2 inches lower. a lot of my travel has been eliminated. i'll occasionally bottom out on real big bumps

Im not to worried about cost. Ive just been told that you cant get a better ride than stock, and I dont believe that. I am thinking if you can buy performance parts then the car will perform better. So if I upgrade my stock suspension, will I get a better ride? Im not to worried about how low the car sits, I just want quality. So it is either coilovers or springs? And then you would get shocks as well?

well, i agree with you. IMO aftermarket performance parts usually make the car better than stock. why else sell them or buy them right? in reference to coilovers, i cant give you any info towards ride quality, i've never had them on any of my cars. dealing with springs on the XD, i've ridden stock, TRDs and now im riding on Tein S-Techs. i personally love the ride on the Teins. The TRDs rode well, but i thought they were a little stiff.

finally, referring to the shocks. with TRDs, i dont think it is necessary to buy new shocks. but with the Teins or anything else that would lower you 2" or more, i would eventually get shorter shocks. **i still haven't done this on mine** because you literally take 2" out of the travel of the shock, they will bottom out if your car drops too low; ie, coming off a dip in the road or a bump. personally, i think the Tein S-Techs gives one of the best driveable drops with quality ride.

Suspension is tricky as far as ride quality. There are multiple factors that play in and multiple things that can be changes to affect it.

anything less than 2" drop new shocks not needed, but ride quality will be affect more by the spring rate. To high and it will be stiff. To Low and it will be soft.

2" or more then new shocks are recommended, but not required. Cutting front bump stops are a must. With this amount of drop then shocks could play a role as well as spring rates. Also body parts could play a role. Shocks may not bottom out for most part I had a first gen with 2inch drop and stock shocks for over a year and never bottomed out the shock and I had NO bump stops. But it depends on roads if you hit a big elevation chnage yes you could bottom out. On xD I think the sway bar end links in the front play a big role it what alot of xDers consider bottoming out. Also hitting the inner fenders if really low can cause rougher ride.

Coilovers can be tricky as well. Cheap coilovers that just adjust drive height by moving spring up and down on the perch without compensating shocks will have roughter ride when slammed but maybe decent ride at stock height. But if you get coilovers with dampening abilities. Meaning you can adjust the dampening on the shock/strut then you are set for the most part. Becuase these allow you to stiffen or soften the shock rebounds and compression as needed to give you the perfect overall ride you want for the height you are at. Some places sale just a shock and strut that have dampening capabilities that are not coilovers. so these are options for lower vehicles with just springs.

I am on air suspension. Now my ride is the hardest to deal with. too much air and it is like have a high spring rate. It is stiff and bouncy. To little air and it is like a soft spring rate and it feel squishy. I am on stock struts and shocks. The reason I said what I did about the bottoming out is when everything was hooked up like it is (non modified end links) I could ride like I was at about a 2 inch or so drop and if I hit a bump the passenger side strut sound like it bottomed out. But I disconnected the front end links completely and it doesn't do it anymore. only time it sounds like it bottoms out is if I am practically out of air and hit a bump.

Now I just need to pull the sway bar all the way off, but from what I see I have to disconnect the steering assembly and drop the complete lower suspension. :(

Ok back on topic.

Basically it depends on type of ride you are looking for and how low you want and making any necesary compromises between the two. I personally like lowness over ride qaulity for the most part. I have a 94 s10 dropped 6 inches in the back and 5 in the front and frame rails are about 3 inches from the ground. that thing rides like a beast on some bad roads. but on new paved roads it rides like a champ.

@ Resolve...

i did cut my bump stops when i put my Teins on. cut them basically in half. and as far as the "bottoming out", i assumed i was hitting the end of my shocks. do you think that if i take my bump stops completely out, it will fix the problem? or would that cause more problems later?

also, my inner fender liners are basically non existant from rubbing them. can you explain a lil more about the tie ends you were talking about to fix that? or can it be done?

I was making a general statement on the bump stops. Some people don't cut them for whatever reason and the ride is harsh. removing them completely is your choice. I will say I didn't have them on my xB when I had the teins. it let me sit about 1/4 to 1/2 inch lower in the front and I didn't notice a difference but that was also an xB not an xD.

My inner liners are gone also. :)

The stock front sway bar end links mount to the struts. Well most coilovers I believe come with modified endlinks so you can get lower. Think the same thing with the tCs. Well I don't know what exactly was happening other than I BELIEVE that when I had the car lower than normal and I would hit a decent bump with the STOCK end links in it would make a sound like the strut was bottoming out. But I think when the car would compress the suspenion it would try to go farther than the end link and sway bar would let it go thus not really bottoming out the strut but something else was hitting. I have since removed the end links from the struts and sway bar and now that sound has disappeared other than when the air in my front bags are really low and I hit a bump. I don't recommend removing the end links and sway bar since it helps with stability. But I personally haven't noticed a big difference in the ride. Maybe a little more body roll but I can still take corner like I could with it stock. at different Speeds ;).

Only problem now is my sway bar is just sitting there and on some bumps it rotates up and down and hit my lower control arm. Not hard but just clanks so more annoying than anything. I tried to remove it but the mounts are in between the body of the car and the whole lower suspension cross member and behind the front axels. Looking at the Toyota Tech book it shows you have to basically remove whole cross member which includes unhooking steering and other things to get it out. basically more than a one person job and would probably need a whole weekend at least a whole day non stop which I can't be without the car that long right now until wife gets her a new vehicle.