Ok,
so I installed GR-2's, and Tein Springs (S-techs) on the 95 g20.
But after a couple months.. I think the ride feels like shit.

I used the OEM bumpstops for a month, and hated it. I couldnt find konis so I used some from pep boys.. (with sleeves).

But my car still rides like shit. I bangs in every kink in the road and I dunno there is no travel in the struts..

I should be able to press down and the bonnet and the car should depress correct?

It should just sit there and not move..

Now I also think the harsh ride affected the right front brearing and the axles are now ticking.

How do I trouble shoot?
What should I repair/replace first? or in what order.

This car is a great car but I cant understand why it rides so harch after lowering it....

bump

teins are the softest springs for your car, and the agx's ride depending on your settings. What are they? I have them set at 2 in the front, and 4 in the rear, i would not suggesting going any lower because those settings are = to the settings for the KYB GR-2's. Im pretty sure that your settings are just too high.

I am an idiot... (Send all the flames) there not agx's there gr-2's... '

anyway it rides way too rough... almost feels like there blown... the car sits pretty low....

there is no downward travel when I push down on the bonnet or the trunk. also whenever i fall in a rutt.. the impact is pretty violent..

Did you trim the bumpstops? No matter what type you use, factory or Pep Boys, you need to trim them when using the Teins. Honestly man, you might be better off going back to stock. I say that because of the axle sound you are hearing. I lowered my 95G a few months ago and had to install 2 new axles. Both boots were ripped open because they were old and lowering my car added extra stress. It was very expensive because I took it to a quality mechanic. Lowering your car puts a lot of stress on the axles. Its your call....I like a lowered car and I have the same set-up as you and it rides pretty good. Not stock, but not bad.

Your problem is with the bumpstops...trim them about 1.0-1.5 inches- the paperwork with your Teins will tell you the exact amount. Even with them trimmed, you will not get travel when pushing on the hood of your car. I dont.

Wow... Thing is... I trimmed the both sets of bumpstops.
The stock bumpstops (which were deterioirating) and then eventually got the Pep Boys bumstops with sleeves because of dirt and salt....

The stock trimmed bumpstops rode better than the pep boys...
In the first pic see how close the tire is to the wheel well?

http://www.g20.net/gallery/data/501/G20_pix_002.jpg
http://www.g20.net/gallery/data/501/G20_pix_003.jpg
http://www.g20.net/gallery/data/501/G20_pix_004.jpg
http://www.g20.net/gallery/data/501/G20_pix_005.jpg

yeah i have the same setup and its a harsh ride, simple as that

i have the same setup exactly and i think its a great ride, not harsh at all. I'd call it a 'sporty' suspension, not race, but not stock either. It reminds me of the 'sport' suspension on a stock bmw 3 series ride.

i have the same setup exactly and i think its a great ride, not harsh at all. I'd call it a 'sporty' suspension, not race, but not stock either. It reminds me of the 'sport' suspension on a stock bmw 3 series ride.

Trini & Thon .....What bumpstops are you using?

psi on tires?

trimmed oem bumpstops
my car doesn't seem to be quite as low as yours though oddly enough (mines a bit higher in the back)

i have the same set up, i think its not harsh at all. its like butter compaired to my last car with a se-r cup style GC set up.

i am using the factory bump stops with about an inch taken off.

my drop looks 100% the same as yours too.

if you want a softer ride you have to either go back to stock of get a set of d2's or other coilovers, this way you can still obtain full suspension travel with a drop.

Really not sure what Psi.. I'll check later..

Is it difficult to replace front bearings by your self.. I dont recall seeing a How to thread for bearings..

And what $$ do you figure to replace them?

i charge 45 per side..u have to remove the hubs.what size tires do u have?it could also be high psi on those tires..32f/29r

you can soften your ride by doing the following: correct amount of psi on the tires, switch to more comfy tires (i suggest Falken ZE-512's for your stock rims cause mines were really nice for only $40 a piece). Bumpstops are only so when you bottom out, if you have koni's you bottom out a little come comfortably :) But when you compare your GR-2's to a stock suspension, of course its gonna be a little harsh. I noticed a big difference even when i had my settings equal to the GR-2's. But the more i drove it the more i loved it :) If you want your comfort back, switch back to the stock suspension.

You might be interested in giving my custom upper shock mounts a try... they add 1" of shock travel without affecting the ride height at all:

http://www.g20.net/forum/showthread.php?t=42283

if you lower the car you won't get the soft and plush stock ride, it's as simple as that. Meps mounts will make it a little better, but it still wont be stock. If you want a soft ride, stay stock and have tons of wheel gap and body roll, if you want a lowered car that look and handles great, then you're gonna have to put up with feeling the bumps in the road. Ride in any car with a performance suspension and you will feel the road, ride in an suv and you won't.

unfortunately all the P10,P11,B14,B15's were cursed with a really short suspension travel, best ride quality i got with stock shocks were GF210 Tanabe Springs on my Spec V...the softer DF210s were riding like crap which is how you described them, since you dropped the car and lost shock travel the sprinsg have to be 20-30% stiffer in order to offset the lost travel. Try running stiffer springs, it often ride better then soft ones cause of the lack of travel on our cars.

here's the deal. you're riding on your bumpstops almost all the time, because the pepboys bumpstops are way too long. if i'm thinking of the right part, they are also very hard and don't really compress at all. riding low on those will give you an extremely short suspension travel followed by BANG! ouch! as the rock-hard bump rubber slams into the shock body. you need soft, short bump rubbers instead of those. get some koni bumpstops from michael saiki at motivational engineering (www.motivational.net). they will free up a couple of inches of suspension travel, and when you use up the travel, you will get a soft, progressive end to it instead of a sudden jolt. you wil love the way your car rides on these shocks and springs, but you have to use all the right parts.

I need to reserrect this thread. My GR-2/Tein combo rides like shit and makes tons of noise. I have energy suspension bump stops that are cut to about 1 inch and mep mounts. Should have plenty of travel. The ride is not terribly harsh but even on the tiniest bump or trough or incline change the shocks makes noise. Not a loud bang really. it's more of a sustained hollow thump. seems like something is loose but I cannot find anything wrong. I think they are blown. What do you guys think?

You think ur ride is rough? Try riding in my p11 with eibachs ive been in a p11 with twins and they are soft as he'll compared to my stiff as eibachs

You're riding on your bumpstops because the teins aren't stiff enough or your car is too heavy. Start by removing all unnecessary weight from your car and getting the biggest tires that will fit (usually 195/65-R14 or 195/60-R15). Only inflate to stock pressure (32psi front/29psi rear).

If that still isn't acceptable then get Ground Controls (if you want to stick with the GR2) or coilovers.

me = P11 S-Tech AGX/GR2(F/R)

on smooth roads it's butter.. on rough roads, well it's pretty rough

it's not about tein's being soft or eibach's being stiff, when you lower a car and drive over bad roads, it's gonna ride like $h*t

deal with it or go back to stock
(i might just go back to stock :S)

^^^^^^ sell me ur front agxs :)

^^^ not for sale

besides, you don't want to pay for shipping from Canada

Im rockin' the same set-up its a little soft but its still good

i have teins with stock shocks(blown) i rides like a boAT. anyway i got gr2 mep mounts and konis waiting to go on, would you guys recommend replacing any bushings once the setup is taken apart? im not positive anything is wrong with current bushings but i would like to finish it right this time.

I've got AGX's and tein springs with cut honda bump stops and my car rides fine. Any aftermarket setup with stiffer springs/shocks and reduced travel is going to be rough! And depending on how bad your roads are, it may be worse. Mine rides great on the highway and most places around town, but you can definitely feel the bumps and dips in the road.

Compared to some of the cars with coilover setups I've ridden in, the tein/kyb combo is very comfortable.

Ive said this a million times. GR2s are stock type struts and are NOT valved to handle a lowered car. You need AGXs, EP Sentra Mounts, Koni Bumpstops, and new bushings to do it right. Anything less than this, you will get a harsh ride at some point in time as the GR2s will go bad. They can NOT cope long term with a lowered car.