Front lift only?

[KTempleton]

Needing new front struts due to a broken strut mount, I've been looking into struts and coils. I would like to lift it a little. Nothing crazy, prob a max 2".

 

Being on a budget I was thinking about doing the front end only since its needed. And then the rear later. All struts have 15k miles on them (coils 145k) so I dont want to replace rear yet if not needed. Has anyone done the front end only? I know it sits with some rake so I was thinking it might level it out a bit. I talked to 4x4parts and they said they had a .5" option, a 1.5" and a 2" option.

 

Coming from a Toyota you would see this all the time. But it was with adjustable coilovers, and you would just add a leaf later if wanted.

 

I'm not real interested in buying tires yet either. Being a daily driver in Houston, my 255/65/r16 Michelin LTX M/S that were new with struts, are ideal for gas and ride quality. Would this just look dumb lifted? My off roading is moderate these days. Mainly beach, rock roads, getting to a trail head, campsite, fishing hole and hopping curbs here and there. Maybe pushing it here and there.

 

I was eventually planning to lift this spring and was also leaning towards the Old Man Emu or the Bilstein options just bc I am most familiar with those names coming from Toyota.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm yet to take anything apart on this thing yet to see what it's all about. Just blows my mind how little available in after market product options for these.

[Howie]

I would "spring" for the extra $150 for the rear OME coils. If you've got 145K miles on your current set, you'll notice a huge difference.

[KTempleton]

Yeah I was thinking that as an option. wouldn't I need to replace the shocks back there too?

[Howie]

You don't have to replace the shocks when you replace the coils. Most people do, because it's easy when the coils are out, but you don't have to. Are you going to do the work yourself, or have a mechanic do it? If you have a mechanic do it, it will be cheaper to do both at once because you're not paying twice for labor cost. If you do it yourself, then you can definitely do just the coils, and then the shocks later, whenever you want.

[KTempleton]

Oh ok. Awesome. The few company's I have talked to says the opposite but I had a feeling it could be due to the selling process

[Howie]

Bingo!

 

Shock and strut companies recommend replacement of shocks and struts every 15,000 miles. Nobody does that. Most mechanics say to replace them when they wear out, which you can tell if your car has too much bounce to it. Push down on a corner of the car, and if it oscillates or bounces more than 2 times, the shocks are done. Of course, nobody recommends replacement of coils at such a frequent interval, and most people NEVER replace them. So of course it's not mandatory to replace it all together.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Howie

[ferrariowner123]

I would "spring" for the extra $150 for the rear OME coils.

[KTempleton]

I'm half tempted to get new mounts and springs all the way around and seeing if that works. The shocks feel fine, just a slight knock in it from the broken mount. Worst comes to worst I need to get new front struts.