Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension CSVT noob suspension q's

Hello everyone,

A good friend of mine has a 2000 CSVT, and he's thinking of doing some suspension work. It's has over 60k miles so I suppose struts will need to be replaced soon anyway. I'm a bit more mechanically inclined that he is so I said I'd do some research and help him install the stuff when he gets it.

At the moment I'm just looking at struts and springs, although camber plates look nice too. The FAQ has been very helpful, but I'm wondering how the Bilsteins and BAT struts compare. He doesn't really need the konis, as this will just be for a little more firmness on a daily driver. In anycase, I know bilstein makes good stuff and they're my first choice at the moment.

My bigger question is about springs. I want something well matched to the struts and I don't want the car to be much lower. Everything I've found lowers the car at least an inch and I'm not seeing spring rates listed. The 225/45/17s already rub over medium bumps when people are in the back seat, with rolled fenders. I suspect he could use a bit more positive offset (17x7 +38mm).

So far I'm liking the Ground Control sleeves, except I don't want to lower the car. Perhaps if I get ahold of them and BAT or SP motorsports and see if I can find out the lengths and rates. Then I could probably just order some a bit longer than what's sold. Are they pretty well suited for the Bilsteins?

Anyway, those are my thoughts so far. I'd appreciate any other suggestions, thanks in advance.

To find more than what will be replied here, keeping searching the forums and archives. Almost/everything you asked for has been answered multiple times.

The whole BAT setup was what I was thinking when I first looked into it a few months ago.

With more searching I've found that the GCs available don't have, well, ideal rates for what I'm looking for. Although if we went with custom rates and upgraded bearings it sounds like it could be pretty good. The ability to corner weight is something I wish I had on my subaru.

So I guess I'm going to look into some different springs from eibach/gc or wherever they come from. Anyone done that before, or know what might be a good rate for the bilsteins?

And the more I think about it the more I think he needs different wheels. They're all curbed up anyway.

Ah well, more reading to do anyway. The auto-x section seems to be turning up some good info.