keeping in mind that I fully intend to keep stock ride height, no lowering whatsoever...

first of all, what EXACTLY is the difference between gr-2 and the gas-a-just struts?

also, do I honestly need to change my springs? I know moog makes stock spring sets for 100 bucks, but if I really don't need em, then why spend 100 bucks, ya know...

upper strut mounts, I can get replacemets from spohn for 164 bucks(I don't know if shipping is included or not), or I can get them from (dorman, I believe) at rockauto.com, shipped, for a little under 94 bucks. Is there any REAL difference between the two?

this one's gonna be real stupid...

...is there even a reason to change your centerlink and idler arm? I mean they're solid pieces of metal no matter where you get em from right? all you really need to change is the bushings when they get old, right?

is it a big deal if I buy a set of struts and shocks at the same time, and put the struts on immediatly, but not the shocks?

thanks for all the help guys.

 

Gr2 is a "stock replacement", where I belive the adjust ones you can change the stiffness.

Springs, this is debatable. Over age, a spring will sag and get soft. If you like the ride and its height, leave it. If your really worried about your car being tip-top shape, change.

strut mounts, both will be rubber with bearing, 50/50.

center link and idler arm, yes, both have pivoting parts. Idler arm has been replaced on mine, but not center link. If your doing a front end rebuild with new tie rod ends, struts, bushings, etc. Might as well swap it!

Struts at same time, for maximum handling, swap at same time. However, many people can/do swap just rears, or just fronts. But replace left and right. Personally, rears are easy as pie, already dirty, doesnt take more then 30-45 min at all, why not??

 

I don't mean agx, I mean gas-a-just...they're cheaper then the gr-2's, so I'm assuming both would be a "stock" replacement.

agx's are ENTIRELY too expensive for this poor kid, I'd be spending more on the struts and shocks then I did on the car ITSELF if I got those!

the springs...they seem fine, but, I dunno, can I extend the life of them by changing the struts? I mean, they're the original '88 springs, they may work now, but I mean when you've got 16 year old springs, just how much time do you have left, you know?

what I was asking about the strut mounts is, is there any possible difference in quality? they're both basic metal and rubber, I'm ASSUMING no, but the same place sells moog mounts for 75 apiece, with the dorman's right above at like 45 apiece, I'm just a little curious as to whether or not I'm buying a name, or better parts...

I guess I'll buy the centerlink, it's only 45 bucks...

I'd intended to do both struts at the same time, but the reason I wouldn't do all 4 at once is because my father is the real mechanic(I mean I help, but he's the mechanic, hands down), and being as we'd be rebuilding the ENTIRE front-end suspension all at once, which as much as he loves to work on cars, is a lot of work...I doubt I could talk him into moving to the back of the car "while we're at it", heh.

 

The Gas-A-Just are pretty much stock replacement while the GR-2 offer a little more performance. The GR-2s are fairly cheap and are a good bang-for-the-buck performance strut.

If you want something better than stock, I'd go with GR-2. I've been running them on my car for a while and have no complaints.

 

alright, thanks.

 

i bought the dorman mounts from rockauto. the moog ones will probably last longer, but my car is just a toy, so its not going to get driven daily, but it does get beat on. if they dont last, ill buy some moog ones and tell everybody the dorman ones sucked. well just have to wait and see. also have gr2 struts, gas-a-just shocks, all new steering stuff, eibach pro-kit, spohn lca, lcarb, panhard, and torque arm, and a pair of alston sfcs

 

ok, cool.

I honestly have this feeling that it's just a matter of name brand though, I mean it doesnt' seem to be one of those parts that's marked by a serious difference in quality(short of the billet version)...