Are the tell-tale signs different for crappy springs versus failing struts? I *think* my struts are going. I have Tein High Techs and stock struts. I took a ride in a car just like mine yesterday, 02 WRX with similar milage, that had SPT springs on stock struts and the ride quality was night and day compared to my car. Plus the ride height was correct, unlike on my car. On my car the ride is particularly bumpy and a lot of the body roll appears to have returned in recent months... odd combination

Can someone shed some light here?

I'm not looking for peak performance here. All I want is a good mix of ride quality and performance... about "equal" if we can talk about it in those terms (i.e. the wife is not fond of performance suspensions ). So, I've was thinking of the Tein BASIC, which I've also ridden in and like. But these SPT springs seem really nice. So my dilemna is this: if the struts are OK, change them out and put SPTs in. if the struts are bad, just get the Tein BASIC. But how do I know which situation I am in? That's the question.

jason

 

To tell if the springs are bad, you would have to remove them and see if they are distorted and measure their free length. If they are shorter than they started, by more than a little...say 5mm or so... then they are bad.
The struts will show signs of leakage or other obvious damage.

Pitch the struts, and buy some AGX's and be :banana:

 

Struts have to leak or show damage to be in bad condition? Where would I look for a leaks? Top? Bottom? oil on the center shaft?

jason

 

Actually, what do people mean by "worn struts"?

jason

 

the struts are no longer damping the recoil of the springs, hence the bumpy/bouncy ride

 

OK, that's the obvious answer. "Its not doing its job". Uncle Scotty mentioned leaking... so to be super specific I'll ask it a different way:

Does "worn strut" mean worn seals? warn shafts? worn name-that-part? Or a combinaion thereof. What's actually getting worn out?


jason

 

Most likely it is the seals inside, although there could be other damage......Pitch the damn things and call p-s-t.com and get a set of AGX's for $389 shipped....:banana:

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