Will putting new lowering springs damage original shock absorbers in the long run? - Toyota Yaris Forums

Joel Leong · 06-05-2006, 06:03 AM

I'm wondering that if I lower my Yaris with "TRD progressive lowering springs" and keeping the original shock absorbers, will my shock absorbers be damaged in the long run, since they can't travel entire stroke distance?

And if the shock absorbers are already being compressed by the lowering springs, will my ride becomes harsher than before even if I installed with progressive lowering springs?

Confused.

SmellyTofu · 06-05-2006, 07:51 AM

It'd straight away act like worn shock absorbers and will only get worse so you will have less and less spring control which won't do the handling any good. If you are only after looks and none of the performance, then skip the shocks but if you are after safety and handling, do the shocks at the same time.

ricko · 06-05-2006, 08:54 AM

From experience, I can tell you that the TRD springs will tighten up your handling (lower CG, less body roll) without adversely affecting your ride quality. It is not a radical change, and is fine for "spirited" driving. This set-up is NOT for racing, and if you plan to take your car to the track or some other certified event (the ONLY places to race), you will probably want to go all out .... springs, shocks, sway bars, etc. As for premature wear, only time will tell. Remember the advantage of the TRD springs is that they do not affect your warranty in any way.

SophieSleeps · 06-05-2006, 10:05 AM

Any drop you do on stock shocks will shorten their life.
A 1" drop shouldn't be too bad. Personally I think it's fine.

Any more extreme drops, just be aware that you may considerably lessen the life of your shocks.

Ron · 06-05-2006, 01:28 PM

'considerably lessen the life' is quite subjective... of course the lifespan of the dampers will be affected. but not significantly imo... if you use the TRD lowering springs installed by the dealer, you will still keep the 3 yr bumper to bumper warranty ~60,000km's, so they should last at least as long as that. dampers should be replaced roughly 80-100k km's in a stock setup.

are the stock dampers the ideal setup for the lowering springs? no. but for normal day to day use, it'll be just fine.

SophieSleeps · 06-05-2006, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron

'considerably lessen the life' is quite subjective... of course the lifespan of the dampers will be affected. but not significantly imo... if you use the TRD lowering springs installed by the dealer, you will still keep the 3 yr bumper to bumper warranty ~60,000km's, so they should last at least as long as that. dampers should be replaced roughly 80-100k km's in a stock setup.

are the stock dampers the ideal setup for the lowering springs? no. but for normal day to day use, it'll be just fine.

Right. I'm in agreement.
I meant "considerably" for lower than the 1" drops.

echo_hrs · 06-05-2006, 05:06 PM

If you have the springs dealer installed, and you shocks fail before the warranty is up, then they should be covered under the original warranty anyways...

Cheers

birdy · 06-05-2006, 05:51 PM

they will last long enough to save up fo rnew shocks.

Idjiit · 06-05-2006, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SophieSleeps

Any more extreme drops, just be aware that you may considerably lessen the life of your shocks.

Is the same true of height-adjustible (but sans dampening adjustment) coilovers? Or does the damper move as part of the adjustment?

Dweeb · 06-06-2006, 12:03 AM

Shocks will always wear out, and rough roads help that more, but if you are putting in lowering springs (they are automatically stiffer/heavier springs than stock) or just stiffer (heavier) springs, you shocks will wear out sooner.

Remember this, shocks should be matched to the spring rates. Otherwise you will get what is called ‘Oversprung / undersprung” that is when you get the “lowered Honda hop/bounce” syndrome. Kids putting lowering/stiffers springs, (or even cutting them) but not changing the shocks, and the shocks can't keep up with the forces from the new stronger spring rate.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

ricko · 06-06-2006, 12:15 AM

Don't you mean oversprung/underdamped???????

eight_heads · 06-06-2006, 12:22 AM

do the trd springs come with new shocks? or are they another option? how is toyota handling that?

Dweeb · 06-06-2006, 12:39 AM

ricko,
You can have too a strong spring for the shock, or you can have too a weak springs for the shock. (that is just to begin with) I could go into different scenarios including Hi & Low bump and rebound settings…etc, but we are talking about “stock” shocks here.

You really don’t want to go any more that +-10% of the stock spring lbs/in settings (stiffness), if you keep the stock shocks, to maintain a good feel and drivability.

.

Joel Leong · 06-06-2006, 03:14 AM

Great info, guys. Thanks!

TRD lowering springs and TRD shock absorbers can be purchased separately.

TRD dealer told me that the TRD lowering springs are friendlier to the original shock absorbers. Team Toyota Europe (TTE) also makes the same claim, see http://www.tte.de/cm_yaris_XP9.htm.

BTW, is TRD and TTE the same?

My Toyota car dealer (from another company) warned me that I may loose my 3-year warranty if the shock absorbers are damaged by TRD lowering springs. That's why I'm worried.

Anyway I'm from Singapore. I think our Toyota warranty system works differently from the rest of the country.

SmellyTofu · 06-06-2006, 04:25 AM

TTE <> TRD.

What do you mean by friendlier?

Joel Leong · 06-06-2006, 05:04 AM

Sorry. What I mean is this dealer claimed that his TRD lowering spring is "fully compatible" with the original shock absorber and will not damage it.

SmellyTofu · 06-06-2006, 06:12 AM

You'll basically accelerate the wear rate on the shocks as the shocks extend and compress further than with softer springs. If standards shocks last 40,000km, shorter and stiffer springs might wear them out at 30,000km (hypotetically).

ricko · 06-06-2006, 07:51 AM

All this theoretical stuff is all well and good but .................... I think the original question was do the TRD springs work, and will they wear out sooner.
!. Do they work? Yes, as long as you remember they are NOT designed for racing. The car corners flatter, far less body roll and with better control over most bumps. It is somewhat under-damped, and significant bumps in fast sweepers will upset it's balance. This is not surprising. In my experience there are very few stockers out there that are not under-damped, and my lowered RS is still better that my Acura 1.7 was in this respect. In addition ride quality while firm is still acceptable, and to date I have had no trouble with bottoming out over sharp bumps or in potholes. It is not that radical a change.
2. Will they reduce the life of the stock shocks? Most likely they will wear out sooner than if you left the stock springs in place. How much sooner is pure speculation, and since driving conditions and styles vary so much it really is impossble to say for sure. In Canada the shocks are still covered by the warranty, but even if they were not it makes sense to see how they work with the new springs before you replace them.
All of the above is based on my experience (2 months, approx. 3000km) with my otherwise stock Canadian RS 3-door. I love to drive the car hard, but I am NOT a street racer. As I said before, if you are going to race your Yaris, you would be wise to consider a complete kit.

06-05-2006, 06:03 AM	#1
Joel Leong Drives: New Yaris Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Singapore Posts: 8	Will putting new lowering springs damage original shock absorbers in the long run? I'm wondering that if I lower my Yaris with "TRD progressive lowering springs" and keeping the original shock absorbers, will my shock absorbers be damaged in the long run, since they can't travel entire stroke distance? And if the shock absorbers are already being compressed by the lowering springs, will my ride becomes harsher than before even if I installed with progressive lowering springs? Confused.

06-06-2006, 12:03 AM	#10
Dweeb Drives: 2010 Yaris RS Hatch Join Date: May 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 31	Shocks will always wear out, and rough roads help that more, but if you are putting in lowering springs (they are automatically stiffer/heavier springs than stock) or just stiffer (heavier) springs, you shocks will wear out sooner. Remember this, shocks should be matched to the spring rates. Otherwise you will get what is called ‘Oversprung / undersprung” that is when you get the “lowered Honda hop/bounce” syndrome. Kids putting lowering/stiffers springs, (or even cutting them) but not changing the shocks, and the shocks can't keep up with the forces from the new stronger spring rate. Hope that clears things up a bit. __________________ 2010 Yaris RS, Manual, 5 Door, Hatch, Grey Metallic

06-06-2006, 12:22 AM	#12
eight_heads Drives: '07 Yaris Liftback Join Date: May 2006 Location: LA, USA Posts: 244	do the trd springs come with new shocks? or are they another option? how is toyota handling that? __________________ '07 Yaris Liftback -Red 5spd w/convenience

06-06-2006, 12:39 AM	#13
Dweeb Drives: 2010 Yaris RS Hatch Join Date: May 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 31	ricko, You can have too a strong spring for the shock, or you can have too a weak springs for the shock. (that is just to begin with) I could go into different scenarios including Hi & Low bump and rebound settings…etc, but we are talking about “stock” shocks here. You really don’t want to go any more that +-10% of the stock spring lbs/in settings (stiffness), if you keep the stock shocks, to maintain a good feel and drivability. . __________________ 2010 Yaris RS, Manual, 5 Door, Hatch, Grey Metallic

06-05-2006, 07:51 AM	#2
SmellyTofu 好多人& Drives: . Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 264	It'd straight away act like worn shock absorbers and will only get worse so you will have less and less spring control which won't do the handling any good. If you are only after looks and none of the performance, then skip the shocks but if you are after safety and handling, do the shocks at the same time.

06-05-2006, 08:54 AM	#3
ricko Drives: Copper-Orange Yaris RS Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Georgian Triangle Ont. Posts: 310	From experience, I can tell you that the TRD springs will tighten up your handling (lower CG, less body roll) without adversely affecting your ride quality. It is not a radical change, and is fine for "spirited" driving. This set-up is NOT for racing, and if you plan to take your car to the track or some other certified event (the ONLY places to race), you will probably want to go all out .... springs, shocks, sway bars, etc. As for premature wear, only time will tell. Remember the advantage of the TRD springs is that they do not affect your warranty in any way.

06-05-2006, 10:05 AM	#4
SophieSleeps Podiatrist Drives: Turbo IS300 Join Date: May 2006 Location: MA Posts: 83	Any drop you do on stock shocks will shorten their life. A 1" drop shouldn't be too bad. Personally I think it's fine. Any more extreme drops, just be aware that you may considerably lessen the life of your shocks.

06-05-2006, 01:28 PM	#5
Ron Drives: BBM Yaris HB Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Vancouver Posts: 71	'considerably lessen the life' is quite subjective... of course the lifespan of the dampers will be affected. but not significantly imo... if you use the TRD lowering springs installed by the dealer, you will still keep the 3 yr bumper to bumper warranty ~60,000km's, so they should last at least as long as that. dampers should be replaced roughly 80-100k km's in a stock setup. are the stock dampers the ideal setup for the lowering springs? no. but for normal day to day use, it'll be just fine.

06-05-2006, 05:06 PM	#7
echo_hrs Around the universe... Drives: Uber-Evolved Pokemon Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Top Gear Test Track Posts: 228	If you have the springs dealer installed, and you shocks fail before the warranty is up, then they should be covered under the original warranty anyways... Cheers

06-05-2006, 05:51 PM	#8
birdy I stay G'd Up Drives: 02 wrx wagon Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: denton,tx Posts: 262	they will last long enough to save up fo rnew shocks.

06-06-2006, 12:15 AM	#11
ricko Drives: Copper-Orange Yaris RS Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Georgian Triangle Ont. Posts: 310	Don't you mean oversprung/underdamped???????

06-06-2006, 03:14 AM	#14
Joel Leong Drives: New Yaris Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Singapore Posts: 8	Great info, guys. Thanks! TRD lowering springs and TRD shock absorbers can be purchased separately. TRD dealer told me that the TRD lowering springs are friendlier to the original shock absorbers. Team Toyota Europe (TTE) also makes the same claim, see http://www.tte.de/cm_yaris_XP9.htm. BTW, is TRD and TTE the same? My Toyota car dealer (from another company) warned me that I may loose my 3-year warranty if the shock absorbers are damaged by TRD lowering springs. That's why I'm worried. Anyway I'm from Singapore. I think our Toyota warranty system works differently from the rest of the country.

06-06-2006, 04:25 AM	#15
SmellyTofu 好多人& Drives: . Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 264	TTE <> TRD. What do you mean by friendlier?

06-06-2006, 05:04 AM	#16
Joel Leong Drives: New Yaris Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Singapore Posts: 8	Sorry. What I mean is this dealer claimed that his TRD lowering spring is "fully compatible" with the original shock absorber and will not damage it.

06-06-2006, 06:12 AM	#17
SmellyTofu 好多人& Drives: . Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 264	You'll basically accelerate the wear rate on the shocks as the shocks extend and compress further than with softer springs. If standards shocks last 40,000km, shorter and stiffer springs might wear them out at 30,000km (hypotetically).

06-06-2006, 07:51 AM	#18
ricko Drives: Copper-Orange Yaris RS Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Georgian Triangle Ont. Posts: 310	All this theoretical stuff is all well and good but .................... I think the original question was do the TRD springs work, and will they wear out sooner. !. Do they work? Yes, as long as you remember they are NOT designed for racing. The car corners flatter, far less body roll and with better control over most bumps. It is somewhat under-damped, and significant bumps in fast sweepers will upset it's balance. This is not surprising. In my experience there are very few stockers out there that are not under-damped, and my lowered RS is still better that my Acura 1.7 was in this respect. In addition ride quality while firm is still acceptable, and to date I have had no trouble with bottoming out over sharp bumps or in potholes. It is not that radical a change. 2. Will they reduce the life of the stock shocks? Most likely they will wear out sooner than if you left the stock springs in place. How much sooner is pure speculation, and since driving conditions and styles vary so much it really is impossble to say for sure. In Canada the shocks are still covered by the warranty, but even if they were not it makes sense to see how they work with the new springs before you replace them. All of the above is based on my experience (2 months, approx. 3000km) with my otherwise stock Canadian RS 3-door. I love to drive the car hard, but I am NOT a street racer. As I said before, if you are going to race your Yaris, you would be wise to consider a complete kit.