[jcrew]

Alright rav4 addicts.. haha im having some headache problems looking for a nice upgrade suspension. And "no" i don't want to lower the 03` Rav4... i just want to maintain the smooth ride height. See, the thing is, im also confuse. I live on a farm, and to get to my house, you hafta go through a long dirt road, and after awhile everything just starts to die. Like my shocks? So heres the problem, the car is not riding smooth anymore. Any small bumps i hit on the road seems like a earthquake inside the car. haha. So you guys think its the struts? or the shocks? To me personally, Im getting shocks and struts anyways.. so can anyone help me find a place where I could get a nice suspension kit?? It would be very helpful.

 

[ozzy1975]

suspension upgrade

I know you said you did not want to 'lower' you car but I think H&R sport springs would be a good place to start as well as some decent after market shocks such as KYB GR2's. The shocks (struts) are pretty much an oem replacement with a slightly stiffer ride. The springs would lower your car cabout 1.25 inches which would be pretty much barely noticeable but the increase in ride performance would be awesome. I have that set up on my 1996 altima and it gave the car a new life as far as ride goes. Also check your bushings on all your stabilizer/sway bar and all other bushings, if they are worn your car will clunk. Energy suspension makes really good POLY bushings and they will help. I am not sure they make them for our cars though. Seems the rav4 is in short supply of aftermarket mods.
Good luck and check back in.

 

[jcrew]

Re: suspension upgrade

yeah i was think the kyb strts and HNR exactly what i was thinking. Pretty much that was all i could find anyhow. Thanks for the help charlie.

 

[ozzy1975]

where to get your stuff

I think a good place to order the stuff is on tirerack.com
They can ship stuff directly to you or your mechanic. Are you planning on doing the upgrade yourself?

 

[Rienolf]

Have you looked at any of the aftermarket air suspension setups? Some allow you to adjust the ride height as needed, while giving a smooth ride over nearly any surface, and great handling. Most of the sport springs out there will only make the ride harsher.

Check out:

http://www.overlander.com.au/equipment/index/30/4WD-Suspension-Systems


It’s an Australian site but has good stuff for wherever you are. Another site with info on air springs is:

www.air-suspension-forum.com

and

http://www.ridetech.com/index.asp

I am considering converting my suspension to air myself.

 

[Alien18]

i know u said that u want a smooth ride but maybe u could consider getting nitrocharged shock absorbers by old man emu. they will get harder the longer they are in motion but i think they are not going to be use up that fast.

 

[mensajero]

Re: suspension upgrade

I know you said you did not want to 'lower' you car but I think H&R sport springs would be a good place to start as well as some decent after market shocks such as KYB GR2's. The shocks (struts) are pretty much an oem replacement with a slightly stiffer ride. The springs would lower your car cabout 1.25 inches which would be pretty much barely noticeable but the increase in ride performance would be awesome. I have that set up on my 1996 altima and it gave the car a new life as far as ride goes. Also check your bushings on all your stabilizer/sway bar and all other bushings, if they are worn your car will clunk. Energy suspension makes really good POLY bushings and they will help. I am not sure they make them for our cars though. Seems the RAV4 is in short supply of aftermarket mods.
Good luck and check back in.

I think ozzy1975 is right on in his recommendation regarding KYB and H&R. I have a similar setup but I think in the bushing you shouldn't do the Polyurethane. I have the RAV4 Polyurethane bushing kit installed [all of them] and the ride is a little harsh. I also live in an area where roads are similar to jcrew. What you should checkout are the Anti-Sway bars if you go through a lot of curves like I do. Polyurethane bushing for the Anti-Sway bars is a is good advice. But all the Anti-Sway Bars kit bring them, even though they are in Black. If you DO install the ASBs', and you drive in the country, your RAV4 will be in the Porsche category regarding handling, trust me on that one :wink:

 

[zoomie]

I would recommend against the koni's for your application. After installing the konis on my ride, the ride was much much stiffer. better handling, but yes, you described it perfectly. it's like an earthquake when it hits something.

 

[mensajero]

One thing I do like about my setup is that when you are going at speed on a trail. You don't even realize your going on a dirt road. Dips and slops the suspension reacts accordingly. But regarding the dirt road, you can pickup a lot of speed without the hard ride. Like a brisk ride.