Re: suspension upgrade
ozzy1975 said:
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: