Shocks, Springs, Sway Bars

[Carchrism5]

Hi,
i have an 01 pt and i believe that year they came with the rear sway bar. i wanted to do some suspension work and i am in need of advice. How long do shocks usually last, mine have about 45k miles on them. Also i want to lower the rear of the car, can i do that without a spring compressor, also can i install just rear shocks without doing the front, and do you think changing the rear shocks and lowering it would make a noticeable difference?
as for the sway bars, im looking at suspension techniques, and was wondering how much of a difference they would make, what if i did just the rear or just the front. all help is appreciated

[SteelBlueGT]

Good gas struts should last at least 75,000 miles. To give you an idea my Daughters Mitsu says replace them at 100,000 miles or sooner if they leak! My advise is if you are lowering the rear via springs replace the shocks. Old shocks will be worked way to hard to keep up with the new lowering springs. I dont think you need a spring compressor cause I didnt for the rears. My new rear anti sway bar from Suspension Techniques made a huge difference in getting rid of my understeer and nose dive. I also put on a front strut tower brace from Freedom Design. Remember a larger front anti sway bar will add to understeer not improve it. Too large a rear bar, in relation to the front bar, will give you severe oversteer. The bar I used on the rear along with the stock front bar seemed to make my car much better balanced and it now rotates easy in the corners.

[quicksilverdon]

I lowered the rear of both my '02 and '05 cruisers. Very easy. You need a floor jack and jackstands. center floor jack under beam rear axle. I put a section of 2x6 between jack & axle to distribute load so as not to bend axle.
Jack up 'till wheels are off ground, insert jackstands. Loosen a shock, lower axle, remove old spring, insert new spring, jack up & re-attach shock. Repeat for other side.
I still had stock shocks on my '02 at 87,000 miles - 'course I didn't take my PT into New York City....
I think if you only lower up to 2", you'll be fine, more and you should consider shocks.

[Carchrism5]

Thanks for the replies, for the suspension techniques sway you added you said you only did the rear right? and did you have a stock rear sway bar? because i have the 2nd release of the 2001 (with the 4 window switches) and i believe that they had rear sway bars. So would it make a difference if i already have the rear sway, and what if i change both to suspension techniques would it make a noticable difference because i found them for about $100 each shipped, brand new

[quicksilverdon]

quote:Originally posted by Carchrism5

Thanks for the replies, for the suspension techniques sway you added you said you only did the rear right? and did you have a stock rear sway bar? because i have the 2nd release of the 2001 (with the 4 window switches) and i believe that they had rear sway bars. So would it make a difference if i already have the rear sway, and what if i change both to suspension techniques would it make a noticable difference because i found them for about $100 each shipped, brand new

All '01 and '02 PTs had rear sway bars.
That's a great price if it includes shipping....

[SteelBlueGT]

Yes, I only added the rear bar on my barless 03 GT. If you had a bar on the rear you need to figure out if it is big enough for what you want it to do! The add on bars for your year are usually bigger than the stock rear bars which were real punny. If you add a bigger front bar you need to add a bigger rear bar or the understeer will be real bad and it is bad enough in stock condition!! I think I paid $139 for my rear bar plus an installation kit which you wont need if yours had a rear bar. Good luck and dont agonize over your choices too much. This can be done to your satisfaction by trial and error as well as asking for help. When setting up a car to handle the way you feel best no one setup is better than another just depends on what feel you want and how you drive your own car. Do it in small increments and you will be amazed at how well it will feel. As a general rule understeer is safer than oversteer.

[Carchrism5]

thanks for the help, i want my pt to be able to take sharp turns on backroads at like 40mph and stay flat and be able to go 70+mph on the highway and stay flat too, i dont know if its possible to make it handle like my e46 330i but it would be nice to get close to that, at $102.50 per sway bar shipped for suspension techniques, i think i will probably go for both, my plans for suspension in the long run are just shocks, springs, sways and my upper tower bar, so under $1k in suspension and then some new rotors and pads, that's my goal, then do a turbo or supercharger because i don't really want to trade it in for a GT because of resale value and if i were to trade it in i would get a different car.

[SteelBlueGT]

Exept for the lowering spirngs we will have same setup and I think along with your Yoko tires it should handle like U want it to. I need my ride to stay supple for wife so I did not go with lowering springs. I like mine a lot now and wife loves the ease that it turns into corners and lack of big understeer and loud tire noises in slow corners.