OK.... on the cheap. hhmmmmmm
Well if it were me... (lol)
The full length sub frames by MM are about a hundred give or take a few, and they make a very noticeable diff in the overall driving: initial turn in, overall stability mid-corner, etc... great value imho.
Get a good set of CC plates and an alignment (take it to someone who does performance-street alignments, not just any old shop.... you want it done right, not just "thats close enough..."
I would get good lower controll arms long before I would worry about the uppers. The lowers can be had for about 150 I think* for a nice set.
The sn95 spindles are a direct bolt in (they are part of the 2300K brake kit) the only diff is the strut needs about 1" of extra travel, but on mine it has never been an issue on either brand of struts that Ive run. This is also good in that if you ever find a set of cobra / bullit / mach brakes for cheap, they will then bolt right on, and give you WAAAAYYY better stopping power for a good price. (but you do have to run 5lug 17s)
And speaking of 5 lug 17s, just fyi... when you mention that alott of people freak at the cost. But I have bought 2 sets of 17s now (tri-bars and bullits) the bullits were less than 600 with very near new tires, and the tribars were only 100 a wheel, but no tires. The tires were just under 100 each. So the cost is not thaaaat much, and man let me tell ya, if youve never driven a car with like 15s one day and 17s the next.... WHAT A DIFF. Talk about vast improvement overnight.
If you want a good set of shocks/struts for a reasonable price the tokiko sports are the same quality as their 5way adjustables, just they are fixed on the #3 setting. (which a good installer I know, told me that every set of 5 ways he has ever done were set on #3, and they never came back to get changed...) But they are like 1/2 the price of the 5 ways.
OH, BTW ... "C" springs, refer to motorsport springs which come in letter designations depending on the firmness and the "C" is a popular aftermarket upgrade. But imho they are too soft in the front (about 600lb/in as I recall) resulting in less than stellar performance when pushed hard, and too stiff in back resulting in a somewhat jarring ride around town. Again just my op.
The MM supersport springs are good, imho. I have heard some people who are very happy with eibachs, and others who were not. Same of KB stuff, some love, others not so much. Guess it just depends... but again the ones who dont like them may not have a balanced system, they may have one piece from company A and the next from company Z, and they might not work well together... hard to say.
You could run most of a MM kit, but sub in the tikikos instead of the bilsteins, and it would save several hundred dollars, and is still do-able in stages: chassis brace kit, then lower controll arms and cc plates, then later the springs and shocks. Just a thought...
Besides if you set your heart on one type of system, you can hold out till you find a good deal on the various pieces of that kit.... you dont have to step up and buy it new. Hell most of us have a piece or two lying around here and there... just watch the classifieds / craigslist / ebay... etc. You might be surprised how low cost you can get a good kit.
Well, good luck... and let us know what you decide, so we can help keep the eye out for good prices for ya.
Dave-
