Buying illuminas or HP

Well i just got my paycheck and im either buying the Illuminas or however you spell in or The HP set of shocks by Tokico... they both come with springs as a package and im wondering about fitment of both and opinions... i know hte illuminas are 5 way adjustable but i dont know if i necessarily need that.

Also is there anything else i need to do when i do get them and finally get htenm on, like alignment or camber for sure?

Camber, yes. Big time problem if you don't fix your camber after lowering it. Your tires will look like this from behind...

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Kinda cool huh? lol

how is that done and how much does it cost?

Does anybody have the Tokico HP shock/spring combo or have opinions on htem?

They sell camber kits to correct it. Although I'm not 100% sure how they really work. I've seen cheaper camber kits on ebay but I donno if they are as good as a "name brand" kit. I haven't gotten anything to lower mine yet.

You might want to try Megan coilovers. They're about $850 on ebay. 32 way adjustable too. And they have the camber adjustment (think that's what it is) on top.

Just take your car to get an alignment, they should be able to fix a little camber without a kit. If not, they will tell you to get the kit, then they should be able to put the kit in.

Any words of wisdom on the megan coilovers? Are they good?

I have the Tokico springs w/ the illumina struts. I would highly recomemend getting them. As for the camber kit, it replaces the brackets that hold the upper control arm. The cheap ebays ones are just as good as the name brand. Make sure you get an alignment after. And if you plan on changing the springs yourself, you will need a spring compressor but other than that its not hard.

So nobody has any opinions on the Tokico HP shocks at all?

and alignments are pretty expensive too arent they?

I'd assume they HP's are Tokico's version of the AGX GR2, and I know of no body that has either of them. I would just go with the Illuminas, I think you'll be happier with them. Also, IIRC, alignments are ~$20.

Tokico HP are nonperformance upgrade from factory. Illuminas are their budget peformance shocks with ajustable nitrogen levels. What you need to do is figure out your cars goal, and do it once. The reasion I didn't buy Illuminas is becasue I wasn't 100% sure what I was going to do with my car. Now that I know it is 90% street I would have no problem putting them on my car. Keep in mind the spring rates are only 175 lb in the front and 150 in the rear. If you plan on doing any serious autocross or drag compition you'll be wanting to ajust the spring rate upto 450lb. Tein basic dampeners and coilovers are only about $150 more then the Illuminas. Just my 2 cents

not to steer you away from lowering it, but my aunts b/f son (hope u got that) had a gsx and they lowered it, and he was telling me that is he could do it all over again, he wouldnt becuz it took away from the steering and performance of the car. maybe they got shitty supspension or who knows, but he told me not to lower it, to keep it stock hieght. i cant say any opinions becuz mines stock hieght. im just saying what ive heard.

For him to loose performance, he must have gotten some shitty springs/struts. Lowering your car really helps the handling if you do it right.