I bought my Solara new in September 1999 - it was a demo and had only 3,000 or so miles on it. It currently has about 35k miles on it, and I would characterize it as doing quite well, no reliability issues at all. It's been a good car, very nice to drive around in. But, I wanted hadling that was somewhat more sporting that stock. My car had the Michelin MXV4 (I believe they were called Energys) tires, size
205/60 16". So When I got a puncture in one that was a little closer to the sidewall than I felt good about fixing, I decided to upgrade the suspension. I ended up doing it in two stages, and the prices I am listing are approximate because your costs will definitely vary.Stage 1 ASA 17 x 7" wheels, Continental Extreme Contact 215/50
17". This is known as a PlusOne tire upgrade, and the tires are listed as "Ultimate performance all season", I believe they are standard on some of the better German cars. The cost was a little more than $1,000 US from the Tire Rack. Service was fine, by the way.Stage 2 Tokico gas shocks, I believe they are knows as Blues, and Eibach springs. Total cost was about $800 and installation was around $500. The market for these is pretty competitive, shop around and you might do better. I was impressed with the build quality of both these items by the way, and my mechanic says they are first class.
I'll start out with my evaluation of the stock suspension. I really never liked it as I thought it was not a good compromise. It seemed to ride well but once I had driven it for a while I didn't like it. It was a little jiggly on small bumps - there is a set of small bumps on my street that were always just a little edgy - don't know why, but they were. And the behavior on speed bumps was miserable, the car bottomed much too easily. And the handling was kind of willowy, you couldn't push the car through a corner at all. At any rate, not a good compromise, I felt it should either ride better if it wasn't going to handle well or handle better if it wasn't going to ride well. I would give Toyota poor marks on the suspension setup/choice of tires, but more on this later.
After replacing the tires, things got better. I was surprised at how much better the handling got in every respect with no downside. Here are my ratings on the Continentals.
Grip - excellent. much better than the Michelins. Ride - even with the Michelins, the jiggle on small bumps is gone, replaced by a firmness. Reasonably firm in other areas too, the seat of my pants is in no way offended. Handling - definitely better, good response, have not had a chance to evaluate wet grip. I expect it will be good but I will post an update when I have a chance to evalute this (I live in the Seattle area & it rains a lot here). The Continentals took more weight to balance than I liked, about 2
1/4 oz. They are smooth at highay speeds, so I guess this is not a problem. Noise - about even with the Michelins, possibly a shade noisier but the Michelins weren't quiet at highway speeds either.Summary Highly recommended upgrade. For some people seeking better handling, this tire upgrade will be enough - the car will feel significantly more sure-footed and will handle much better. I don't see any downside to it at all.
The suspension. The springs I bought are supposed to lower the car 1.6 inches, but I don't think that this is the case, possibly because the gas shocks raise it back somewhat. My mechanic forgot to measure the static ride height before the suspension was changed, so I can't be sure, but it just doesn't look that low.
I give the suspension modification an unqualified thumbs up. The car handles much better, with excellent turn-in on corners, very little lean, and good stability. The ride is firmer, IMO not even close to being harsh, and it doesn't seem to bottom even on reasably steep driveways. Speed bumps are OK too, no bottoming. The Eibach springs are progressive, and the car really feels sort of like a German car, comfy at you-name-the-speed. By the way I have owned both Merc & BMWs in my time, the Solara is not quite as good but it's quite respectable. To me it this modification has not hurt the overall smooth character of the car, and it feels just fine with the automatic transmission. It's really a decent GT car now, and I think it could sustain high average speeds over interesting roads.
So is it perfect? No, not quite. The steering feel is still absent, which takes away some of the confidence and judgment you need to drive in a truly entertaining fashion. But the car as a whole has moved a couple of large steps towards automotive goodness.
Finally the executive summary. If you want a very perceptible improvement in handling at a reasonable price with no sacrifices, get the tires & think about the rest. Real enthusiasts, go for it all, you won't be sorry.
What's next? I would like to have some more steering feel, and my mechanic recommended a simple change, modifying the drive pulley for the power steering pump to reduce the steering assist for more feel. We'll see about that in a while, right now I'll be too busy driving enjoying a fine-handling (finally) Solara.