Back when I had my Eclipse, I made the mistake of not thinking by putting just Pro-Kit springs on the car without upgrading the shocks and struts, not even a month later they all blew. Screwed my left CV joint and had to get that axle replaced, along with forking out money for new shocks.

It's my understanding that the suspension on the RA is the same as the GTS, which means it's sport tuned. However, are these shocks and struts durable enough and strong enough to support say... a 1.5 inch drop? I'd like to get rid of some wheel gap and don't really want to shell out the money for upgraded shocks or even coilovers, but if that's really the only solution, then I'll save up.

I don't race the RA nor do I plan to, just a daily driver with some nice boost, so I wouldn't need anything super fancy.

 

You should be fine. Yes it will put more stress on the factory shocks and struts but a few companies are making upgraded ones for us that along with the price of the drop springs will be very cost effective. I'm lowered on RRM drop springs and have 49,000 miles on the car no problems yet.

 

Others have dropped their RAs for awhile now. I haven't seen anyone mention anything go wrong with their struts after being lowered. The most that I know of is the bump stop making noise on the springs. With this, I don't think there would be a problem with lowering your car. It will shorten the lifespan of your shocks/etc. obviously, but I have yet to hear of anyone blowing out shocks and etc.

I was under the impression that the RA does not have the same suspension as the GTS. Supposedly, it has a different setup that is tuned differently, and has a harsher ride.

 

That's the only thing I worry about it lifespan of the factory struts and shocks. I know it will, but I don't want to have them go out on my at only 20K or so.

What companies are making upgraded ones?