I am always looking to improve my car as simply and cheaply as possible. With my shaken due this past month in December, I have to replace the cut springs, as they are a “no-no” for the mandatory inspection (well, if it was discovered). And my mechanic is a strict guy so he highly recommended I change the suspension beforehand. Luckily my prayers for cheap, used parts came in the form of my friend who owned a 2003 Wagon R. As mentioned some months ago, we pulled off some Sport-Service RSR Basic Coilovers off his car when he brought it back to stock in order to sell it off. He offered it to me for a steal, so I couldn’t say no. Who knows if it could fit my older 1998 Alto, which is obviously a completely different body style, not to mention ride height? Would the suspension mount points fit or would it be too high compared to the smaller Alto?

My friend and I had this belief for some time that there is a huge number of parts sharing going on between the same manufacturer of kei cars. Suzuki, being arguably the leader in kei car sales, especially during that late 90s / early 2000s period, was prolifically producing a huge range of kei cars with minor cosmetic differences. With so much money that goes into R&D and tooling, it only made sense to change as little as possible to keep production costs low and share parts across their lineup.

With that, I decided to try it out myself. The easiest part to access and replace would be the rear springs of the car, so started off with that. Lifting the car up, I can easily see that the rear springs and shocks are extremely similar in size with exactly the same mounting hole sizes, though the RSR shock tube width is a bit thicker.

Let’s just say the top perch is absolutely a two-second drop-in fit, fitting snugly in the top rubber mount. We pulled it out for a quick cleanup and installed it, along with the two-second drop-in fit of the rear springs.

It’s times like these I am so happy to have access to a lift, since dropping the car down, checking height, and readjusting as needed is a quick and painless procedure. After a few tries, we got the car at a very reasonable height for the upcoming shaken and for driving around town in the winter. This set the adjustable ring o the perch at about nearly two-thirds down the length of the body, affording plenty of lowering in the future.

However, with the slightly wider coil diameter of the springs, the RSR shocks would definitely not be able to replace the stock Alto shocks without bumping or rubbing against the springs. As it sits now, its somewhat close, but definitely not an issue now. So unfortunately, the RSR rear shocks will have to collect dust somewhere, unused.

Moving on to the front, we could immediately notice incredible similarities between the two front suspension struts. Kei car front suspensions are wonderfully easy to remove. With only two lower bolts, two upper hat nuts, and a clip for the brake hose, swapping the struts was a pleasant task. (Plus with all that experience I got from cutting the springs and fitting them, I was quite well versed.) Literally ten minutes later, both struts were installed and final tightening adjustments were made. The one very minor difference between the two struts were the brake hose attachment points.

We lowered the car and… voila! A perfect ride height and a near perfect fit. I was surprised that no ride height adjustment was needed, since Wagon Rs typically rides higher than Altos. (My friend’s Wagon R was nearly slammed to the ground, I guess.)

As a bonus, there is noticeable negative camber on the front wheels now. This camber should aid a bit in hard cornering, as when the car’s weight in thrown into one of these front wheels, more of the tire is flat on the ground, increasing grip. Conversely, when the car has neutral camber as it did before, the geometry change when weight is applied in the corner will decrease grip with positive camber. This is especially important in a front-driven car with a majority of the weight riding on its front wheels.

Not that I have particularly noticed it yet. Driving on winter tires in the cold winter really does not show the capabilities of the new suspension setup, but I will say the car is feeling a lot stiffer on bumps, but with a much more controlled bounce than the haphazardly cut suspension previously. The on-center feel is much lighter than before and the car is eager to turn. As I get more experience with it, I’ll update my review on it later.

Of course, the most important benefit of all this suspension change is that the car is looking more gorgeous than ever before. Maybe driving around this winter won’t be so terrible, after all.