Hello guys ( And gals) I am not new here. Just been away soooo long that I have totaly forgot my old username & password, so I had to start a new account! lol.
ANYWHOOOO, I just bought a 1998 Sebring LXi with the 2.5L V-6. It has some kind of body kit on it for the sides & rear. ( Front is still stock) A Fancy chrome intake kit, and a sweet sounding exhaust.
I was told that the Avenger & Sebring were basically twins underneath the sheetmetal, so I was hoping yall might have some advice on tis car.
First off: This thing is SLOW on takeoff. ( It is, after all, a DSM )

Second: It rides stiff as a log waggon! What would be a good rear shock to install for a soft highway ride? I went from 205/55/16 tires to 205/60/16's thinking the taller sidewall would help. It made no difference at all. However, when I switched tires, what I bought was used Toyo Proxi4's. I have read in other forums that those tires have a stiff sidewall, so I may have took a step backwards in retrospect of the purchase. My next NEW set of tires will be General Altimax HP's !

Thanks for any help & advice on these cars. I am not very familiar with them. -----------------------kj

 

They ARE twins under the sheet metal ...
Are you SURE the car has not been lowered ??? That might be the reason the rides bad

 

Not real sure. The springs LOOK stock. I know the front struts are red, as are the rear shocks. But that really means nothing to me. (Could be auto parts store cheap'y replacements) I will try to find out if there is a mfg. name/number on them. Any clue what the stock ride height should be?

 

BY THE WAY. that is one AWSOME Avenger! I did not know the Avenger & Sebring had the same interior. Thats cool. I wonder if an Avenger hood would fit on a sebring.
I like the Sebring tail end better than the Avenger, but I like the Avenger front end better than the Sebring. Maybe I should build a Avenger/Sebring hybrid! lol.

 

hoods are interchangeable .... front ends are interchangeable

 

I've been shopping since my last post. I did not realize when I bought this car there was so much avalable for it!!!! Sooooo much to buy, soo litle money! lol.

 

do the sebrings have the over drive switch on the shifter as well? if so that could help you a little on the take off.

 

Yes. It does. However, the O.D. is just that. An Overdrive. It only effects the top end. ( 4th gear & lockup) Just for the heck of it, I tried it with the OD switch off. No difference in takeoff. Now on my '07 Ram, it has a switch that toggles from regular to tow/haul to OD Off. When in the tow/haul mode, the shifts are firmer and higher up on the RPM band and when in that mode it will take nearly a second off of the 0-60 time. But I do not use it as a "hot rod", even though it is wicked fast on take off for a V-6 truck. I can out run all of our V-8 powerd company trucks up to 50 mph. ( But in all fairnedd, our 2001 5.4L Triton V-8 Ford F-150 is an extended cab model with a custom made steel flatbed. The bed, toolbox, and welder/generator added about 1200 lbs to that truck.)

ANywhoooooooo, I NEED to do a tune up. Badly! I noticed the spark plug wires have a date stamp of 1997. So I know they have never been changed.

 

The Final drive gear from the 4Cyl Stratus is the best mod for take offs ... as is a high stall torque convertor

 

bad venge,
How much of an increase in RPM's at 60mph did you see after installing the Stratus 4th gear? What RPM is your engine running at at 60 or 70 mph?
I would like to increase takeoff, but do not want to affect daily driving fuel economy by too much. I am avg. about 22 to 24 mpg right now.