I need advise with my rough ride

Hi all. I bought my TA 98 second hand and im not sure if the rear springs were changed or not. I know it had rear stock shocks (de carbon stuff). I started to notice that the bumps and dips were hitting pretty bad/hard specially on the rear. I decided to change the rear shock with gabriel ones. I know now that these were a waste of money since the problem is still there and i think is even worse.

My car is a daily driver and really don't race on it except the regular green light take off :P . I have been reading about this subject and I know I might need to change springs and shocks.

Another question i have is about lowering springs. I know the can lower your car from 1-2 inches. Does this lowering can cause a problem with the clearing of my exhaust pipe?
I only have about 1" clearance at the bottom of my exhaust pipe. I will try to post a pic of it if you guys need to see it.

I read that trim the bump stop might help with this but how much can i trim?

What will be a good affordable setup for my ride. I just want a smoth ride with some decent handling. I drive city mostly with some highway. Thanks in advance. :)

What's you front and rear wheel well arch (top center) to ground measurements?
With only about 1" of exhaust pipe clearance either your car has unacceptably low exhaust pipes, or your car is really low!

That's the thing I don't have that information because I didn't owned the car from the beginning. Is there anyway to get this measurements? Do i just measure the distance between the top part of my rear tire and the out side lip of my wheel well? I never done suspension mods besides shocks and springs.

It looks like the springs are stock but i could be wrong. I will take a pic of the clearance that i'm refering to when i get home since i'm still at work (24hr shift). Thanks.

Stock springs will sometimes still have the tag on them. Aftermarket usually do not. If that helps.

The measurement I think you need to take is from the top dead center of your wheel well to the ground. It' tough to get a good reading on tire to body. Just check body to ground.

Where's the 1 inch of clearance? Exhaust tip to ground? You must be talking to the axle or something.

Well I replaced the rear springs coils today. Mrr23 told me that they are shot. I bought the stock ones. Big difference now when i go over bump and dips. I probably need to replace the front ones also. Thanks Mrr23. :)

How many miles on your car?

I've been thnking the same thing about mine, that it really rides like crap, especially the harshness fro mthe rear. I installed a set of KYB GR2's this past weekend, and it did nothing for the problem. Maybe I need to look into changing springs too.

I have 82K miles on it. Changing the springs improved the harshness in the rear of the vehicle. It's not awesome but its alot better.