Eibach Sportline Springs Review
 

A review of the Eibach Sportline springs as a daily driver. Full article here

"In our earlier*review,*we raved about the stock suspension and how impressed we were with how well balanced the car is in stock form, so why touch it?

Not one to leave things stock, we wanted to get rid of the wheel gap without decreasing the cars handling characteristics. *We weren't looking to slam the car to the ground nor were we looking to put big money coil overs on our FR-S (not quite yet).

we searched for something that would:

• Reduce wheel gap without sacrificing handling
• Stay within our minimal budget.

The Sportline kit comes well labeled with replacement bump stops and dust boots. *Armed with a torque wrench, spring compressor, and some power tools, the install took about 2 hours. *Luckily, Toyota/Subaru engineers considered suspension modifications when making this car so accessing the bolts holding down the suspension was easy and straight forward.

http://www.ohdamn.co/wp-content/uplo...2/IMG_3493.jpg

Since the install, we have logged about 2000 miles on our FR-S. *Daily driving, the ride feels almost stock. *The suspension is slightly firmer. *Its hard to explain but the added firmness is proportional to the reduction in wheel gap...just a little bit. *Although bumpy roads and road transitions are exaggerated with the firmer springs and shortened strut travel. *The ride can get bumpy but it is bearable.

http://www.ohdamn.co/wp-content/uplo...2/IMG_1039.jpg

The FR-S is a low car to begin with, lowering it 1.4 inches doesn't require you do drive that much more cautiously than before. *For those accustomed to driving lowered cars, this is very worry free. *You won't have to fear speed bumps. *If you don't have a front lip, you probably won't scrape on most dips and driveways. *To date, the bottom of the car has not yet scraped and the front bumper has scraped on a dip once.

http://www.ohdamn.co/wp-content/uplo...2/IMG_1047.jpg

In hard driving situations, the stock FR-S has a slight tendency to oversteer. Aggressive cornering in a stock FR-S usually leads to a frantically flashing traction control light. *With the Eibach Sportline springs, *the rear seems more planted. *The tendency to oversteeer is reduced resulting in much more neutral handling. We have yet to take the car to the track. *We will definitely update our review once we do so."

very nice! are u currently running any camber-correct setup?

Thanks for the write up. I've also looked into the Eibach Sportline springs vs coilovers. I'd rather do it cheaper since I'm more of a daily driver. Please let us know when you get the chance how it feels on the track. I prefer Auto-X :-)

is this just the drop with no camber adjustment?

I can't wait to get my FRS, and get these!
I had these on my genesis and I loved them! If you don't want to be slammed and just perfect these are the way to go!

Correct. The car does not pull to any direction when driving but we will be getting camber bolts and alignment soon. We will update our review after alignment and track time.

Exactly! Great bang for the buck without decreasing the cars handling capabilities :thumbup:

Look very nice !

Here are some quick comparison pics with a friends stock FR-S. Sorry the pics aren't a true comparison. We just happened to be parked next to each other.
http://www.ohdamn.co/wp-content/uplo...1/IMG_2841.jpg
Kinda hard to tell from the rear but you can see from the level of the muffler, how much lower the white FR-S is
http://www.ohdamn.co/wp-content/uplo...1/IMG_2809.jpg

Would the sportlines compromise the life span of the stock struts..i want to do this but worried I'd ruin my struts and chassis

Thanks

^I worry the same. I'm thinking I will go with Sportline springs, and Koni Yellows

good excuse to upgrade to better shocks! but I can see the stock lasting more than a year. .. so start saving $

I have about 10k I believe on my sportlines installed on stock struts and so far so good.. great actually. That red car looks lifted!

ok, guys I need some help here. I'm deciding whether to get sportlines or bc coilovers. I'm using my frs just for daily driving, I'm not going auto-x at all. I'm just looking for a 1.5" drop max without sacrificing much performance and rideability. I've narrowed down to this 2. Should I still go for coils if my main focus is basically getting rid of the wheel gap? I really don't like the slammed car look IMO. btw, I'm pairing that with 18x9.5 +38 wheels and 245/35 tires all around.

Yes just get Sportlines. Coilovers add more complexity and cost. You only need coilovers if you want to change your suspension settings periodically. With either option you should get an alignment and at least front camber correction bolts.

alignment will be definitely needed and right on the money about the adjustable camber bolts as well. also, will definitely upgrade the shocks to konis further down the line.

So getting sportline coils for a nice drop. Can you get a bit of camber with stock bolts? Or you need to get new ones?

Are rear camber bolts needed?
I'm considering this suspension

Great review. Perfect drop. Can't beat it.

sport line springs
 

i have put these springs in my gen one xb and have had trouble with my front end loosing grip. i went from 1.5 drop to 2in drop but i also put hotchkiss comp sway bars on to and thats where i went wrong. i need to get the stiffer spings back in so i get no body roll to unload the rt or lt tire. i am willing to trade for some stiffer srings if any one has stiffer springs they want to trade or change some where if a shop is available. i have front and rear comp sway bars and strut tower bar with ft and rear frame braces with tokico struts and shocks also polys she handels nice. i live in San Andreas but am at my moms house in San Leandro ca. any takers

This setup is the MOST logical.

any updates coming by the OP?

Rear ..... if want to get camber correct WL adjustable UCA bushings at a minimum, cheap but costly labor. Other route LCA and toe links...Front WL Cambers or stock crash bolts "if" can get desired camber.

Ordered my set today! Can't wait.

Sprotlines are great. :)

Where is the best place to order from?..also, any recommendations on installation places residing in TN?...

I have these for sale for $200 + Shipping if anything is interested!

New ones? or used?

Question ?? Would I have any rubbing issues with these on 18x8.5 +44 225/40 fronts and 18x9.5 +44 255/35 in the back

I'm torn between these and RCE Yellows, i've heard the ride stays relatively the same on these but some people have said it's pretty bad. Roads near me are good and since I live in AZ we don't get much winter damage or weather damage for that matter. I wouldn't mind a little bit more bumpy if I can get such a nice drop. Opinions?

How did they turn out? How is the daily driving?

Just to add, I have sportline springs with 17x9 +45 RPF1s with 3mm spacers all around

No rubbing issues, tires clear the stock struts (barely), and no contact with anything (splash guards, tie rod ends) at full steering lock

Tires are 245 wide

I was thinking coilovers, but these springs are a very nice drop and I think almost perfect for a street drop with wheels. You are not "stanced" but you have a very functional drop with good asthetics

Rear
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/10...ps63a8688b.jpg
Front
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/10...psb9594442.jpg

Cross over auto has it for 205 + shipping brand new. I'll give you 180 shipping included for it.

I'm looking for a nice daily driving street drop, I don't take my car to the track an dont plan to, how's the ride functionality?

Daily driving is no problem. No issues clearing bumps or driveways, I've driven lowered cars as dailys before and IMO this setup is worry free for a DD.

Ride functionality is basically just stiffer than stock, no huge difference at all minus the drop IMO

So nothing that would make you want to take it off? I'm seriously considering these because it looks so nice! Just want to make sure it doesn't ruin the brzs suspension

There is nothing that would make me take these off, unless I got a set of coilovers for dirt cheap/free. Its easy to do without a spring compressor, you just need sockets/hex key to do the swap.

I know people say that lowering springs will ruin/blow stock shocks/struts, but so far so good. I think another member on here has 10K miles on his setup with no signs of blown shocks

I have these on stock struts as well. They won't ruin your suspension and should last tens of thousands of miles if installed correctly. Sportline springs on other make/model cars have a more aggressive drop (>1.5") and owners are logging 60k+ miles on them with no issues. The drop on the FR-S is more mild (advertised 1.4" but reported 1.25") so it should be less of an issue.

My only gripe is sometimes I hear/feel front coils bind onto themselves under hard braking and cornering. And if I go too fast over bumps/dips, the rears can bottom out. Which is fine because the bump stops get to do their job (kudos to Eibach for providing bump stop replacements unlike H&R's and Tein's equivalent aggressive drop springs which require you to cut the stock bump stop). Regardless, I plan on upgrading my struts if Bilstein ever comes out with any. I expect it to be a little stiffer/harsher but that ought to help reduce the binding or bottoming out. I also have an aero kit which reduces my ground clearance by ~2" (it includes a 1" protective rubber skirt under my front lip). Sometimes that rubber skirt scrapes the ground but the front lip that it protects still has good clearance so it never touches the ground when I drive. These minor issues are not a huge bugger for me because I had a Celica with TRD USA lowering springs on TRD USA struts (~1.25" drop) and they exhibited the same behavior I described above with my current Sportlines. I used to have STI lowering springs which did not have these issues.

Regardless, the Sportlines still function great (I have a little more confidence turning in with these Sportlines than with the STI pinks). I had wider than stock tires (225mm) with the pinks and it was hard to break traction. Now I have 235 wide tires with my Sportlines. Due to the increased stiffness, it's slightly easier to drive on the edge of traction despite the wider tires and correct my steering. The Sportlines provide more feedback. I think it's a worthwhile mod.

This was INCREDIBLY helpful thanks so much! I could just upgrade my struts in time. Sounds like a great drop for a daily driver! Thanks so much for the help!

Man I'm very surprised you don't have any rubbing with the specs of your wheels. Mine are 18x9 +42, with 245/35/18 continental and they are damn close. Yours would be 3mm in, but I guess since you're running 17's that might be the difference. Do you have camber?