How much did you lower your car?
 

Hey guys I am about to lower my BRZ. I've never lowered a car before so this is all new to me.
I am doing research and I need some opinions and advice on whether or not I would be fine with just purchasing a set of lowering springs or should I spend the extra money and purchase an entire coilover set?
(Note: I don't want to slam it but lower it maybe an inch if that. I just want to get rid of the gap between the fender and tire.)
As of right now I just joy ride but track days will be in the future. If you could help guide me that would be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance, Lane.

Start with TRD springs for an inch.

In my eyes triplets are already low enough as stock for state of average roads one sees when daily driving. Do you really need to lower? Good instructor or more seat time in track will make you faster way more then lowering of car (or any mod of any type).

The Eibach Pro-Kits are the same as the US market TRD springs, but I don't know if that's easier to get in Europe or not.

If you're staying on the stock struts, I'd stick to around an inch (25mm) or less for lowering springs. Trim (or replace) the bump stops. These cars have very little travel before the bump stops, so there's definitely a point of diminishing returns.

I went with the Racecomp Engineering springs - they're 20mm, and have higher spring rates than the Eibach/TRD springs. Still very comfortable.

With coilovers, you get what you pay for, more or less. They'll usually have more aggressive damping and more aggressive springs rates. The ride will be firmer. Well-matched dampers/coils shouldn't feel harsh, though. Some folks associate the two together, but they're not the same thing. Tein, Bilstein, KW, Ohlins, etc... are all popular options for these cars.

You'll also want to get an alignment. There's no camber adjustment from the factory, so camber bolts/plates for the front and lower control arms in the rear may be necessary beyond a certain height. The rears will gain negative camber as you lower it. The fronts will as well, but not nearly as much. Generally speaking, you want the front camber to be equal to or greater than the rear camber. Beyond -3 degrees will probably result in some uneven tire wear for daily drivers. Your mileage may vary. People can point you to a good starting alignment, but there'll be some fine-tuning based on driving style, which tracks you're on, tire compound, tire wear, etc...

The following threads may be illuminating:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8739
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45554

I started out with Swift springs when i first lowered my car, but eventually swapped them out with Tein Flex Z coilovers. if i had to do it over again, i'd have gone straight to adjustable coilovers because of the adjustable ride height, the adjustable damping (which i actually use) and the improved ride quality/performance.

Agreed with shiumai. I just swapped my lowering springs and stock struts to coilovers and the difference in ride and performance is night and day. Plus, lowering springs destroy the stock struts fairly quickly. My 25mm lowering springs shot the stock struts after 15,000 miles.

I would go for a set of coilovers that way you can adjust the height to your liking. Not sure if you're able to get some Tein Flex Z's in Germany though. If you can, great value for the performance you get out of them.

BTW- I'm only lowered half an inch and from my last alignment I was able to dial in -2.0 in front (flex z's come with front camber plates) and the rears were right at -2.2.

Eibach Sport Line -35mm all round.
Eibach spacers 25mm (r) and 20mm (f).

At the moment I'm happy with the look however will go with coilovers once I have decided on the rims.

I'm going to lower mine 15mm.

The car is already low and i find lowering it 20-25mm is too much for daily because you'll begin hitting things and will have to be super careful with driveways.

I have the eibach 1.4 drop springs on my car, They handle Chicago roads completely fine. I do not have a lip though, if you are going to have one it may become a small issue with certain areas. Ride is minutely firmer but easy to deal with. Springs are a simple choice for look if you do not want to invest in decent coilovers, I would say the handling improved, but honestly that happened more so from the 245 tires i put on the car more so then the springs.

Had mine dropped 1" on B14's imo it was too low, going to shoot for around 3/4" soon. IMO 15mm-20mm seems to be the sweet spot.

Also thought the lowering was no big deal in the looks department, raised mine back to stock height and thought it was broken after setting it on the ground. The clearance is nice though.

I had mine lowered 3 inches or so last summer, and I was always fiddling with slightly different ride heights and damping settings. Said fuck that, sold my coils, bought springs, wheels and LCAs for what I sold them for. Set it and forget it.

On RSR Superlows. Ride is fine (not great, but fine) for a DD. I have over 60K miles in a year and a half and have never has a strut issue. Car is just street driven. Closes the gap up just right for my tastes.

Looks so good in that blue.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/45619895/kwv18.jpg

This is 20mm on KWv1 (the stainless steel version of the ST that people here rate) from Germany where the best coilovers come from. That's the maximum height; I can go another 30mm down if I wanted to.

As a bonus I've learned two new german words from the box: Edelstahl (weil Edelstahl nicht rostet), and naturlich Gewindefahrwerke. ;)

Only reason for lowering springs is to save money, whereas coilovers can make the car better. These are quite firm, but far more composed than the standard dampers, which are always going to be compromised running at a lower height. But even if your only concern is looks you can adjust the height with coilovers. I think a lot of people with lowering springs end up disappointed with the amount of low. Factor in that you may be shortening the life of your dampers and may have to buy new ones anyway you may as well buy a decent package from day one. IMO.