Lowering my FR-S - Guidance needed
 

Hey everybody,

I am new to the forums and this is my first post. I bought a 2015 FR-S a few months ago and I would like to lower it. I am looking for a clean simple sleek look. I considered getting the TRD lowering springs but I am not really sold on them because they do not lower the car by much (correct me if I am wrong). I attached some pics of my ride as well.

My current rims are the Enkei Raijin (link below), 18's w/ offset
http://enkei.com/shop/tuning/raijin/

Please share what you have, send me pics of your fitment w/e specs (I would greatly appreciate this), and any suggestions/opinions are welcome.

Thanks everyone,

Roger

Lowering your car 1 inch is going to be plenty with regards to wheel to fender gap. I'd be surprised if you could fit 3 fingers between the tire and fender afterwards.

RSR Super Down springs
1.5 inch (1.4 on paper) drop.
120,000 miles, all season in Canada driving on stock dampers with zero issues.
Highly recommended. The FIT is great.
http://www.ft86speedfactory.com/rs-r...l#.W2R5ynmWwdU

How low do you want to go? Close up the gap? tuck tire? tuck nuts?

Howdy fellow Northern Californian and welcome to the boards. I don't post much here, But I did back on the MR2 forums. Let me be the first of many to suggest the search feature, the most powerful tool of any auto forum.

Next. What are your goals? Is it all about the looks or the performance? We don't judge, but we need to know what compromises you are willing to accept. Ok, some will judge.

What is your budget? A set of springs may set you back $300, but a good set of coilovers are closer to $2K to the sky's the limit.

There is a reason a good set of lowering springs will only get you an inch or less drop. Anything past that is going to put you into coil bind, bad geometry and riding on the bump stops. In just springs, you will find people here liking the RCE Yellows, Eibach Pro Kit and the TRD's.

As for coilovers, that is a novel it itself. Good luck. Happy seaching.

@Gunman
Close up the gap mostly. There can be a finger or 2 space between the tire to fender.

@Tcoat
Thank you. The fitment you have looks awesome. I'll get these looked into.

Appreciate it man!

Yes the FIT is good.
You could run some spacers if you want the wheels a bit more flush but I like the FIT more inside the wheel wells for driving on snow and gravel without throwing crap up the sides of the car.

Welcome to the forum.


After reading most of the spring threads on this forum, IMO 1" (or less) drop springs are the best to pair with stock shocks.


There are a few answers about springs with a drop lower than 1" and the increase of deterioration for stock shocks in relation to hard driving characteristics. Like: Track, AutoX, & canyon runs.

Some guys DD springs lower than 1" and report no issues. (I imagine that they are driving less aggressively compared to guys that have experienced issues quickly, but I have no idea)


If you want lower that 1" & budget allows: Upgrading the shocks to Koni's or Bilstein in addition to getting springs lower than 1" would be a good option.


I would look into RCE yellow, TRD, or Eibach pro kit springs.


I have had Eibach prokit springs and stock shocks for almost 70k miles now. I drive my car hard. The shocks are only starting to feel like they have some wear. My commute is 25 miles of twisting rural highway devoid of any other vehicles and full of potholes. I like the prokit springs because: The ride is a little stiffer but still comfortable for DD, they were $235 shipped, the car does not look TOO high anymore, and I don't scrape my bumper on even the steepest driveways.


IMO, the gap between my tire and fender (see sig) is acceptable now to the eye compared to stock. This was really all I was trying to fix.

GOOD LUCK! :cheers:

Well, hello, Rawdgir and I'll add my welcome - :clap:

I think your car looks fine the way it is and lowering it isn't going to help a daily driver much at all.

When is the last time someone said to you "your car needs to be lowered, it would look better?"

OR

"your car could take corners faster if it were lowered."

OR

"if lowered, you would be able to feel the road better if you could feel each and every pebble in the road?"


No, my FR-S isn't lowered - it rides rough enough the way it is and I already have a hard enough time getting in and out of it.


humfrz - has spoke - :D

Honestly, ALL THE TIME! Before my car was lowered my friends had JOKES! But I have owned a dozen lowered cars, so it's expected... I also have ripped the bumper off of a few... So this time only went for a super mild 1" drop. You might say that I am learning... :popcorn:

Welp, I'm not a stranger to lowering cars - back-in-my-day, when we lowered a car - we LOWERED it!


:D


humfrz

I do not track nor canyon carve but I do drive through Detroit a lot! If the stock dampers can take that they can take anything.


At my 1.5ish inch drop the biggest issue I face is speed bumps and slopped driveways.

OK, I got the picture - but, my question is, what were you doing down there?

:eyebulge:


humfrz

Just curious, how are you measuring that 1.5" drop? I'm currently sitting at 13" from hub center to fender and I can't figure out how much I'm dropped from stock. I think it's either a 1.5" or 1.75" drop, but I've read conflicting info on the stock ride height. I gave up measuring ground to fender since tire sizes and camber can affect that so much.

Working. Mostly sitting through meetings that had little or nothing to do with me but I had to be there anyway.
When we were building the new plant I was there twice a week to monitor the new equipment being built. The border guards were starting to ask more questions.

I'm sorry - I'll go take my meds - :(


humfrz

Here is a pic of a car on Eibach Pro-kit with the ~1 inch drop:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1366206279

Here is one on the Eibach Sportlines with the 1.5 inch drop:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8385/8...631cba89_b.jpg

I'm partial to the 1.5 inch drop in terms of looks but I run coilovers with only a 1 inch drop due to the need to get over some tall speed bumps on the way to work and anything lower than this scrapes. It's also been suggested anything more than a 1.2 inch drop may negatively impact suspension geometry and I track and autocross so....

I measured from the bottom of the stock mud guard (all Canadian ones have them) and compared to a couple at stock height. It was in the showroom so the floor was smooth and level. The front is about 1.25 and the rear 1.5. I think the spec sheet say something like 1.2 and 1.4 so I am within the margin of error to meet those.

The 1.5 is OK for geometry but I wouldn't want to go any more.

The rce yellows are a good choice but if your commute has a lot of dips and potholes you are gonna be getting launched out of your seat daily. Kind of a pain for a DD imo. Just depends on condition of the roads around there. I went back to stock 2017 springs and it's a actually a huge difference in ride quality despite what a lot of people say. Smaller high frequency bumps are fine but potholes, train tracks, dips on the freeway (get your shit together caltrans) are going to dictate your driving experience more than you'd think.

RCE are not progressive springs like the TRD or Eibach prokit. One of the reasons I went with prokit springs.

That's a good point, but progressive springs are going to matter more for the littler bumps not the big dips in the road. I think its the 250 lb/in front springs on the RCEs that give it a bit of harshness on bumps. Usually you feel that more in the rear springs on this platform.

1" or so drop springs. Take a look at the Hotchkis, I really like them.

Sorry for the late reply guys, busy weekend.

I am really glad to have made this post. I have a good idea of what I want to get and I am leaning towards a 1.2 or 1.3 inch drop all around. As soon as I make the changes I'll post some before and after pics (It may be a while since I am going on vacation early next month and can't throw money around right now).

Thanks everyone for your response/input. Really appreciate it.

I live in your area and have a 2018 BRZ with HR springs that lower about 1.5"

@mPlasticDesign.com

Pics?

@mPlasticDesign.com

Pics?

Vitals link above has more info on my install and impressions....

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/atta...9&d=1533575859