Best option for a slight drop
 

Do I just save for coils or can I get away with STI/ Tein springs?

I have the Aero bodykit with a front splitter and am currently 11.5mm from the ground on stock ride height with 18” wheels on 235 tyres. I have an angled driveway and would scrape on an angle every day when I was on my 17” wheels so I believe anything over 15mm will be too low for me.

I daily drive, my commute is fairly bumpy in one area (not an issue on my current height but I had to be careful when I was on the smaller wheels). It’s hard for me to justify the cost of coils unless it’s REALLY worth it as I don’t care to mess around with camber. I just want to close the fender gap slightly and retain a similar ride quality

Any recommendations on what I do?

Best option for a slight drop
 

Do I just save for coils or can I get away with STI/ Tein springs?

I have the Aero bodykit with a front splitter and am currently 11.5mm from the ground on stock ride height with 18” wheels on 235 tyres. I have an angled driveway and would scrape on an angle every day when I was on my 17” wheels so I believe a drop greater than 15mm will be too low for me.

I daily drive, my commute is fairly bumpy in one area (not an issue on my current height but I had to be careful when I was on the smaller wheels). It’s hard for me to justify the cost of coils unless it’s REALLY worth it as I don’t care to mess around with camber. I just want to close the fender gap slightly and retain a similar ride quality

Any recommendations on what I do?

Racecomp Engineering Yellows would be a good option but they're a 20mm drop. I'm not aware of any springs that offer less of a drop than that. Maybe coilovers set really high would work if cost isn't an issue.

STi and RSR Down are both 5-10mm drops while being stiffer.

RSR SUPER Down takes you lower than an inch I believe.

I’ve seen good things about RCE’s but I think 20 will be too much. The aero front lip alone visually lowers the car about 20-25mm from stock and I have a splitter in addition to that.

I know JDM sti springs and Tein are 15mm I just haven’t heard much about how they handle on stock struts or whether there’s a better alternative.

At this stage I would say I’m on a budget. It’s hard for me to justify paying 4x the cost of most springs when I wouldn’t really be utilising everything coils offer aside from ride height

If you're not looking for aggressively spec'd wheels, springs and struts work fine for cheap (especially if you're installing them yourself). Some specs require coilovers to fit.

I commute in my 86 on Tein Flex Zs and haven't had any harsh ride issues BUT I only dropped the car an inch.

I just installed Tein Flex A and lowered about an 1". Similar report as @Wally86 as to ride quality.

11.5mm. I`m sure it`s 11.5cm;) 100mm is legal minimum up here. i`m on MCA coils and lowered about 30mm. Sure i still have 110mm+ to the lip. I can check when the sun comes up. I`ll give you the wheel center to wheel arch measurement(355mm F 350mm R measured at the top center)

Thanks,
Yea the body kit visually lowers the car a lot. The 11.5 measurement was from the front of my splitter, if I go off the side of my splitter it’s 10.5mm. This is my ride height after installing larger wheels. On 17” wheels I would scrape leaving my driveway and entering work on a daily basis. That’s why I’m hesitant to go beyond 15mm

All my suspension components are completely stock
https://i.ibb.co/7Y2N5Fp/A4-B698-EF-...-C75011-DC.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/31X8qcd/AE958-F2-B-...89-E98-D79.jpg

Height on 17” wheels (about 5mm lower than what the 18” raises me by) still stock suspension with 225/45 tyres. This height was fine for 90% of my daily driving but there were the occasional steep ramps/ dips I would scrape.
1inch drop from where I’m at would put me around 20mm lower than this picture which I think will just be that little bit too low for the repetitive scraping to start causing damage to my bumper over time
https://i.ibb.co/hYxKJ5v/3-D522-F95-...A76-F822-B.jpg

Drive more aggressively and wear your tread off. Replace the tires with smaller OD tires.

My Lip is 120mm 10.2cm clearence and the car is low enough on 18" x 9" rims with 255 35 18 Zestino Gredge 07rs

Do the MY17+ BRZ’s sit higher than the 13+ 86’s from factory?
I’m visually at the same height as you with no suspension mods, just my front lip and splitter….

https://i.ibb.co/XL7Gb74/3717-D0-F0-...E727-BB323.jpg

Mines a Ts its factory lowered on the sti springs and sachs shocks to start with. I am now on Mca coilovers lowered 30-35mm. Measure upwards from the wheel center to guards lip. Mine is 355mmFront and 350mm rear. So mine may have a different rake angle. Mine is all recommended settings by Gazoo racing car suspension builders MCA (Mike Cootes Australia). And it handles f**king perfect street or track with some simple turns of a dial.

From what I've seen for minimal drop, I'd say best bet is JDM STI springs or RSR Downs (very mild 15mm drop), followed by Racecomp Springs (mild 20mm drop).