Winter climate...suspension options?

[aghuman]

I want to lower my car, only thing stopping me is that I live in an area that has snow up to 5 months a year. I thought about springs but coilovers seem to be the proper route to go especially since they are adjustable. To my understanding however, every time I would want to adjust ride height, I would have to get alignment done again which defeats the purpose of me changing out the tires myself every season. Also from my limited knowledge on the topic, aftermarket springs put a lot more pressure on stock shocks and wear them out quicker so Id have to replace them as well.

My main goal is eliminating the monster stuck stance while also hugging the road a little more tightly for spirited driving.

My only concern is ride height for winter.

Any suggestions folks?

Thanks

[SpeedyJay]

You don't have much of a choice, we are in the same boat here. You can either:

Get lowering springs that are not to low (RCE) and if you want Koni shocks to it properly.

Or get coilovers (make sure they have a nice corrosion resistant body) and raise it up in the winter. Every time you mess with the ride height you should get an alignment.

You can also keep your stock suspension and when the winter comes remove the coilovers and install your stock suspension. You will still need a front end alignment when doing this.

[Suberman]

If you are very careful about re-setting ride height each time a fresh alignment should be unnecessary.

Picking a particular spot on the wheel arch to measure 90 degrees down to the garage floor (if flat and level) should get you there.

To succeed you would need to spend a lot of time ensuring those spring perches were exactly right before setting the grub screws or lock collars.

Corner weighting requires similar fastidious adjustment of coilovers, for example.

Depends if your time is cheaper than the alignment fee.

[aghuman]

Originally Posted by SpeedyJay

You don't have much of a choice, we are in the same boat here. You can either:

Get lowering springs that are not to low (RCE) and if you want Koni shocks to it properly.

Or get coilovers (make sure they have a nice corrosion resistant body) and raise it up in the winter. Every time you mess with the ride height you should get an alignment.

You can also keep your stock suspension and when the winter comes remove the coilovers and install your stock suspension. You will still need a front end alignment when doing this.

I'm all for gaining experience and learning how to make suspension adjustments on this car. I wonder if making coilover adjustments would be easier than swapping stock/aftermarket springs each season or is it the other way around? Would shocks work well with stock springs or is it tuned more for aftermarket springs? If you don't mind me asking, which route did you fellow Canadians take?

I apologize in advance if some of these questions is beginner stuff.

[SpeedyJay]

No worries, we were all beginners at one point. Personally I don't like coilovers in the winter. They are often to stiff and can seize up with heavy corrosion (Especially in Toronto's salty winters). I've also seen quite a few blown coilovers due to the extremely bumpy winter roads.

For me I would go with a lowering spring that is 20mm lower. That way you don't have worry about raising and lowering it. 20mm lower would be fine for winter. Use the stock struts till they blow, then buy some Koni's.

My plan is to buy RSR coilovers and then just don't drive in the winter.. But that's just me.

[neurokinetik]

As somebody who has driven on snow tires with my summer coilovers still on the car: Highly NOT RECOMMENDED. On dry pavement the car feels like it is skating constantly. Wet is even worse. The stiff springs combined with the squishy, squirmy tires is just an awful combination.

For the winter, use stock suspension, and put the coilovers back on in the spring. It's not that difficult, and if you mark your settings and take some notes, you can get it back together with pretty much the same alignment you took it off with.

[aghuman]

Originally Posted by neurokinetik

As somebody who has driven on snow tires with my summer coilovers still on the car: Highly NOT RECOMMENDED. On dry pavement the car feels like it is skating constantly. Wet is even worse. The stiff springs combined with the squishy, squirmy tires is just an awful combination.

For the winter, use stock suspension, and put the coilovers back on in the spring. It's not that difficult, and if you mark your settings and take some notes, you can get it back together with pretty much the same alignment you took it off with.

Interesting note, I wonder if the same would apply if I went with lowering springs that brought it down an inch or so as a previous poster had recommended. My understanding is that although lowering springs make the car a tad stiffer, its usually not as stiff as coils so I could avoid that winter issue of it stiffening up as you said.

[aghuman]

Additionally, how much better would the Koni shocks fare in winter? Would I still end up with the same issue as neurokinetic?

[amg]

Hey aghuman, what did you do in the end? Did whatever you tried work out?...2+ years later...lol

[wparsons]

I've had no issues running Swift sport springs all year for a couple years now. I also run my summer alignment in the winter, which makes it a little loose for the faint of heart, but no issues.

I wouldn't suggest swapping suspension parts without an alignment though, toe will be out from a ride height change, especially in the rear, even without changing camber settings if you have adjustable parts.