TRD lowering springs

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Chimera

Gotta say goodness I hate snow.. Those pictures are the stuff of my nightmares.

Welcome to our November to March

That was just the first heavy fall of the year. There was at least 10 times that by the end of the winter.

[NepeanFR-S]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I drove all winter on my RS*Rs and they are even lower than the TRDs.
Never had one single issue with the deep snow.


Oh and the springs can be bought for $250 so the installed price is highway robbery (except you are now warrantied)

I do rotating shiftwork, which has me doing my commute before the snow removal crews come out (even the Queensway through Ottawa must wait until after 5am before it gets scraped). There have been a couple of drives in 15-20cm of snow where I found it very challenging to keep my FR-S moving...and in a forward direction. If my car was lowered by as little as 1 inch I doubt I would have reached my destination without a tow. It's a shame because I'd REALLY like to lose some of that wheel gap before I consider some nice aftermarket wheels.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by NepeanFR-S

I do rotating shiftwork, which has me doing my commute before the snow removal crews come out (even the Queensway through Ottawa must wait until after 5am before it gets scraped). There have been a couple of drives in 15-20cm of snow where I found it very challenging to keep my FR-S moving...and in a forward direction. If my car was lowered by as little as 1 inch I doubt I would have reached my destination without a tow. It's a shame because I'd REALLY like to lose some of that wheel gap before I consider some nice aftermarket wheels.

I do almost 7000kms a month, in the wee hours of the morning, on the 401, in the snow belt but with the snows on never got stuck once. Had a blast driving past AWDs that were stuck solid.

[NepeanFR-S]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I do almost 7000kms a month, in the wee hours of the morning, on the 401, in the snow belt but with the snows on never got stuck once. Had a blast driving past AWDs that were stuck solid.

If you have driven your FR-S in deep snow I fail to understand how your experience could have differed much from my own. Unmodified, the FR-S has 12.5cm of clearance. Add 20cm of unplowed snow to the road and you're boating through the powder. Not fun while attempting to maintain something approaching highway speeds.

Another issue I experienced with my FR-S in the deep stuff was an alarming tendency to follow tracks in deep snow where a vehicle had changed lanes. It was often difficult to keep the car pointed where I wanted. Not specific to the FR-S I'm sure. Imagine this would be related to weight as much as clearance.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by NepeanFR-S

If you have driven your FR-S in deep snow I fail to understand how your experience could have differed much from my own. Unmodified, the FR-S has 12.5cm of clearance. Add 20cm of unplowed snow to the road and you're boating through the powder. Not fun while attempting to maintain something approaching highway speeds.

Another issue I experienced with my FR-S in the deep stuff was an alarming tendency to follow tracks in deep snow where a vehicle had changed lanes. It was often difficult to keep the car pointed where I wanted. Not specific to the FR-S I'm sure. Imagine this would be related to weight as much as clearance.

I did experience the tracking a couple of times.
I think the weight may play a part with wading through the deep stuff. Sort of just sit on top and paddle your way through.
The first heavy snowfall we had was 30 cms and I plowed through our untouched street (4am and I was the first) like it wasn't there. Now of course the highway speed was greatly reduced but that would be the prudent thing to do regardless of the type of car.
Maybe different snow tires account for our conflicting experiences?

[Chimera]

Perhaps road conditions under the fresh snow too?

[D_Thissen]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I did experience the tracking a couple of times.
I think the weight may play a part with wading through the deep stuff. Sort of just sit on top and paddle your way through.
The first heavy snowfall we had was 30 cms and I plowed through our untouched street (4am and I was the first) like it wasn't there. Now of course the highway speed was greatly reduced but that would be the prudent thing to do regardless of the type of car.
Maybe different snow tires account for our conflicting experiences?

Agreed. I spent two winters with my frs in Thunder Bay. Never got stuck once.

[NepeanFR-S]

Not sure why our experiences in deep stuff would differ. I drive with confidence on slippery roads with my Yokohama Ice Guard tires. No idea how they stack up to other winter tires. Have REALLY enjoyed winter driving in my first RWD otherwise.

Wish I could be convinced on the drop. TRD springs are the way I'd go because of the warranty business and reservations about the longevity of coil-overs in the salt bath my car is subjected to 5 months of the year.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Chimera

Perhaps road conditions under the fresh snow too?

Nah, when the snow is that deep then the road surface condition can be classed as "nonexistent".
I went for over 2 months without even seeing the road surface on my street since it is a secondary residential road and gets plowed about 5 times a winter regardless of how much snow has fallen.

[lonborghini]

I put 11,000 miles on my Continental Extreme Winter Contact snow tires this past Winter. Never got stuck as the hot lava melts the snow as i go. The pair that were on the rear are too worn to go another Winter. Good thing i'll be in California this Winter. Cheers!

[Devante]

Even warrantied, 1 year doesn't seem long at all.

By the way, does lowering the car a little (enough to make the wheels sit inside the wheel wells perfectly) have any negative effects on the car?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Devante

Even warrantied, 1 year doesn't seem long at all.

By the way, does lowering the car a little (enough to make the wheels sit inside the wheel wells perfectly) have any negative effects on the car?

None on mine. In fact they have all been positive.

[MJones_RB]

Just the camber...

[bdizz]

I'm running the TRD lowering springs on my 2015. The dealer originally quoted me $660 in labor for what they claim is a 6hr install. (I did not pay that, btw.)

I've only had them for five days, but so far I'm very happy with mine.