FR-S is too Low. A little help, please - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

ELLSSUU · 09-25-2018, 09:44 PM

Haha, different question than norm. I searched and haven't found the answer I'm looking for.

My son has a very low mileage '13 FR-S on TRD Springs. He recently moved to college where there are more elevation changes than where we live. Parking lots ingress/egress especially. He is complaining that the car is bottoming out often at school. My rough measuring is his car is sitting about 1.75 inches lower than stock.

Will installing Coilovers allow him to raise the car higher than current height (close to stock height)? Also will they allow him to lower it back to a similar height when he wants?

I'm looking at the Tein line and favoring the Flex Z's over the Street Basis and Basis models because I won't need to remove existing top hats. I need to be able to turn his car around quickly and would like to do it ourselves as a father-son learning project. Possibly Thanksgiving week when he comes home.

Suggestions welcome!

smg1138 · 09-25-2018, 10:13 PM

Generally speaking coilovers aren't good for raising ride height. Unless he absolutely needs to be able to adjust ride height, I'd recommend some kind of spring and strut combo. RCE Yellow springs paired with Bilstein B6 shocks are a great option IMO. That will still ride about 3/4" lower than stock but shouldn't bottom out in most cases. Or just find some stock springs somewhere if you want to be extra careful.

norcalpb · 09-25-2018, 11:04 PM

You guys should check out the Tein Flex A. It's a bit more expensive than the Tein Flex Z but it comes with hydraulic bumpstops built into each shock/strut. If hes driving on rough roads with harsh transitions it may be worth it.

I believe this chassis is a modified imprezza chassis that uses similar suspension setups which means hardly any suspension travel to begin with. Lowering below 20mm on this chassis is just asking for it on the street imo.

strat61caster · 09-26-2018, 12:04 AM

imo watch local classifieds or national for someone selling stock suspension, preferably off a 2017+ car

Cheap, will definitely raise the height and be more comfortable if it's the newer dampers.

Bonburner · 09-26-2018, 12:12 AM

why not just revert to the actual stock ones .. and consider larger tires/wheels to lift the car up a bit (mind you the speedo will be off by a few mph)?

churchx · 09-26-2018, 12:36 AM

smg1138: B6 are of stock height. B8 are for slight lowering.

strat61caster · 09-26-2018, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by churchx

smg1138: B6 are of stock height. B8 are for slight lowering.

The only difference between b6 and b8 is less droop travel on the b8, no difference to most buyers might as well save a few bucks, if you can get them since it seems like Bilstein flow to the US has ground to a halt.

tyler_win_photo · 09-26-2018, 11:56 AM

TRD springs shouldn't lower the car much more than an inch at most. Could it be that the strut is blown? Hence the extra drop and scraping.

Most coilovers at their max height are pretty close to stock height. Flex Z/A are great choices under 1k.

norcalpb · 09-26-2018, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by churchx

smg1138: B6 are of stock height. B8 are for slight lowering.

AFAIK the b6 can take up to 20mm of lowering.

DarkSideFRS · 09-26-2018, 12:39 PM

1.75 inch drop on TRD springs? that doesn't sound right at all.. i have TRD springs and I'm dropped 1" all around

finch1750 · 09-26-2018, 01:23 PM

Like others have said 1.75" seems too much for TRD springs. How are you measuring the drop?

x808drifter · 09-26-2018, 04:23 PM

Either you're measuring wrong, the springs aren't TRD, or there's something else wrong.

In all cases, go back to stock springs and get car aligned.
Check for dead shocks.

8RZ · 09-26-2018, 04:24 PM

Check that the previous owner didn't CUT the springs either.

smg1138 · 09-26-2018, 05:44 PM

OP you might want to check ride height again. Stock ride height is approximately 26.25" Front and 26.5" Rear with OEM sized tires.

09-25-2018, 09:44 PM	#1
ELLSSUU Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Drives: FR-S, 951, Venza, Accord, MDX Location: Louisiana Posts: 56 Thanks: 23 Thanked 42 Times in 22 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	FR-S is too Low. A little help, please Haha, different question than norm. I searched and haven't found the answer I'm looking for. My son has a very low mileage '13 FR-S on TRD Springs. He recently moved to college where there are more elevation changes than where we live. Parking lots ingress/egress especially. He is complaining that the car is bottoming out often at school. My rough measuring is his car is sitting about 1.75 inches lower than stock. Will installing Coilovers allow him to raise the car higher than current height (close to stock height)? Also will they allow him to lower it back to a similar height when he wants? I'm looking at the Tein line and favoring the Flex Z's over the Street Basis and Basis models because I won't need to remove existing top hats. I need to be able to turn his car around quickly and would like to do it ourselves as a father-son learning project. Possibly Thanksgiving week when he comes home. Suggestions welcome! Last edited by ELLSSUU; 09-25-2018 at 10:20 PM.

09-26-2018, 11:56 AM	#8
tyler_win_photo Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Drives: 2014 Scion FRS (Asphalt) Location: Redmond, WA Posts: 559 Thanks: 39 Thanked 173 Times in 143 Posts Mentioned: 6 Post(s) Tagged: 2 Thread(s)	TRD springs shouldn't lower the car much more than an inch at most. Could it be that the strut is blown? Hence the extra drop and scraping. Most coilovers at their max height are pretty close to stock height. Flex Z/A are great choices under 1k. __________________ AVO Stage 2 Turbo Build Thread https://wheelwell.com/tyler-nguyen-1...014-scion-fr-s

09-26-2018, 01:23 PM	#11
finch1750 Undisputed El Presidente Join Date: Jun 2012 Drives: Zenki 37J ZN6 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 11,593 Thanks: 9,403 Thanked 9,411 Times in 5,270 Posts Mentioned: 374 Post(s) Tagged: 33 Thread(s)	Like others have said 1.75" seems too much for TRD springs. How are you measuring the drop? __________________ "Just like how a strut bar somehow enables you to corner 20MPH faster around a cloverleaf on-ramp, when the reality is, you can do it already but you just don't have to balls to do it." - CSG David

09-25-2018, 10:13 PM	#2
smg1138 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Drives: 2013 Raven FR-S Location: Nashville Posts: 775 Thanks: 968 Thanked 213 Times in 136 Posts Mentioned: 3 Post(s) Tagged: 2 Thread(s)	Generally speaking coilovers aren't good for raising ride height. Unless he absolutely needs to be able to adjust ride height, I'd recommend some kind of spring and strut combo. RCE Yellow springs paired with Bilstein B6 shocks are a great option IMO. That will still ride about 3/4" lower than stock but shouldn't bottom out in most cases. Or just find some stock springs somewhere if you want to be extra careful.

09-25-2018, 11:04 PM	#3
norcalpb Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Drives: 2013 BRZ, 2023 Model 3 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 2,347 Thanks: 1,256 Thanked 904 Times in 591 Posts Mentioned: 15 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	You guys should check out the Tein Flex A. It's a bit more expensive than the Tein Flex Z but it comes with hydraulic bumpstops built into each shock/strut. If hes driving on rough roads with harsh transitions it may be worth it. I believe this chassis is a modified imprezza chassis that uses similar suspension setups which means hardly any suspension travel to begin with. Lowering below 20mm on this chassis is just asking for it on the street imo.

09-26-2018, 12:36 AM	#6
churchx Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Drives: 2014 GT86 Location: Latvia, Riga Posts: 4,336 Thanks: 698 Thanked 2,091 Times in 1,437 Posts Mentioned: 53 Post(s) Tagged: 1 Thread(s)	smg1138: B6 are of stock height. B8 are for slight lowering.

09-26-2018, 12:39 PM	#10
DarkSideFRS Banned Join Date: Apr 2017 Drives: 2013 pearl white FR-S Location: Socal Posts: 536 Thanks: 39 Thanked 191 Times in 124 Posts Mentioned: 3 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	1.75 inch drop on TRD springs? that doesn't sound right at all.. i have TRD springs and I'm dropped 1" all around

09-26-2018, 04:23 PM	#12
x808drifter LMGTFY Join Date: Mar 2016 Drives: 13 FRS, 91 Miata Location: Lava Town, HI Posts: 2,776 Thanks: 5,561 Thanked 3,650 Times in 1,625 Posts Mentioned: 15 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Either you're measuring wrong, the springs aren't TRD, or there's something else wrong. In all cases, go back to stock springs and get car aligned. Check for dead shocks.

09-26-2018, 05:44 PM	#14
smg1138 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Drives: 2013 Raven FR-S Location: Nashville Posts: 775 Thanks: 968 Thanked 213 Times in 136 Posts Mentioned: 3 Post(s) Tagged: 2 Thread(s)	OP you might want to check ride height again. Stock ride height is approximately 26.25" Front and 26.5" Rear with OEM sized tires.

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