lowering the car

[jarviz]

I noticed a lot of people have dropped their car just an inch, but it looks like that one inch makes a bigggg difference (that's what she said!) anyways. I live in NYC and have an abundance of potholes and super steep ramps going in and out of parking lots/driveways/etc. This cars already super low as it is and I'm wondering if lowering the car in an area like NYC could cause more problems than it's worth.

Has lowering it an inch actually been a bad idea for anybody?

[jadewbj]

When I dropped mine on Tein Flex I only lowered it up to the preloaded spring on the coil. Not too agressive. I think It dropped it about an inch or an inch and a half.

I live in a development that you need to drive on a cobblestone or brick paved road to get to so not even at the least. I have not had any issues so far.

[i_4got]

Originally Posted by jadewbj

When I dropped mine on Tein Flex I only lowered it up to the preloaded spring on the coil. Not too agressive. I think It dropped it about an inch or an inch and a half.

I live in a development that you need to drive on a cobblestone or brick paved road to get to so not even at the least. I have not had any issues so far.

OK, so I'm gonna ask an uber noob question: How do you lower your car? I know I need to take it to a shop or garage that does that, but what do I need to do? I believe I need to buy springs or coils first, right? How do I know which ones are good? And is the level of "drop" determined by the springs/coils, or do I just buy some and tell the shop how low I want my ride to go?

[kombatlion]

I was thingking About droping mine w/ springs but I dont know if I should because the car feels perfect right now. I have not heard anyone saying how nice is the ride now that they drop. Is more bumpy for a dayly driver? void the warranty? those are the questions I have...

[jadewbj]

Well that is a loaded question. It depends on how low you want to go and your goal for the car. I went with coils because I wanted to be able to set the ride height exactly where I wanted it and I wanted to to be able to adjust camber in the front and how hard the ride is.

I have never found a spring that dropped a car evenly, another reason I went with coils.

If you are just looking to take up some of the wheel gap you could go with springs and new shocks. I would not do springs without getting upgraded shocks, you will just end up paying to have them replaced in a few years anyway.

If you do get coils you can tell the shop who is installing it what you want the ride height to be.

[jadewbj]

Originally Posted by kombatlion

I was thingking About droping mine w/ springs but I dont know if I should because the car feels perfect right now. I have not heard anyone saying how nice is the ride now that they drop. Is more bumpy for a dayly driver? void the warranty? those are the questions I have...

Honestly I can say that my car rides just as comfortably as it did before I dropped it.

If you factor in that I also reduced the sidewall of my tires by gong to 18's that is pretty impressive. Other than being lower and worrying about inclines a little the car is just better. No hassle.

The only warranty you void is on your suspension which you have replaced and is warrantied by the maker of your suspension. I mean if you broke a control arm or tie rod they probably would not warranty it but they could be cheaply replaced with better aftermarket parts.

[Spartan65]

Has anyone really started making replacement shocks yet? ie Koni, Bilstein, KYB

[Books]

Originally Posted by i_4got

OK, so I'm gonna ask an uber noob question: How do you lower your car? I know I need to take it to a shop or garage that does that, but what do I need to do? I believe I need to buy springs or coils first, right? How do I know which ones are good? And is the level of "drop" determined by the springs/coils, or do I just buy some and tell the shop how low I want my ride to go?

We have a wonderful Suspension/Chassis/Brake section here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59

Here's some direct links to their stickies:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9936
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8739
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3002 <- This one supposedly answers OP's question. (i'm reading it myself right now)

I am new too but in general, you install new springs or coilovers either by yourself or through a shop. The springs you get determine your height or you can get adjustable ones.

[jadewbj]

Originally Posted by Spartan65

Has anyone really started making replacement shocks yet? ie Koni, Bilstein, KYB

Not sure, but even though Hotchkis stage 1 says that it was designed to work with factory shocks I am weary. In all my 15 years doing this I have always seen factory shocks be an issue when the car is lowered.

[Spartan65]

Originally Posted by jadewbj

Not sure, but even though Hotchkis stage 1 says that it was designed to work with factory shocks I am weary. In all my 15 years doing this I have always seen factory shocks be an issue when the car is lowered.

I believe it if John Hotchkiss says it is, I had Hotchkiss on my 86 Monte Carlo SS. But I wonder if Koni and Bilstein especially are going to jump into the fray. I know our OEM are a SHOWA product which is no slouch, but will they even make an upgraded version?
I see a lot of BRZ guys are buying the FR-S rear springs for the rear spring rate, so I am apprehensive to take mine out for the sheer matter of lowering the car. What I would like is the same rates with an adjustable damping availability.

[Rayme]

Originally Posted by jadewbj

Not sure, but even though Hotchkis stage 1 says that it was designed to work with factory shocks I am weary. In all my 15 years doing this I have always seen factory shocks be an issue when the car is lowered.

I will second that, using factory shocks will dramatically reduce the stock strut/shock life. I lowered many cars on springs only and they all failed in the following months / weeks.

For that reason I highly recommend going aftermarket with shocks and make sure your alignment is still within reasonable specs, or your tires will wear quicker. (camber bolts can usually do the job for just a 1" drop).

Cliff note: Dropping a car just 1" will reduce life of all the related componenents, unless done right

[i_4got]

Originally Posted by ottopilot

I will second that, using factory shocks will dramatically reduce the stock strut/shock life. I lowered many cars on springs only and they all failed in the following months / weeks.

For that reason I highly recommend going aftermarket with shocks and make sure your alignment is still within reasonable specs, or your tires will wear quicker. (camber bolts can usually do the job for just a 1" drop).

Cliff note: Dropping a car just 1" will reduce life of all the related componenents, unless done right

Any specific recommendations? I don't know any of this technical stuff. All I know is I want to lower my ride to close the tire gap, but also don't want to sacrifice the smoothness of the ride when I drive.

[gmookher]

I'm on the h&r Super sports and loving it on track, if you want grip. For drift try eibach. I think the hotchkis front rate sounds soft to me prolly fine daily driver. no shocks avail yet. I will be going coilovers and my barely used h&r coils will be up for sale soon too. drop of 1" is a minimum, having gone a bit lower I have no regrets. Havent blown my shocks...yet. I think the firmer rate of the h&r helps reduce load on compression on the oe shocks. most shock shim and seal failure is compression related, not rebound.

[jadewbj]

Originally Posted by i_4got

Any specific recommendations? I don't know any of this technical stuff. All I know is I want to lower my ride to close the tire gap, but also don't want to sacrifice the smoothness of the ride when I drive.

I am 100% happy with my Tein Flex. They give you the ability to adjust the front camber and set the harshness of the ride you want. They feel great and the drop is perfect. They are not the cheapest out there but not the most expensive either.

Labor installing coils should be cheaper also since they don't need to remove and swap out the springs. You just remove the factory parts and replace with new.

Whatever you do make sure you get a good alignment after what ever suspension you do.