lowering my car

[Black97GST]

hey everyone,

I just purchased some 18" Chrome wheels for my 97 GST and I was wondering if i could lower it any without the tires rubbing?? If so how much, and what can you do to stop rubbing??

thanks everyone,
Steve

[99JLEclipse]

You can lower it and be fine depending on what series tires you have. But you should be fine

[gthompson97]

you could lower it at least 3" without it rubbing, if you're talking about rubbing when you turn the wheel, that won't happen cause the eclipses have such big wheel-wells but you could only go so low before you rub the top of the tire on the fender. but you might have some other issues with the shocks and tire wear and that shit like any other car that's lowered.

[Black97GST]

the tires im getting are 215/45HR18. so i could lower it like 1 or 2 inches and be fine? and lowering springs are best right? rather than coil overs?

[Black97GST]

anyone know which is better? Lowering springs, or Coilovers?

[Raz_Kaz]

coilovers.....uhh better for what?

[---]

I'd suggest buying shocks and struts with the springs...if not you'll wear the shit out of your shocks and end up having to replace them quickly.

[dsmodder]

how much money are you dealing with

[bighauns]

struts!!!! You need new ones. You cant just put some springs on your car, you will destroy your struts. Which isnt a huge deal if you plan on getting new ones in the near future anyway. consider the koni sports, there are a solid strut and will help your performance as well. I have had good experience.

[kjewer1]

Yes, do the shocks at the same time as the springs, why do it twice. I would lower as little as possible unless you want to do upper mounts. 2Gs have ridiculously little suspension travel up front, and with a 2" drop you will be on the bumpstops. Most people never even know it. Niether did I until I did some circle track racing Upper mounts from GC are 100 front, 100 rear.

Coilovers, even just sleeve/spring kits, are superior to typical lowering springs. The obviosu reason is height adjsutability. You can fine tune it to the tires you have, the roads you drive on, the type of driving or racing you do, and the look you are after. But by far the biggest advantage is you can tailer the spring rate to what you want the car to do. A company like GC can recomend rates after you let them know what you are going to do with the car. They recomended 450/300 to me, I wanted more rear spring to make the car more nuetral, and went with 450/325. Etc. FWD rates will differ since the rear is lighter, but you get the idea. DO some research on the rates. Do it once, do it right.

The shocks need to match the springs. Anything up to 450/300 Tockico Illuminas will do. Any higher and I would suggest the Konis. AGXs are typically avoided like the plague on 2Gs, depsite their popularity on 1Gs, becuase of shock lenth/travel issues. But I hear they fixed this problem, who knows. Either wya there is very little info on what rates they can handle.

When talking about suspension, remember that the springs to the "suspending," and the shocks are there to control the springs (for the most part). They have to match, and they together have to match the car and its intended use. Get this right, and you'll end up happy. My GC/Illumina setup has done well for me over the last ~4 years.

Also keep in mind the lower you go, the more spring you need to stay off the bumpstops (and ground). The main problem with lowering springs is they are typically too soft for the drop they provide, and are most often used with non-adjustable shocks which just dont have enough compression to make up for the springs short comings.

[yellowspyder]

I also have 18 inch wheels on my eclipse. I have my car lowered around 2 1/2 inches or so. I would agree gsxracer and say go coilovers for their adjustibility if nothing else. If you gonna go lower and use coilovers you are definitly going to want to upgrade your shocks as well. I personally ran with the coilovers on my stock shock/struts for a few weeks before i upgrades to tokico shocks and the difference was night and day. Of course it'll depend on how much money your looking to spend. Good shocks arent cheap. The lower you go the worse the ride quality is gonna be as the springs will be stiffer so keep that in mind as well if ride quality is a concern.

[#eTurN^_d0t_]

I am not into lowering cars but I have decided to lower my 96 Eclipse. From what I understood I will get new Struts and I just got a new Tenzo lowering springs. Now I need new shocks right ? Well mine were recently replaced so my question is can I use my shocks and the Tenzo lowering springs I bought and lower the car. I heard here and there that my shocks will wear out.. So if I have strut bars and lowering springs what else do i need ? I am looking for something cheaper since I just got V2 intake, Nology wirez , exhaust and all kinds of diff bullshit. Thx for Help !

[kjewer1]

Stock shocks are not valved appropriately to handle the added strenght of aftermarket springs. By forcing the shocks to move faster (stronger springs) the shocks become worn out very quickly, even if they are new. I've tried it on the 2g, and now on the 1g. Yeah, they dont last

[#eTurN^_d0t_]

So ok let me sum this up. I got new Tenzo springs. i need new shocks made for lowering and new strut bars... So is dat all ?

[gthompson97]

yes you need the correct shocks,

and from this point on your car goes in yoru signature.

Make
Model
Year
Transmission
Mods