is lowering worth it?

[X2Xtreme360]

Our cars sit fairy low to begin with. Is it worth the trouble to lower it at all? If I were to lower it, should I spend the extra money on new shocks as well, or just the springs? What brands do people prefer? I've heard a lot of good things about Eibach springs as well as Tein, but I'm undecided. But for anyone who has lowered their 3k, is it worth it?

[AutostradaVR4]

anything worth doing is worth doing right. coilovers is the only way to go IMO.

[Linebckr49]

Originally Posted by X2Xtreme360

Our cars sit fairy low to begin with. Is it worth the trouble to lower it at all? If I were to lower it, should I spend the extra money on new shocks as well, or just the springs? What brands do people prefer? I've heard a lot of good things about Eibach springs as well as Tein, but I'm undecided. But for anyone who has lowered their 3k, is it worth it?

our cars DO sit fairly low, but that awful wheel gap makes us all want to puke. i think only BMW got it right on the wheel gap + ride height.

the question is not "is it worth it to lower it", the question is "do you want your car simply to look better or handle better". looks is the cheaper route, in which case just get lowering springs (eibach or intrax are the cheapest for FWD, and Teins are cheapest for AWD). if you want handling, then go with coilovers. coilovers will also eliminate wheel gap like lowering springs will, but they will make your car handle much much better, and on most you can adjust the ride stiffness. the only catch is that coilovers are at minimum 3X the price of lowering springs.

coilovers come with struts, but lowering springs don't. however, if you DO go with lowering springs, i would recommend you NOT get new struts b/c they may wear out prematurely when paired with lowering springs.

i have new KYB GR2 struts + Intrax springs. but one of my new KYB struts has already worn out w/in less than 1 year because of the lowering springs, i believe. if i could do it all over again, i would have saved up more money and purchased some coilvers.

[Morphius289]

[AutostradaVR4]

Oh My God Thats Awesome!!!

[vectorspecialist]

that is awsome, well i guess i can cross that off the list of tt that will compete with mine, tha'll just run it over

[wakeboard1026]

i just put intrax on my 97 sl, and for me it was what im looking for, since im 17 ride quality isnt much of a concern, and handleing is the difference of black and white. while using coilovers w/ shocks would help for the price imo nothing beats intrax my chart
stock////
intrax
($270)////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
coilovers
($1k^)///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
thats my opinion, and ill post some pics later, if i was disapointed in anything believe it or not it was that my alignment all went back into perfect spec, meaning i didnt get that much drop but it is noticable.

[vectorspecialist]

nice ass car, like the black, i think its the best color on the 3/s

[sLADe781]

Originally Posted by wakeboard1026

i just put intrax on my 97 sl, and for me it was what im looking for, since im 17 ride quality isnt much of a concern, and handleing is the difference of black and white. while using coilovers w/ shocks would help for the price imo nothing beats intrax my chart
stock////
intrax
($270)////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
coilovers
($1k^)///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
thats my opinion, and ill post some pics later, if i was disapointed in anything believe it or not it was that my alignment all went back into perfect spec, meaning i didnt get that much drop but it is noticable.

Hmm...interesting... I thought that everyone with aftermarket springs would be off a bit when they realign. Mine is off but I can't tell too much yet. We'll see some time down the road how it affects the wear on my tires...

Oh yeah, I have Eibach Springs with GR-2s. I think the stock ECS shocks were probably "better" for comfort but they cost too much so I just went with the GR-2s.

[wakeboard1026]

ya i even got it aligned it the oldschool way and watched the entire process and oddly enough it all specked back to zero. which was cool with me cus my dad said if camber was off id have to buy my own tires. hahha
ill try to take some pictures later this week.

[Linebckr49]

Originally Posted by wakeboard1026

ya i even got it aligned it the oldschool way and watched the entire process and oddly enough it all specked back to zero. which was cool with me cus my dad said if camber was off id have to buy my own tires. hahha.

what's the "old school" method as opposed to the "new method?"

[Polygon]

Originally Posted by Linebckr49

what's the "old school" method as opposed to the "new method?"

Yeah, I'd like to know that as well. Also, instead of just buying new tires if your camber is off why not just fix the issue? It would cost less in the long run.

[wakeboard1026]

they used mechanical camber kits with all measurements being manual, instead of that laser bullcrap that u can have aligned 5 times then take it to a manual alignment shop and still find it off.

if you drop the car out of spec, only the back tires on my car would be the ones not to align back to zero, and considering the fwd car stops, turns, and goes, being off a couple degree or two would not IMO be worth it to buy $400 worth of rear camber and toe arms to correct it. (it was really just my dads way of wining haha) i mean my moms 325i is off of zero more than my car was when i just dropped it w/out the alignment.

but IMO its definately worth it to get a manual alignment, and ull probably have to ( thats how they do alot of drift cars) because the for laseralignments u have to drive on a steep rack that is tight for clearence, as for manual alignment, you just drive straight onto a platform

[Linebckr49]

when i lowered my car, i took it to get it aligned, and the rear was not within spec, i complained, and the manager told me that if its within 1 degree, its generally tolerable. however, i went ahead and ordered adjustable camber and toe arms so that i can get the rear back to zero.

sLADe, the reason why you want the rear and front to be as close to zero as possible is so that they will wear evenly, then you can rotate them, and they will last much much longer.

[BLU CIVIC]

you you choose to get just springs then you need to get dampers that are fo lowered vehicles...i suggest Koni Yellows