Suspension n00b

Hey guys, im trying to plan out what suspension mods i will buy in the near future but really dont know where to begin.

I want to lower my car about 2 inches and run some sort of 16" racing style rim in white, haven't decided yet.

I was looking at lowering springs but was told that i would need a camber kit? Ive never adjusted any type of suspension or installed anything so any info would be appreciated.

I would also like to keep cost down but i want to be sure im not going to harm my car.

What do you think would be a good setup for my application?

It really depends on what you want to do, auto-x, street,canyon. and where you live. like I live in LA and need suspension every year!

So it depends I say spend the money and do it right the 1st time.

Most likley a coilover.

Lowering you car over 1 inch will creat more problems than it will fix. Big drop = big understeer.....sorry:mfrown:

Yeah i forgot to put that haha. Where i live in cincinnati ohio most of the roads are preaty good and it would be on the street 99.9 percent of the time. Dont have any plans for auto-x, though that would be fun :mcool:

Search suspension and you'll find a whole load of information. That's how I learned everything.

Ok, so street car. and you appear to not be worried about ride quality...

You could quite literally close your eyes and point at a random pile of pre-built "coilovers" or springs & damper setups and end up with 99% of what you seem to want.

We could go on to describe the pro's and cons of setups from prebuilts to piecemeal, but they seem irrelevant for your application.


As far as alignments and such... Yes buy a camber kit front and rear.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zzyzx

Ok, so street car. and you appear to not be worried about ride quality...

You could quite literally close your eyes and point at a random pile of pre-built "coilovers" or springs & damper setups and end up with 99% of what you seem to want.

We could go on to describe the pro's and cons of setups from prebuilts to piecemeal, but they seem irrelevant for your application.


As far as alignments and such... Yes buy a camber kit front and rear.

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You basically hit the nail on the head. Do you think a cheap coilover kit would be worth the little extra money over a set of lowering springs? If so i guess i would go with skunk2 coilovers or if not h & r drop springs

Given that you want a 2" drop then yes, some pre-built coilovers will have an advantage in that application. Given that the OEM suspension only has about 3" of bump travle, any setup that mimics this when lowered 2" inches will definitively be at a disadvantage vs as setup that can retain more of the suspensions bump travel.

So avoid Tein, as their base setups don't allow for independent adjustment of damper stroke range & ride height. For reference, most companies refer to this as "adjustable preload". But its a totally inaccurate term for the application. you'll want one that does adjust these settings independently.

If you were to do a more modest 1 to 1.5" drop then a good spring + damper setup would probably be preferable if just for the improved ride quality that progressive springs offer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zzyzx

Given that you want a 2" drop then yes, some pre-built coilovers will have an advantage in that application. Given that the OEM suspension only has about 3" of bump travle, any setup that mimics this when lowered 2" inches will definitively be at a disadvantage vs as setup that can retain more of the suspensions bump travel.

So avoid Tein, as their base setups don't allow for independent adjustment of damper stroke range & ride height. For reference, most companies refer to this as "adjustable preload". But its a totally inaccurate term for the application. you'll want one that does adjust these settings independently.

If you were to do a more modest 1 to 1.5" drop then a good spring + damper setup would probably be preferable if just for the improved ride quality that progressive springs offer.

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Thanks a lot! super informative