Lowering Questionss...??
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Joined: Mar 2006
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Lowering Questionss...??
Is it true that if lower your car, then you would feel more bumps on road and makes bumpy a ride?? Also, it's going to be a easy swap for my stock springs, and i don't have to buy new strut or any other parts. Right??
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Joined: Oct 2005
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RE: Lowering Questionss...??
it is true that your sacrifice ride comfort with a sharper handling suspension. But I went with mopar lowering springs, wich onlylowered it an inch but it made a noticable difference. The swap is easy, if you've ever done your own brake work before. It's not terrible to grasp and by your fourth corner you'd be able to rip through it like it was a cake walk. The only thing thats tricky is compressing the springson removal and installation, I work at a dealership so I had the special tools to do it. But it's still not terribly tough to do. and as long as you don't drop it a centimeter from the ground you wont get that harsh of a ride.
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Kankakee, IL
RE: Lowering Questionss...??
The skinny on the subject is basically spring rate. When you lower a car the spring naturally is increased or you will bottom out WAY to easily.
If you had a stock setup and lowered it with a spring of the same rate just shorter you would have a lower car. Simply when you install a spring on a strut you get preload on the spring. Say it is a stock front at 140 lbs/in. When you compress it say 4" you get 560 pounds on each front struts. That is what is needed to get it moving. So you car ads another 280 lbs to that corner and now it settles say 2 more inches. Now you have only so much travel left.
When you cut spring the rate never changes but if you take off 1" you now only get 420 pounds of preload and have to make up the rest of the weight of the car with spring compression in suspension travel. Now instead say 3 1/2" of travel you only have 2 1/2" at the same spring rate. So a compression hit that was normally in range of the suspension to handle now slams the suspension off the stops and you are out of control.
With proper lowering springs the best riding would be one that matches total load thru the suspension travel. So if the car has 3 1/2 inches stock at 140 lbs/in then 2 1/2" would require 196 lbs/in to match the bottoming out rate. What this means in turn is a rougher ride. Which i necessary just to save the car.
These numbers for travel are just made up off of the top of my head but illustrate the point.
So is a 1" drop more comfortable than a 2" drop well you can not tell on drop alone. You need to compare spring rates. Generally speaking, probably but my Vogtlands are up at 257 lbs/in on the high rate even though only drop just over 1.25" which is stiff. However the rears are only 137 lbs/in which is not that stiff.
Coilever take that to next extreme where say Tein gets you 280 lbs/in front and rear while vogtland on the high rate will nab you 315 and 170 lbs/in front and rear. This even though they can be set at the same ride height but spring rate would be drastically different.
If they will not divulge spring rates move on to a reputable and honest company so that you adequately evaluate the products with apples to apples comparisons.
Also you will run into nulti-rate/variable rate springs such as my Vogtlands.
My fronts are
143 lbs/in initial
257 lbs/in final
My rears are
91 lbs/in initial
137 lbs/in final
This means you can get a lowering spring that is actually the same size when uncompressed or maybe even bigger. This can be a dual rate spring or a true progressive that the first inch is 91 the second is 94 and the third is 98 till you get up the final spring rate of 137. Or just a section of 91 and a section of 137 with or without minor transition range. This is what mine seem to be.
The multi-rate spring allows for a soft initial rate for ride quality that give way to the needed boost required to prevent bottoming. Mine seem a performance minded setup which the high rate is what you ride in but when unloading such as in the corner the spring only pushes back at 91 not 137 lbs /in as these coils are all but compressed at ride height but separate when unleaded such as on a lift. This helps provide a smooth predictable handling when you unload the suspension.
Now if you are just wanting handling increase but want to maintain the ride quality as much as possible then I would suggest starting with sway bars.
If you had a stock setup and lowered it with a spring of the same rate just shorter you would have a lower car. Simply when you install a spring on a strut you get preload on the spring. Say it is a stock front at 140 lbs/in. When you compress it say 4" you get 560 pounds on each front struts. That is what is needed to get it moving. So you car ads another 280 lbs to that corner and now it settles say 2 more inches. Now you have only so much travel left.
When you cut spring the rate never changes but if you take off 1" you now only get 420 pounds of preload and have to make up the rest of the weight of the car with spring compression in suspension travel. Now instead say 3 1/2" of travel you only have 2 1/2" at the same spring rate. So a compression hit that was normally in range of the suspension to handle now slams the suspension off the stops and you are out of control.
With proper lowering springs the best riding would be one that matches total load thru the suspension travel. So if the car has 3 1/2 inches stock at 140 lbs/in then 2 1/2" would require 196 lbs/in to match the bottoming out rate. What this means in turn is a rougher ride. Which i necessary just to save the car.
These numbers for travel are just made up off of the top of my head but illustrate the point.
So is a 1" drop more comfortable than a 2" drop well you can not tell on drop alone. You need to compare spring rates. Generally speaking, probably but my Vogtlands are up at 257 lbs/in on the high rate even though only drop just over 1.25" which is stiff. However the rears are only 137 lbs/in which is not that stiff.
Coilever take that to next extreme where say Tein gets you 280 lbs/in front and rear while vogtland on the high rate will nab you 315 and 170 lbs/in front and rear. This even though they can be set at the same ride height but spring rate would be drastically different.
If they will not divulge spring rates move on to a reputable and honest company so that you adequately evaluate the products with apples to apples comparisons.
Also you will run into nulti-rate/variable rate springs such as my Vogtlands.
My fronts are
143 lbs/in initial
257 lbs/in final
My rears are
91 lbs/in initial
137 lbs/in final
This means you can get a lowering spring that is actually the same size when uncompressed or maybe even bigger. This can be a dual rate spring or a true progressive that the first inch is 91 the second is 94 and the third is 98 till you get up the final spring rate of 137. Or just a section of 91 and a section of 137 with or without minor transition range. This is what mine seem to be.
The multi-rate spring allows for a soft initial rate for ride quality that give way to the needed boost required to prevent bottoming. Mine seem a performance minded setup which the high rate is what you ride in but when unloading such as in the corner the spring only pushes back at 91 not 137 lbs /in as these coils are all but compressed at ride height but separate when unleaded such as on a lift. This helps provide a smooth predictable handling when you unload the suspension.
Now if you are just wanting handling increase but want to maintain the ride quality as much as possible then I would suggest starting with sway bars.