Suspension (specifically lowering)

Rol224 said:

I've got some nasty stock space inbetween my tires and fenders. I dont know the first thing about suspension and all that, but I'm figuring I'll need something like springs or air shocks to lower my car a bit. I'm looking to lower my car 1 to 2 inches. Living in Pittsburgh i need SOME clearance so I won't be bottoming out constantly. Whats the cheapest/most effective way to cut a few inches? A friend of mine said Eibach springs, but i have no clue.

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I personally like the looks of the drop from the FMS "C" Springs, and for the price you wont beat them. To go with the springs, a set of Mach 1 Tokicos would go nicely as well. The two together will really improve your suspension for a pretty reasonable price. If you get real determined to improve your suspension, you could look into the Bullitt suspension kit.

FMS C Springs, $110

Mach 1 Shocks/Struts, $180

Bullitt Handling Kit, $400

1.Try a search first. You should get a lot of common information.
2.I have FRPP B springs and Tokico Illumina struts/shocks. It lowered my car about 1" all-around. It's not the best handling upgrade, but the ride is 95% stock.

I believe the B Springs are progressive while the Cs are not, but the Bs can be a little more harsh than the Cs. Where did you get yours from?

atlblue2000 said:

I believe the B Springs are progressive while the Cs are not, but the Bs can be a little more harsh than the Cs. Where did you get yours from?

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The difference between B and C is in the rating of the front springs (the rears of both packages are 200/300). The front of the C's are a linear 650, while the B's are progressive 425/530. I think the stock front springs are rated around 400, as well. Therefore I believe that the C's are a little more harsh, not the B's. From personal experience I can say that with the B's, the ride is very close to stock. But, I would think that with the C's the performance aspect is better.
I got mine from Summit Racing.

Heres a dumb question...I haven't gotten into suspension much, so I'm a newb when it comes to springs and stuff...anyways, what is the difference between progressive and non-progressive. And could somebody explain the weight of the spring and what our stock spring rating is??

Rol224 said:

So if is it not smart to simply get new springs only if I lower my car? (IE i need other components as well)

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Your question is hard to read. Usually people get different struts/shocks when they install lowering springs, because the stock ones can go bad pretty fast.

GREENBIOCH said:

Heres a dumb question...I haven't gotten into suspension much, so I'm a newb when it comes to springs and stuff...anyways, what is the difference between progressive and non-progressive. And could somebody explain the weight of the spring and what our stock spring rating is??

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Standard liner rate springs are used as original equipment on most trucks. The amount of resistance the spring offers is directly proportional to how far the spring is compressed. A spring rated at 200 lbs. per inch will deflect one inch for every 200 lbs. of load.

By comparison, variable-rate coil springs become progressively stiffer the more they're compressed. Under normal use they ride the same as a standard spring, but act like a heavy-duty spring when extra load carrying capacity is needed. As a variable-rate spring is loaded, the closer spaced coils (which have a lower spring rate) come together shifting the load to the remaining coils which are further apart (and have a stiffer rate). When the load is removed, the closer spaced coils spread out to provide a normal ride.

Some variable-rate springs use tapered wire to achieve this type type of progressive rate action. The "stiffer" coils have a larger diameter wire than the "softer" coils. As the load increases, the larger coils resist further deflection to provide extra support.

MarvinMyCat said:

Standard liner rate springs are used as original equipment on most trucks. The amount of resistance the spring offers is directly proportional to how far the spring is compressed. A spring rated at 200 lbs. per inch will deflect one inch for every 200 lbs. of load.

By comparison, variable-rate coil springs become progressively stiffer the more they're compressed. Under normal use they ride the same as a standard spring, but act like a heavy-duty spring when extra load carrying capacity is needed. As a variable-rate spring is loaded, the closer spaced coils (which have a lower spring rate) come together shifting the load to the remaining coils which are further apart (and have a stiffer rate). When the load is removed, the closer spaced coils spread out to provide a normal ride.

Some variable-rate springs use tapered wire to achieve this type type of progressive rate action. The "stiffer" coils have a larger diameter wire than the "softer" coils. As the load increases, the larger coils resist further deflection to provide extra support.

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WHAT IS the benefit of Either???

Progressive's can provide ride quality and handling (depending on the rating). Whereby linear's are just set on one rating. So it's either soft or stiff (again, depending on the rating).

Progressive rate springs are wound with the bottom coils somewhat close together and as they move up toward the top, the coils are wound wider apart. The top part of the spring gives you a little more flexibility in that they move a lot thereby giving you the ride comfort. The lower part of the spring helps to ensure that the load does not bottom out the car.

If you get springs, only get progressive rate springs for a daily driver. For drag racing, you'd want linear rate springs where ride comfort is sacrificed for holding the car straight with minimal movement in wheel to fender variances. In other words, they're only there to handle slight bumps, as welding your axle to the rest of the car isn't an option.

When you lower your car, progressive rate springs are obviously shorter than stock, so you will NEED that ride comfort factor, as the spring has less vertical movement now. Although they try to build in a better ride with the progressive rate, they will always give you a harsher ride than stock just because they are shorter.

A lot of people like the look of a lowered car, just to close up the wheel well gap, but you will also notice, with the proper setup, that your car will handle like its on rails!

As far a shocks and struts go, you have to replace your stockers as they won't last very long on a lower car. If you have the cash, you can get the Tokico adjustables where you can dial in to one of five ride settings from soft to hard. I went with the non-adjustables, which are set to the middle setting of the adjustables. I'm perfectly happy with them.

If the roads in Pittsburg are crappy in some places, you won't want to lower your car any more than 1.5" so take that into account when picking out a set of springs.

To see a really crappy setup, put "The Fast and The Furious" DVD in and find the spot where a bunch of rivers drive up to the shop where the undercover cop works. It's the scene where they come in and order a bunch of stuff and the Hispanic guy pulls out a wad of cash to buy 5 of everything on his list. Watch the lead rice mobile as it drives up to, and parks at the curb out front, it's slammed to about a half inch of clearance. As he’s driving notice how the body of the car is absolutely rocked to its foundation as he drives. The driver will soon be helping to build an addition onto his chiropractor's house, or will soon become sterile with his balls knocking together all the time!

MarvinMyCat said:

...To see a really crappy setup, put "The Fast and The Furious" DVD in and find the spot where a bunch of rivers drive up to the shop where the undercover cop works. It's the scene where they come in and order a bunch of stuff and the Hispanic guy pulls out a wad of cash to buy 5 of everything on his list. Watch the lead rice mobile as it drives up to, and parks at the curb out front, it's slammed to about a half inch of clearance. As he’s driving notice how the body of the car is absolutely rocked to its foundation as he drives. The driver will soon be helping to build an addition onto his chiropractor's house, or will soon become sterile with his balls knocking together all the time!

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