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lowering question

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Old 04-19-2008, 02:07 AM
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Default lowering question

I talked to this guy tonight about lowering my car. He has lowered his and he told me that all you have to buy are the springs. Is this true?
Old 04-19-2008, 02:16 AM
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the only other thing you will need is the bumper spacers. And make sure the tires clear. and you will need to be extra careful where you drive, i.e. frigg'in speed bumps! plus if you have SFC and exhaust pipes, etc.
Old 04-19-2008, 02:24 AM
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Originally Posted by FLSSLS1
the only other thing you will need is the bumper spacers. And make sure the tires clear. and you will need to be extra careful where you drive, i.e. frigg'in speed bumps! plus if you have SFC and exhaust pipes, etc.

Hope I don't sound like a caveman, but, what is a bumper spacer?
Old 04-19-2008, 02:34 AM
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Yes it's true all you need are the springs, but not if you want to do it right.
Old 04-19-2008, 06:51 AM
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You might as well do the shocks while you're at it. You gotta take the fronts off anyhow.
Old 04-19-2008, 09:56 AM
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Check your front strut mounts also. Those things usually go to **** when you take them apart if you ahve a lot of miles on them.
Old 04-20-2008, 02:56 PM
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I'm definetly lowering my car. Just have to pic the springs now.
Old 04-21-2008, 11:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Whiteknight01
I'm definetly lowering my car. Just have to pic the springs now.
STRANO
Old 04-21-2008, 11:29 AM
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strano for sure.
Old 04-23-2008, 08:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Whiteknight01
I'm definetly lowering my car. Just have to pic the springs now.
Just to keep us in mind, we offer a high quality lowering spring that might fit your application. These springs are built to our specs with ride quality and great handling in mind. They offer a 1.25" lowered stance. And as always made here in the USA!! Here are a few pictures of vehicles using our springs-
Attached Thumbnails lowering question-bmr-springs-3.jpg   lowering question-bmr-springs-installed.jpg   lowering question-bmr-springs-installed-1.jpg   lowering question-bmr-springs-2.jpg  
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Old 04-23-2008, 10:12 AM
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All you need is springs if you are to lower your car. But being lower isn't the only factor that changes.

Stock shocks are poor at controlling stock springs, so if you add more springrate then thats even less spring control. Your ride quality will change and in my opinion would be worse than before. If you don't care about that, then I guess you can rule it out. Ideally people should upgrade the shocks when changing springs.

Lowering the car can have other effects like what your alignment sits at. Your camber and toe will change. Alignment should be considered. Lowering the car changes the panhard bar's geometry as it connects between the chassis and axle so you may end up with a slightly offcenter rear end. Also the lower control arms will change their geometry angle. If you like to launch the car then this angle will hurt your traction a little. To fix that, people put in lower control arm relocation brackets so that the arms will be level or at an opposite angle. The opposite angle can have a poor effect on higher speed turning stability though.

Just some tidbits I thought I would toss out there for you
Old 04-23-2008, 02:15 PM
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What happens if you lower the car on the stock panhard bar? Would a offcenter rear end damage anything?
Old 04-23-2008, 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by newton
What happens if you lower the car on the stock panhard bar? Would a offcenter rear end damage anything?
Possible damage could occur if it causes interference problems with other components on the vehicle. Otherwise the car would just have some ill handling characteristics..
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Old 04-23-2008, 03:49 PM
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For the work you probably are gonna have to do up front (cutting the shocks from the mounts due to rust and corrosion) you might as well get some decent shocks..
Old 04-23-2008, 08:34 PM
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YOu can lower with just springs and the stock shocks but the ride will be harsh. Its best to do it right all at once. As far as lowering springs there are a lot of good things about BMR, Hotchkis and Strano's. I would definitely get a panhard bar regardless if you replace the shock.
Old 04-25-2008, 12:21 AM
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thanks for the info everyone and I will keep you in mine Lee (BMR)
Old 04-25-2008, 12:53 AM
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Here is a stand point from both directions because i've went down both roads. The lowering springs on stock shocks and lower springs with aftermarket shocks. On my 98 car I put right at 50k miles on a prokit with the stock shocks. 75k to 125k on the o.d. It wasn't all that bad, but I didn't have a properly setup car to compare to. Well i've only put 500 miles on my Koni/Strano combo on my new car and let be say I felt like a complete idiot for running the setup I had on my 98 car and actually thought it handled well. I was definetly living in a fantasy world. LOL!!
Old 04-26-2008, 04:55 PM
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Here's my 2 cents...

1) If you lower the car, I would probably change the shocks. The Decarbons are okay for the stock springs, but not for lowering springs. As Guz said, the ride will be really harsh. Firmer is good...harsh is not..Might as well do the shocks at the same time

2) If you lower the car, it will shift to the side a bit, (more if it's already off center form the factory - yes some are). An adjustable will fix this. If you ever plan on getting bigger wheels/tires, you'll NEED to re-center the rear so the tires don't rub...especially during hard cornering

3) As far as the springs go, go with what you like. They're all pretty good. I with with Eibach's Pro-kit (don't go with the Sporlines if you plan on lowering AND getting bigger wheels). After about 5 years, they have settled a bit, and did have to roll the fenders in a bit to fit my 295 tires, but it's all worked out in the end.

But I guess, some pics would help a bit...










You can see where my tire used to rub
Old 04-28-2008, 01:56 PM
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is an adj. torque arm necessary? or just the panhard bar?
Old 04-28-2008, 08:55 PM
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Originally Posted by neverenuff
is an adj. torque arm necessary? or just the panhard bar?
The adjustable panhard bar is the main thing. If you are concerned with trying to get the max out of the car at the track the Adj. torque arm then might be something to consider.
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