Lowering ?'s
09-26-2006, 12:20 PM
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Lowering ?'s I have a 98 vert with 275/40/18's all the way around....I was wondering which lowering kit would be the best, strongly considering the pro kit, any sugguestions or pics would be great.
09-28-2006, 01:58 PM
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I was told the pro kit was for the non converts. Pro lines are for the convertibles. If you go pro kit, you will be uncomfortably low,,,,,,,,,,,,is what the company told me. I like the pro lines ive installed.
09-28-2006, 03:07 PM
#4
Originally Posted by m3638
I was told the pro kit was for the non converts. Pro lines are for the convertibles. If you go pro kit, you will be uncomfortably low,,,,,,,,,,,,is what the company told me. I like the pro lines ive installed.
Last edited by Jimmyz; 09-28-2006 at 03:15 PM.
09-29-2006, 02:35 PM
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I heard BMR or hotchiks are the way to go. They are only a 1" drop but in a vert it will sit down a little more. I'm going to lower mine here soon with BMRs, I'll post up pics.
10-01-2006, 05:15 AM
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Well I hope this helps. I run the exact same tire and also have a 98 Vert but WS6. I have been around the horn on this suspension stuff and just last week bought:
New SLP Level II front springs
New Koni Single Adjustable struts to be put on the lower perch..or not?
New BMR rear springs
New 1LE rear springs as a back up plan
New front upper and lower control arms
Anything you read on the lowering height will not be accurate on the vert!!! Bottom line. Go read Hyperco (I dealt with the President) or H&R or several other companies. They all now list F-body springs as "NOT CONVERTIBLE".
You alread know that you've covered up 1/2 inch of space with your 18"s so if you could get the car to lower only an inch it would have the same look as a normal 1.5" drop.
I ran the Bilstein Tuned Suspension kit and it lowered the vert so low it was really not driveable. I ran Eibach and again in the front and rear it kept bottoming out. The best ride I had was before I started to mess with it so I'm going to put it back as close to stock spring rates as possible.
In order to lower the car slightly on the front I am going to use the lower perch of the Koni strut. If you lower the car more then 1.25" or so and hit a bump while turning a corner you will rub into the fender area. I have yet to determine where but it does happen.
Man if I can give you any advice at all it is to not change those springs. Anything aftermarket will give you major loss of ride or bottoming out issues. Get a set of Koni Single Adjustable struts and set them on the lower spring perch. It will drop the car .75" and you are good...and ride better.
On the rear, if you look at the top of the coil you will see a thick rubber perch on top of the coil. It keeps vibration from going into the chasis. Some people take this off and put a piece of garden hose on the top of the coil. That drops the car about and inch. Don't do that cheesy crap. Just take those rubber perches out and have them shaved down to whatever you want. If you want the rear lowered .75 inches then shave that off. It's hard enough rubber where a wood shop can take it off with a planer.
Every bit you lower rear will determine how often you will bottom out. The lower, the more bangs. We just have a lot of weight back there.
Just my opions! Here is my car when we cut the OEM springs just to try to get the look and of course road horrible.
WS6 Vertible
New SLP Level II front springs
New Koni Single Adjustable struts to be put on the lower perch..or not?
New BMR rear springs
New 1LE rear springs as a back up plan
New front upper and lower control arms
Anything you read on the lowering height will not be accurate on the vert!!! Bottom line. Go read Hyperco (I dealt with the President) or H&R or several other companies. They all now list F-body springs as "NOT CONVERTIBLE".
You alread know that you've covered up 1/2 inch of space with your 18"s so if you could get the car to lower only an inch it would have the same look as a normal 1.5" drop.
I ran the Bilstein Tuned Suspension kit and it lowered the vert so low it was really not driveable. I ran Eibach and again in the front and rear it kept bottoming out. The best ride I had was before I started to mess with it so I'm going to put it back as close to stock spring rates as possible.
In order to lower the car slightly on the front I am going to use the lower perch of the Koni strut. If you lower the car more then 1.25" or so and hit a bump while turning a corner you will rub into the fender area. I have yet to determine where but it does happen.
Man if I can give you any advice at all it is to not change those springs. Anything aftermarket will give you major loss of ride or bottoming out issues. Get a set of Koni Single Adjustable struts and set them on the lower spring perch. It will drop the car .75" and you are good...and ride better.
On the rear, if you look at the top of the coil you will see a thick rubber perch on top of the coil. It keeps vibration from going into the chasis. Some people take this off and put a piece of garden hose on the top of the coil. That drops the car about and inch. Don't do that cheesy crap. Just take those rubber perches out and have them shaved down to whatever you want. If you want the rear lowered .75 inches then shave that off. It's hard enough rubber where a wood shop can take it off with a planer.
Every bit you lower rear will determine how often you will bottom out. The lower, the more bangs. We just have a lot of weight back there.
Just my opions! Here is my car when we cut the OEM springs just to try to get the look and of course road horrible.
WS6 Vertible
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10-01-2006, 08:00 AM
#8
Ditto!!
Originally Posted by Mark A. Rogalski
Well I hope this helps. I run the exact same tire and also have a 98 Vert but WS6. I have been around the horn on this suspension stuff and just last week bought:
New SLP Level II front springs
New Koni Single Adjustable struts to be put on the lower perch..or not?
New BMR rear springs
New 1LE rear springs as a back up plan
New front upper and lower control arms
Anything you read on the lowering height will not be accurate on the vert!!! Bottom line. Go read Hyperco (I dealt with the President) or H&R or several other companies. They all now list F-body springs as "NOT CONVERTIBLE".
You alread know that you've covered up 1/2 inch of space with your 18"s so if you could get the car to lower only an inch it would have the same look as a normal 1.5" drop.
I ran the Bilstein Tuned Suspension kit and it lowered the vert so low it was really not driveable. I ran Eibach and again in the front and rear it kept bottoming out. The best ride I had was before I started to mess with it so I'm going to put it back as close to stock spring rates as possible.
In order to lower the car slightly on the front I am going to use the lower perch of the Koni strut. If you lower the car more then 1.25" or so and hit a bump while turning a corner you will rub into the fender area. I have yet to determine where but it does happen.
Man if I can give you any advice at all it is to not change those springs. Anything aftermarket will give you major loss of ride or bottoming out issues. Get a set of Koni Single Adjustable struts and set them on the lower spring perch. It will drop the car .75" and you are good...and ride better.
On the rear, if you look at the top of the coil you will see a thick rubber perch on top of the coil. It keeps vibration from going into the chasis. Some people take this off and put a piece of garden hose on the top of the coil. That drops the car about and inch. Don't do that cheesy crap. Just take those rubber perches out and have them shaved down to whatever you want. If you want the rear lowered .75 inches then shave that off. It's hard enough rubber where a wood shop can take it off with a planer.
Every bit you lower rear will determine how often you will bottom out. The lower, the more bangs. We just have a lot of weight back there.
Just my opions! Here is my car when we cut the OEM springs just to try to get the look and of course road horrible.
WS6 Vertible
New SLP Level II front springs
New Koni Single Adjustable struts to be put on the lower perch..or not?
New BMR rear springs
New 1LE rear springs as a back up plan
New front upper and lower control arms
Anything you read on the lowering height will not be accurate on the vert!!! Bottom line. Go read Hyperco (I dealt with the President) or H&R or several other companies. They all now list F-body springs as "NOT CONVERTIBLE".
You alread know that you've covered up 1/2 inch of space with your 18"s so if you could get the car to lower only an inch it would have the same look as a normal 1.5" drop.
I ran the Bilstein Tuned Suspension kit and it lowered the vert so low it was really not driveable. I ran Eibach and again in the front and rear it kept bottoming out. The best ride I had was before I started to mess with it so I'm going to put it back as close to stock spring rates as possible.
In order to lower the car slightly on the front I am going to use the lower perch of the Koni strut. If you lower the car more then 1.25" or so and hit a bump while turning a corner you will rub into the fender area. I have yet to determine where but it does happen.
Man if I can give you any advice at all it is to not change those springs. Anything aftermarket will give you major loss of ride or bottoming out issues. Get a set of Koni Single Adjustable struts and set them on the lower spring perch. It will drop the car .75" and you are good...and ride better.
On the rear, if you look at the top of the coil you will see a thick rubber perch on top of the coil. It keeps vibration from going into the chasis. Some people take this off and put a piece of garden hose on the top of the coil. That drops the car about and inch. Don't do that cheesy crap. Just take those rubber perches out and have them shaved down to whatever you want. If you want the rear lowered .75 inches then shave that off. It's hard enough rubber where a wood shop can take it off with a planer.
Every bit you lower rear will determine how often you will bottom out. The lower, the more bangs. We just have a lot of weight back there.
Just my opions! Here is my car when we cut the OEM springs just to try to get the look and of course road horrible.
WS6 Vertible
What he said is EXACTLY what you should do IMHO. Well said Mark...excellent solid advice.
Jim
10-01-2006, 11:46 PM
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One last thing and this is a great example of what happens when you mess with aftermarket:
New 1LE springs and New BMR side by side - Explain This?
So we have 3 things here:
A convertible which is a heavier car.
No one R&D'd thier aftermarket springs on convertible cars!
A freak event - The only year (1998) GM put the best, most desireable springs (1LE), with the highest spring rate into F-Body Z and Ws6 equipped cars. All others years have softer springs.
New 1LE springs and New BMR side by side - Explain This?
So we have 3 things here:
A convertible which is a heavier car.
No one R&D'd thier aftermarket springs on convertible cars!
A freak event - The only year (1998) GM put the best, most desireable springs (1LE), with the highest spring rate into F-Body Z and Ws6 equipped cars. All others years have softer springs.
10-02-2006, 09:35 PM
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Most dont consider the gap from the top of the tire to the fender. My rule of thumb is take the measurement of the gap and cut it in half...thats how much you can safely lower it. Some people add weight in their cars causing the car to naturally lower the car. Some as myself do weight reduction causing the car to rise, this will lead you to lowering the car more. After all of my weight reduction I lowered mine 2.5" in the front and 3.5" in the rear.
10-02-2006, 10:53 PM
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I got the Eibach pro-kit on mine, I can't go over any speed bumps if I got a passenger in the car, scrapes like a *****.
Last edited by droptop z; 10-02-2006 at 10:59 PM.
10-16-2006, 07:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Mark A. Rogalski
Get a set of Koni Single Adjustable struts and set them on the lower spring perch. It will drop the car .75" and you are good...and ride better.
On the rear, . . . . . Just take those rubber perches out and have them shaved down to whatever you want.
10-18-2006, 10:31 PM
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Originally Posted by 32of32
Anyone got pics of this or a good write up?
10-19-2006, 11:52 AM
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Originally Posted by Mark A. Rogalski
I will have pics in about a week. I am having this done and is in the shop right now however I won't be back to that part of the country for about a week to see the outcome...and pay.
10-31-2006, 02:52 PM
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im going with the bmr's,but i really want sam stranos springs in the front and bmr's in the rear with the isolator cut down a bit,this will give u a perfect ride for the vert but sam wont sell the fronts alone
11-01-2006, 07:13 PM
#20
Originally Posted by 32of32
http://www.stranoparts.com/