Last Yellow Bird

iTrader: (1)

I am going to lower my 02 WS6, about 3/4 to 1". I plan to use Hotchkis or gold west coil overs. Want to know if leaving the stock shocks in will cause me any trouble with the ride, or will I have to replace them with new or re-valved ones.

Thanks in advance.
Paul

deviate42

iTrader: (2)

the stock shocks will work, but id get a new set anyway.
I have the prokit and after 4-5K, my shocks started to go.
If you are doing the install yourself, you wont want to do it twice ..(like i did)

Last Yellow Bird

iTrader: (1)

Did the stock shocks start to go because of the prokit, or was there another reason?

Gev

I would get the shocks/struts put in the same time as the springs. Your stock shocks will go bad after a few thousand miles and also you will save yourself from doing twice the labor or paying someone twice to do the job for you.

Last Yellow Bird

iTrader: (1)

That's the second reply about the stock shocks wearing out in a few K miles. Is this because of the added pressure put on them from lowering the car? If so, I now plan on using an adjustable coil over kit, and only adjusting it to about a 3/4 of an inch drop. Is the shock wearing out because of a more agressive drop? The spring installation according to LS1Howto doesn't look so bad. It's the shock install that seems to be the hassle.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

WHile you are changing springs, you'll have the shocks loose (typically) and it is an easy swap. The lowering springs are stiffer, resulting in higher "forces" being applied to the shocks. This can have a negative effect on the stock shocks due to the fact that it is now dealing with loads (or forces) outside of what it was designed to work with. So, Yes....you can use stock shocks (Eibach and everyone else even say you can), but...No, It is not worth it, the performance (and ride quality) gains are worth changing the shocks with the springs....Just my thoughts.

Last Yellow Bird

iTrader: (1)

Shocks are expensive. We all know that. My car is only driven about 3-4000 miles/yr. Given that everyone says that they(the stock shocks) will wear out in 4-5K miles, I could get by for a year with out changing shocks. Then I could change them next year when I could afford it more, given that I put new wheels, tires, exhaust, springs, etc. etc. on this year.

Would the ride quality be that noticably poor if I didn't change the shocks until next year?

When I do change them, I will need to use bilstin with the coil over spring I am buying. Do I need to order anything special because of the adjustable lowering height?

Thanks
Paul

deviate42

iTrader: (2)

id just save up for a coil over kit

it depends how you drive it. I took my car to road corses al the time. At first it was fine, but after a while i noticed a big difference. Its just not very good for the car. I hit a pothole the other day and i swear i knocked something loose it was so bad. The pothole was average size, but it tookout my radar detector on my windsheild becuase my ride is so stiff

id guess that even if you didnt put that many miles on it, it would still happen b/c of the car sitting.

xaon

iTrader: (12)

I ran Hotchkis springs on my stock shocks for 13k miles. I pulled them off last week and the shocks were still in great condition.

BUT.

When I pulled the hotchkis springs/stock shock combo off and replaced it with HAL shocks and stock springs, I noticed a HUGE difference in the way the car handled. I never really bought it when people said the stock shocks sucked, but a new set of shocks really does make the car handle MUCH better.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

Shocks will NOT wear out when sitting. The rough ride is usually due to the car "hitting the bumpstops" during suspension travel. If you are running 60 mph and hit a moderate bump, the tire will be "launched" up away from the pavement. Now that the car is lowered, the shock only has 1.5 inches to slow it down before it hits the travel limiters (bump stops), the shock used to have 3 inches to accomplish this same thing (give or take, the numbers are to illustrate what happens and are not actual measurements...but they are likely close). Now, the wheel is traveling upwards at a high rate of speed and contacts the bumpstops in 1/2 the distance the shock valving expects it to...that leaves the wheel moving at a rather high speed in the upward direction when it "bottoms out" (think of rear ending a car....you didn't slow down as much as you thought....and BOOM...). That is usually the cause of the rough ride with stock shocks and it can be hard on parts (mostly the chassis). Will you destroy things, not likely...but you will notice a bumpy ride quality (in most cases). You can get by with the stock shocks, but if it is in the budget, I'd do the fronts with the springs and save $$$ for the rears (simply because the rears are easy to change later). YOu will not have the optimal ride with 2 shocks, but it will save you some $$$ in installation....just a thought. Good luck.