cost of lowering

[kriscattan]

hey guys im sure this has been discussed before but ive got a vr and its my only car atm but soon it will become just my work car. i wanted to lower it but i didnt really know what kind of dosh id be looking at. i think u can just put springs in right? and the rest if u really want?(eg: shocks) any advice will help

cheers

[Kunu]

when i lowered mine it cost about $600 if lowering look at getting a 4pt kit installed aswell will help with tyre wear!!

[GEN3RATD]

ok
looking at about $400-$500 for a set of springs installed
if you go lower then lows (SL's, SSL's) its a good idea to look into a set of new shocks, and a camber kit.

[kriscattan]

alright cheers guys, yeh im not plannin on goin to low. just enough to get rid of the big gap

[DJ-Bolan]

yeah you can tackle the job by yourself if you've got an extra set of hands, the right springs (make sure the springs have the same amount of rings/binds in them)

all you need is:

a car jack
really ####ing thick rope or strap wrench
spring compressors
hammer and socket set

lift up the car, take off the wheel, strap wrench or rope the axle so it's not going to move up or down, (make sure there is no slack could ruin the shocks) compress the springs, then undo the ball joints, suspension arms, and take out the springs, put in the new springs (that are obviously smaller, but same thickness and same amount of coils just closer together) and then do the complete opposite in reverse.

you could have split pings everywhere aswell, not too sure of your car. but be sure to purchase new ones and if your ball joints are shot, they're pretty cheap.

check on the internet as i might of missed some stuff but that's pretty much the go, well, it was for my old 300zx

- D

[Krilnik]

No camber kit required - it's an Exec.

Live axle.

[EDGE3]

Camber castor kit for the front struts I think he was talking about will set you back about $450 and if you get lowered springs then your better off getting the struts and shocks also

[learning about the rig]

I'd advise not compressing the springs yourself, can be very dangerous. Springs easily shoot off and can really hurt!
cheapest way would be checking a few wreckers out, can be surprised by what you find sometimes some nice commys end up there without nice springs/shocks being taken out .

[jokerflingo]

You advise not compressing the springs and here i thought spring compressors had a purpose in life, you know to compress springs?

[FstStig]

God this thread is full of morons!!!!

It's easy enough to do you're self

1. Jack car up and put safety stands under neath
2. Take you're wheels off
3. Undo the 2 strut bolts and lower control arm bolt
4. Undo the bottom swaybar linkage nut
5. Get some leverage and push down or up on the lower control arm to get the ball joint out
6. Undo the 6 Strut tower nuts (13mm I think they are)
7. Remove Strut
8. Put compressor springs on the spring, get them both as close to the top and bottom of the spring as possible and make sure they go on square (Use both spring compressors)
9. Tighten down the Spring compressors just enough so there is no tension on the top strut hat.
10. Take note on how the current spring is sitting in the strut, the new spring will need to be sitting in the same spot
11. Undo the big strut nut (22mm)

Install is just reverse (You will probably need to compressor the new spring in order to get the strut top hat bolted back on.

You advise not compressing the springs and here i thought spring compressors had a purpose in life, you know to compress springs?

He was advising not to compress springs if the guy didn't know what he was doing. If you don't know how to use spring compressors properly then it can cause very serious injury and in some cases death.

[jzt4kikz]

/\ what he said, just instead of taking out the x6 13mm bolts just take the black cover of the centre and remove the x1 24mm bolt ..just makes it easier to put back in and start if ur by urself is all and save a few minutes and chances of snapping them fragile studs on the 13mm nuts

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

As I have said in previous threads, there is no need to use spring compressors when doing springs.

Leave the car on the ground, remove the plastic cover from the large 24mm nut, undo it and remove it, then remove the plate under that. Undo and remove the next nut under the plate.

Because the weight is still on the springs, nothing will fly out. Jack the car up slowly until the weight is off the car and the spring is loose. It still won't fly out because you are jacking the car up slowly. Once the spring is loose, remove the wheel and remove the strut from the car. Take note of the order of the bushes and washers on top of the strut and remove them, remove the spring and refit the new one. Fit the bushes and washers in the correct order and orientation. The low spring will not need compressing to fit, just push down on the top spring seat until there is enough thread to start the nut. Just make sure the strut rod is pulled up to its maximum height. Do it up and refit the strut to the car. Hold it up in position and fit the plate from the top and start the nut to hold it in place. Then refit the stub axle to the strut.

It may be necessary to remove the brake caliper to get the lower strut mount bolt out.

After having said all that, I can do King Springs for $350 a full set shipped.

[m1lky]

You'll still need compressors to do the front though.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

No you don't. I have done a lot of lowering and never use compressors on a VR onwards Commodore.

[jzt4kikz]

haha, he was talking about the front too btw ^^ "As I have said in previous threads, there is no need to use spring compressors when doing springs.

Leave the car on the ground, remove the plastic cover from the large 24mm nut, undo it and remove it, then remove the plate under that. Undo and remove the next nut under the plate.

Because the weight is still on the springs, nothing will fly out. Jack the car up slowly until the weight is off the car and the spring is loose. It still won't fly out because you are jacking the car up slowly. Once the spring is loose, remove the wheel and remove the strut from the car. Take note of the order of the bushes and washers on top of the strut and remove them, remove the spring and refit the new one. Fit the bushes and washers in the correct order and orientation. The low spring will not need compressing to fit, just push down on the top spring seat until there is enough thread to start the nut. Just make sure the strut rod is pulled up to its maximum height. Do it up and refit the strut to the car. Hold it up in position and fit the plate from the top and start the nut to hold it in place. Then refit the stub axle to the strut.

It may be necessary to remove the brake caliper to get the lower strut mount bolt out.

After having said all that, I can do King Springs for $350 a full set shipped."

[showtime]

Ok I have lowered 2 of my own vs's and have changed different springs and shocks many of times trying different combinations to acheive right ride hight and comfort, aswell as helping many of my mates lower there commodores. To start with I purchased a set of spring compressors and used them thinking they were great. This all went well until I forgot to bring my spring compressors while working on my car in a mates shed. I didn't know what to do so I decided to give it a go with out spring compressors. i didn't think of doing it in the car and by the time I had realised I forgot my spring compressors I already had the shocks out of my car. I set it up facing away from me with one hand and alot of rags around the top of the spring and bearing plate i used the rattle gun to take of the top nut, at this stage i was waiting for the bang and bits and pieces taking off into the air when the nut spins off the last of the thread. when it finally let go it just popped and i barely even knew it had let go. Although this is not the recomended way to do it and can be seen as dangerous. I havn't used spring compressors again. I don't even use a rag anymore just simply put my hand over the bearing plate. I done mine today and the driverside one bearing plate was slightly seized onto the shock shaft and when I un done the nut it remained under full tension of the spring, to free it up i tapped the centre of the shock with a hammer and it let go. When it let go the bearing plate and washers just popped of and didn't even launch clear of the top spring seat. So I understand that under different circumstances on different cars some springs may have alot of force behind them and require spring compressors or to be done using the cars weight, but I would say its safe to do with out them on this model commodore.
Just another note. When re-installing standard springs. I'm not a big guy but I just sit it all back together the way it goes and push down on the bearing plate and start the top nut. Then I can use the rattle gun to tension. This is so much simpler and faster.