lowering a VT

[cameron4518]

G'day, im sure alot of ppl ask about lowering there car so i was looking at king springs (low) and rear shocks with camber kit, got some questions!
can u leave ur standard struts in, as in not ones for lowered springs. Also iv heard u can damage ur diff easily (hitting things) but thats only if ur gunna drop it on its ass hey?? and will it affect ur tail shaft? as ss and commodores with Fe2 have a shorter tailshaft? so ive heard. so what im really asking is
Will lowering ur car say 30mm affect things much? tyre wear, diff, tailshaft, cv boots, ??? cheers!

[vtcommodo3800]

No you don't need to change your struts but lowering with standard shocks will stuff your shocks a little quicker but when they become completely stuff replace them with the right ones, but 30mm shouldn't worry the originals. Also it won't stuff your tailshaft or anything like that. As far as I SS have the same tailshaft maybe just a bit stronger for the v8. Just get the guards rolled and the camber kit adjusted. By the way how much the springs, shocks and camber kit costing ya.

[vy_pete05]

i havent had any problems since ive lowered mine...i got king springs, good shocks (cant remember the ones), 17" rims buit also fitted a camber kit...u REALLY need the camber kit, especially when lowering a VT, that I.Susp on the rears really f*ks ya tyres quik, and being lower does it even quicker...duno if that helped but, but yeh...

[HSVKEV260R8]

G'day, im sure alot of ppl ask about lowering there car so i was looking at king springs (low) and rear shocks with camber kit, got some questions!
can u leave ur standard struts in, as in not ones for lowered springs. Also iv heard u can damage ur diff easily (hitting things) but thats only if ur gunna drop it on its ass hey?? and will it affect ur tail shaft? as ss and commodores with Fe2 have a shorter tailshaft? so ive heard. so what im really asking is
Will lowering ur car say 30mm affect things much? tyre wear, diff, tailshaft, cv boots, ??? cheers!

My advice is DON'T DO IT!!! You'll chew through tyres too often!

[Optimus_Prime]

Yeah you can leave your struts but if you/someone else jack your car up or put it on a hoist you'll need to make sure the rear springs are fixed in place when taking it down, if theyre not then theres a chance theyll pop out and your ass will drop, which is bad.

If you drive carefully over speedbumbs & up kerbs then you'll be fine. The main thing that would hit anything would be mudflaps & if you find they scrape alot just take them off it it bothers you. There should be no probs with the tailshaft either.

I dont like to contradict you hsvkev260r8 BUT my advice is DO DO IT! If you're going all out then go superlows too - springs are the same price & it looks awesome! If you get a 4 point camber kit installed aswell, which you definately should, then the camber isnt much worse than it comes standard so your tyres wont wear down all that much more than normal.

[Slick6]

I have a VT 's' and have lowered it one stage lower than the FE2 it had and in my opinion it should be lower..

I put Lovells springs, Koni shocks and a 4 point camber kit and it handles like a go kart.. In regards to the camber, I am sure it sits straighter at the back than when it came out of the factory...

[oliver]

what is a camber kit?

[vtcommodo3800]

Hey i just put FE2 in my 6cyclinder. Not much lower but made it look better then standard. I am going to pull the front ones back out and cut 1/2 a coil off then it should look a lot better and i still won't need a camber kit. Cheering finished for $180 new. I definitly have to be carefully where i take it and how now though. I will post pics when finished the front.

[rattattack1313]

Pretty dangerous cutting coils mate........

[vtcommodo3800]

The spring guys said because they are v8 ones it won't hurt them taking 1/2 a coil. Just gotta be careful when jacking it up. But i am starting to think about not cutting them and just leaving them.

[SUPERV6]

Cutting front coils isn't really the way to do it as it can alter the way the spring compresses. Some springs have a progressive compression rate and cutting them will mess with how they work. Rear springs can't be cut at all. One possible option is to have the springs professionally reset to a lower height.

[AirStrike]

Yeah im getting some springs compressed for my VR to last me till March.....cheapest legal way to lower it.
AIrStrike

[Steven M]

Dunno bout VT's, i used to cut the rear springs in my vl's and get lovells for the front, I wouldn't cut your front springs though because at least 60% of the weight would be on the front especially when braking hard, you have to rely on the front end to direct which way you want to go. On another note, i am thinking about lowering my car but my front mudflap plastic thing already just scraped on some speed bumps

[limnuy]

how does lowering your car increase tyre wear? is it much... ?

[SUPERV6]

when u lower a IRS commodore it increases the toe of the rear wheels (causes a scrubbing action) and the camber goes aggressively negative so transfers the scrubbing to the inside edge of the rear tyres. A camber/toe kit helps to adjust/remove the high amounts of toe in and also stand the tyre up straighter so there is much less negative camber, therefore transfering the reduced scrubbing across the whole width of the tyre.

[Spyper]

Just got quoted for lowering my VX II..
King Springs front and rear (Not sure if I want to go low/superlows yet..)
Front and Rear struts
Rear Camber Kit
and replacement read-right alignment arm
+ Labour
1450
OUCH!

[peterj]

After being disallusioned at some of the quotes i got for suspension work i decided to do it myself.

Bought 2nd hand low mileage fe2 springs from ebay and new gas struts and rear shocks for a total cost of just under $400 plus a few hours fitting time.

Pedders here in SA quoted $700 just for new struts and shocks.

While not a great deal lower than original, certainly a lot better in the handling department.

[ZER0]

at trade pricing i can get king spring super lows, monrow shocks and a camber kit all for about $750... is that a fair price

[Spyper]

Well parts was costing me 1100 alone.. I'd say so.

[GIJoel]

My mate says a camber kit isn't necessary if i have stock rims (15") any truth to that? Would that be because there's more wall and they just flex?

[SUPERV6]

Zero truth to that. But the larger the overall rolling diameter of the wheel AND tyre the worse the scrubbing will be. Even stock rims with high profile tyres still scrub out...just not quite as quick.

[MikeCuzzy]

The effect is negligible on stockies, you rotate your tyres and you'll be fine PROVIDED you are at stock height. The lower you go, the worse your positive camber will be. Also if you tow, you will chew them up very quickly as this has a similar effect to lowering.

[GIJoel]

ah okay, that makes sense, thanks for clearing that up for me

[Magixxs]

How much does a camber kit usually cost?

^^ I know this is vague just want a general figure

[GIJoel]

for a VT, on eBay, about $150 +/- $50