How Low Should I Go ??

[Johnsy]

Hi everyone,
I just picked up my new ssz sedan 2 weeks ago and want to lower my car but dont know how much?
I dont want to go to low and cop gutter rash all the time but want it to look lowered....
I got quoted $550 to lower it an inch (25mill) from pedders but was wondering what else is out there?

Cheers
SSZ-57L

 

[Sammy]

i've heard alot of good things from King Springs ... i personally have a 1 inch lowered rear in my ute with king springs .... makes it sit level and looks a hell of alot better .... i didn't go for super low though because 1 i can only just get up my driveway now and 2 i don't think its a legal height .... but im not sure

the rule is something like 100mm from the ground to the lowest point under the car or something like that ....

 

[steane]

Be very careful what you put in it so that you dont end up with a crap ride, or crashy suspension. There is a lot more to lowering a car than just dropping in some new springs. I had my ute lowered by around 3 inches at the rear and 2 inches at the front.

I went for Eibach springs and bilstein shocks that were revalved to suit the springs and the ride is far superior to what it was when standard. The bisteins are a shorter bodied shock, originally designed to be used with the V8 supercars and their lowered suspension setups.

You can go as low as you like (provided its legal) and obtain a better ride than the factory suspension, provided it is done right.
Doing it right will cost you more but at least you won't be cursing each time you go for a drive.

Personally, I wouldnt use australian made springs or anything pedders.
Whiteline have some good gear and are now selling euro made springs as well.

 

[Johnsy]

Thanks guys... i think i will go King springs now i have looked into it a bit now..
Does anyone know how much lower FE2 is over stock cause i assume that will go when i get my new springs....

 

[hsv_punk]

FE2 is about 1-1.25inchs lower than standard I believe.

 

[throttlehappy]

Be very careful what you put in it so that you dont end up with a crap ride, or crashy suspension. There is a lot more to lowering a car than just dropping in some new springs. I had my ute lowered by around 3 inches at the rear and 2 inches at the front.

I went for Eibach springs and bilstein shocks that were revalved to suit the springs and the ride is far superior to what it was when standard. The bisteins are a shorter bodied shock, originally designed to be used with the V8 supercars and their lowered suspension setups.

You can go as low as you like (provided its legal) and obtain a better ride than the factory suspension, provided it is done right.
Doing it right will cost you more but at least you won't be cursing each time you go for a drive.

Personally, I wouldnt use australian made springs or anything pedders.
Whiteline have some good gear and are now selling euro made springs as well.

and how much did they cost you???

 

[SpeedRacer]

FE2 is about 1-1.25inchs lower than standard I believe.

There's a lot of comments around the place about how much lower than stock FE2 is. I gotta tell you, my SV6 doesn't sit any lower than the exec VZ I used to park next to at work. I would imagine the ride height is no different, just the damper and spring rates.

 

[steane]

and how much did they cost you???

I paid $2,500.00 (fitted) but I had quotes for a quadrant set-up of around $2,000.00. It used quadrant springs (not eibach) and the Bilstein shocks weren't custom valved.

The front struts in the VZ's are a sealed unit and need to be cut and shut to fit the Bilsteins so there is quite a bit involved. Its not a case of buying some new strut inserts and fitting them yourself anymore.

Yeah, I know it's expensive but I have "been there done that" with suspension on numerous cars and you have to spend the $'s to get it right.

Nothing worse than a lowered car with a hard ride, not if you like your kidneys and car without rattles.

 

[Sammy]

geez thats a fair wack

my case was slightly different, i was happy with the ride, i simply wanted to bring the bum down to level the car ....

im quite happy with the ride of the king springs, i have towed a car trailer now with the new rear suspension and it worked a treat, the rear didn't lower too much with the load and it still handled great .....

having said that im not trying to compare to the $2500 setup, however i much prefer the $150 i payed for my springs

 

[steane]

geez thats a fair wack

my case was slightly different, i was happy with the ride, i simply wanted to bring the bum down to level the car ....

im quite happy with the ride of the king springs, i have towed a car trailer now with the new rear suspension and it worked a treat, the rear didn't lower too much with the load and it still handled great .....

having said that im not trying to compare to the $2500 setup, however i much prefer the $150 i payed for my springs

It's not really that much when you consider what the car costs to start with and you need to keep in mind that you only dropped your rears an inch which doesnt require the shocks to be changed. I dropped the rear by 3 inches and the front by 2+ and going that low means you need to change quite a lot to get a good result.
If I just whacked some "super low" Kings in it the result would have been ordinary at best. I've ended up with a better ride than standard and I can still tow and carry whatever load I need to and it looks way better. The standard suspension on the ute is ridiculously high.