I know that the only real alternative to the rear 4x4 stance of my car is coil overs, and I am planning on getting set in a few months, but I am wondering about lowering the front. I have 245/45/50 ZR16 tires on the car, what came on it when I got it, but they are just look much smaller than my 245/50's on the other TGP. I've done some searching but didn't find a definitive answer about lowering springs. Who has used what springs and can you give me an opinion on them? I saw the Eibach Monte/Lumina springs, but are they the best way to go?
Theses are so far the best method to lower the front.....
Info from www.w-body.com Upgrades section
Suspension Techniques. Suspension Techniques offers lowering springs to fit the front of the first-gen W-body. They are commonly sold through JC Whitney for $80/pair (SKU #ZX810113T). They are designed to lower the car 1 to 1.5".
buy them here
http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10101&productId=217496&catalogId=10101&langId=-1
Thanks man.. I'm going to lower the front and rear hopefully in the spring, but I've been reading on those coilovers on 60degree, they are noisy from what I gather. Maybe Josh can chime in here, you have them on your Cutlass, are they that bad?
What about using the FAF rear leaf? If you could get ahold of Shawn and see how much it lowered his CS.
Not much, as I recall. Or at least not near what he had hoped for.
Quote from: GutlessSupremeNot much, as I recall. Or at least not near what he had hoped for.
Someone said it may settle more after being used.
I think it went down a quarter of an inch.. I was hoping for double that at least in the rear. The tires are much lower profile and look funny, I want to take some of that space away.
EDIT: I meant .75". That's what I think Shawns car dropped. I was looking for a little more.
Do the TGP's have stiffer front springs? If so, how would lowering affect the handling.
Quote from: RW89TGPI think it went down a quarter of an inch.. I was hoping for double that at least in the rear. The tires are much lower profile and look funny, I want to take some of that space away.
Put 200lbs of dog food in the trunk, that will lower it a lot!!! If it is too low remove one of the 50lb bags. :shock: :wink:
i got my front lowering springs from TwinDualCam.com along with my adjustable rear coilover kit. they are out of business now of course, but Shawn Lin mentioned once that the front springs TDC used were Eibach. i use 225/60-16 tires, and i don't get any rubbing at all. they didn't lower the car as much as i would have liked but i think the Eibach springs were designed to lower a W-body with a DOHC/auto whereas i have a much lighter 3.1/282 combo. i've heard that Intrax springs will lower the car a little more than the Suspension Technique springs, but they probably cost more.
i don't really like my rear coilovers, mostly because of the crappy upper spring mount. sometimes one side of the car's rear suspension would become completely unloaded while doing a hard u-turn (leaving one of the rear coils completely loose) and then when the suspension came back down again the spring wouldn't go back into the upper mount correctly, ie. it would be sitting crooked and make horrible noises. i'd have to raise the car with a jack and then lower it back down making sure the spring sat correctly. the FFP upper mount is MUCH better from what i've heard.
another note about the rear coilovers. the lower spring mount actually 'doubles' as the adjuster. IOW you set the ride height by turning the lower spring mount on a threaded sleeve that slips over the strut body. there is a set screw that goes through the lower spring mount/adjuster and it has a nylon tip that presses against the threaded sleeve so it 'locks' in place so the ride height won't change while you're driving around. MAKE SURE you don't overtighten this!! i thought i was careful not to overtighten it, but then when i went to re-adjust the rear coilovers sure enough i stripped them out trying to loosen them :evil: now the only way i can adjust the ride height is with the use of two big pipe wrenches....one to hold the threaded sleeve in place and one to turn the lower spring mount/aduster. i'm not sure if FFP uses that same set screw method or what but i will be replacing my TDC coilovers with FFP coilovers soon anyway
good luck :)
Now we just need an update on the front Coil Over setup FFP has/had been working on for some time now.....
i want to hear from someone with coilovers installed....do they or do they not improve handling??? i know you can adjust ride height but im looking for a lower and sportier handling ride! i don't fully trust the quality of these companys because the struts they use, they use kyb gr2, which unless re-valved, are only designed to handle stock spring rates...im sure they work fine and lower the car, but if you cant use a stiffer sping rate to cut down on body roll and other important suspension geometery i wouldn't buy them.
so anyone actually have an opinion on whether or not they improve handling?
Quote from: idbeastPut 200lbs of dog food in the trunk, that will lower it a lot!!! If it is too low remove one of the 50lb bags. :shock: :wink:
That or an ugly fat girlfriend!! :lol:
I've got the FFP coilovers on my car and it seems to handle better than before. That could be for at least one of the following reasons:
1.) I switched to the coilovers becuase my rear leafspring was VERY cracked on one side and beginning to split and my struts were pretty well shot.
2.) They actually make a difference.
At any rate, I like the feel of the car but I imagine it may be a little bit better if there were some stiffer struts instead of the KYB stock replacements. Between the coilovers in the rear and a STB in the front, it goes around turns at speed quite well.
Quote from: TGPilotQuote from: idbeastPut 200lbs of dog food in the trunk, that will lower it a lot!!! If it is too low remove one of the 50lb bags. :shock: :wink:
That or an ugly fat girlfriend!! :lol:
But with the ugly fat girlfriend, and you are sitting too low then you need to find a different ugly fat girlfriend 50 pounds lighter, it is just easier to remove one of the 50lb bags
good to know tyroelite...are you planning on getting front coilovers if FFP ever comes out with them!!
Absolutely.
So you don't have any complaints about the coilovers? Are they extremely noisy? Comparison to the spring are they louder? I am seriously considering a set this spring for my TGP.. but have read some bad things. Do you have any pics of your car that you can post with FFP's coilovers installed?
I will be using the coilovers with the ADDCO bar, and upgraded trailing arms.
i dont have any complaints at this point. I've had them for about 1 year now. Some people have expressed concern that the sheet metal where the upper mount rests is not strong enough to hold the weight of the car but I have not had any problems with that. The springs/struts are not loud at all. The spring was much louder because of the crack I think. I dont have any pics here of the rear set up but I do somewhere. I know i have one picture at least of the car at a car show where i dropped the back end all the way down and tucked the wheels for a bit but I can't seem to find that one. I'll look for them and post them when i can find them. When I get home next, I'll take some pics without the wheels on in my friends garage and get them up too.
here are the only pics i have currently... they were at a car show, just messing around.
Pic 1 (http://psubooks.creamyfetus.com/images/tgp/drop1.jpg)
Pic 2 (http://psubooks.creamyfetus.com/images/tgp/drop2.jpg)
ooooh I like that alot!! holy shit that will make my car look awesome! This car has 245/45's and they look like 15's in the wheel well because they are so short. I am definetely getting myself a set of those in a couple of weeks.
good deal.
do you drive with the rear that low or only when ur showin off...does it ever bottom out...cause that is loooooww... dude get a shot of your whole car that looks nice!
no... the wheels rub when it is that low... and dropping the back lifts the front up about 6 inches :roll: That was just for the show... and not even during the judging. i usually have it dropped about 1-2 inches from stock since the front isn't that low, it looks funny to go lower but the rear wheels fill out the fender very nicely.
Hey guys, I'm trying to put together a group purchase for Intrax front Monte Carlo springs.
If we order 10, they are $82.50. If we order 5 they are $98.70. Right now we have 5 or 6 sold. So a few more and we get a really good deal.
This price doesn't include shipping however. They will give us a 1.8" drop in the front end. Progressive rated springs and will not be too uncomfortable of a ride.
Please excuse the cross post, but here is the thread on w-body.
http://www.w-body.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19326&start=150
Anyone interested pm me here, there, or email me with the tab below. Thanks.
We have 9 orders in place!! Only one to go to get sets for $82.25.
Anyone interested pm me here, at w-body, or email me at r_dogwarren@hotmail.com
Thanks!