Ok, well, I'll have my GTU in about 2 or 3 weeks, and It's mildly modded, just exaust, S-AFC and intake, and I don't plan on doing any more mods except a true cold air intake...

Seeing pics of FC's lowered a few inches, makes it look a little longer IMO, kinda sleeker.

I cant do photoshop for ****, so 1st Im asking if anybody can lower this FC (one Im gettin ) and two what your opinions are on it.

If I was to ever get any kind of new bumper or ground effects, it would be the Bomex kit, minus the rear bumper... I just want something mild, and not too ricey.

How easy is it to lower a FC? My dad was telling me a little about it, when he did it, he just heated up the springs and got some buds of his to sit on the hood, and such, I didnt quite get it, but made sense. Is this the same on a FC? Im not going total low-rider here, just a few inches, 2-3, maybe 4... dont know what it would look like.

 

This is almost how log I would like it... not quite that low.



I dont think it would look right with the stock TII rims that are on it now... but I have no clue.

 

Here's the rear view...

 

heating the springs will kill your suspension if u wanna lower it dont do 4 inches that really low just get the inatrax springs witch lower it like 1.75 inches that should be low enough

 

Don't heat the springs......if you absolutely have to, cut a coil or 2, but heating them is a bad idea. I've had some friends (other cars) heat their springs and over time, the car keeps getting lower and lower, lol. Ultimately, get yourself a set of upgraded springs and struts if possible.

 

How much are we talkin here? Im not looking for the keen performance on the track or anything, but it would be nice to keep some potential since it is made for the twisties

 

I think you need to realize how low FCs are stock. Civics and other non-sport cars need to be lowered 2" because they are alot higher in stock form. I would get the rims and kit you want first and then get springs that lower your car the amount you want. Remember you will get camber problems more than likely if you go lower than 1.5".

 

Ok, forget about the numbers Ive said, Ive only seen this FC in person twice, so I have no acurate measurement for how much Id like, and Im not one to make things look scale in my mind... 1.75 in would be cool,

what about cutting the springs?

 

Cutting would be a lot better than heating, if I had to choose between the two. Don't be in a hurry though, cut 1/2 a coil at a time, drive it for a few minutes to let the car settle and such, check it out, rinse and repeat, lol. But just keep in mind, if you drop it too far, you're going to eat up tires like crazy, in which case you should have just spent all that tire money on some good springs, struts, and an alignment

 

With a bit of creativity (and a sawZall) you can cut your springs without even removing them from the car.

 

4 inches would be scrapin I think. On my car I've only got about an inch of fender gap in the front and 1.5 in the back. I'm not even sure I want to lower it.

 

For some reason my TII sits high. I cant figure it out either. Its looks jacked up. Maybe its all the weight I've taken off of it. I dunno.

 

Well, like I said, Ive only seen a FC up close twice, so I have no idea how much room I got to work with here....

The black FC on the front page, around how much was that lowered, so I can kind of get a 'feel' for how much I would like to go.

 

It looks to be about 2 inches. I could be wrong tho. When you get yours, just measure the fender gap and decide how much you want to lower it from there.

 

I would be careful lowering the car 2" or more...remember we don't have a lot of groud clearance in the first place. I believe it's 5 3/4" stock...so 2" off of that is only 3...that's really pushing it. Just be careful...an oil pan is a terrible thing to waste.

 

If you lower the car too far you will lose all the travel in the supension. Im thinking of lowering mine with a front lip spoiler. I have more than one story of someone buying new lowering springs and still having the same height due to plain old spring wear. If you want to look cool try those lowering springs that are adjustable so when your done ricing you can still drive it.

 

:
WHOA BACK THE HELL UP!

Let me quote myself:


I dont know where the hell you get me trying to be rice from, I can not stand rice, lowering the car 1.75 inches is not rice, in my book anyways, now if I were making it so that half my ****** tires were inside the wheel well, thats different.

I have no way to judge how far would be too much, or wouldnt look right, or what Im going for, now that I am being provided with this information, I have re-stated that less than 2 inches is plenty, 1.5 to 1.75, but I won't see til I can try and photoshop the pics.

 

I can't believe someone brought up heating up springs and cutting them! :o When you heat up anything, it reduces the tensile strength of the object-- the molecular structure spreads and becomes 'loose' in laymans terms.

If you want to lower your car do it right. Buy a set of reputable springs (ie: Tanabe) and get a set of dampers that can accomodate for the higher spring rate. Heating or cutting your suspension completely destroys it.

The max you want to lower your car is 2-2.25 inches. Any lower and you would be better getting a short stroke, short case coilover suspension so you can retain suspension travel.

 

On my NA with old, slightly sagging springs, I cut 1".
That left it with 3.5" ground clearance.
(Just enough to get a jack under.)

 

instead of cutting or heating up your stock 10 year old spring why don't you just buy new ones?

 

I'm glad someone finally mentioned this. Damn! I can't believe people are actually recommending cutting or heating the springs! You will completely destroy the carefully designed suspension geometry by doing some stupid **** like that. What will the result be? Handling will become unpredictable. On an already highly tuned sportscar, that could be disasterous. It will also make the ride quality unbearable. Every, single little road irregularity will be transmitted right through the chassis and into your spine instead of being absorbed and dispersed by the suspension. Jesus, what a bunch of ghetto crap! Leave cutting springs to the Honduh crowd. Do it the right way...get some Eibach springs or something similar. They lower the car about 1.5-1.75 inches, they actually enhance handling and, provided they have a progressive rate, they'll maintain a decent ride quality. They aren't that expensive and they aren't that hard to install your self. You can even rent the tools at Autozone.

Believe me, this is one thing you want to do right.

 

Cause I'm a cheap SOB.

Also, I plan to sell the NA - if my turbo deal works out.

 

the easy way would be adjustable coilovers, however if you change the geometry of your suspension, it will ride like crap. take a look at mazdatrix, and racing beat. they both offer something to what your looking for.

 

Well, you definately seem to know what you're talking about
Can you provide me with any more info I might need, any recommendations?

Thanks,
Jonathan

 

Thanks for the compliment. I'm not an expert on this subject and the knowledge I have is fairly common. I'll tell you what I know (and what I think and feel about it) and you can use what you need.

You can basically go two routes: coil-overs or springs & struts...

Coil-overs are definitely the better choice with regard to adjustability and tuning. You can make specific, minute adjustments and you can address all kinds of parameters including rebound, damping and compression rate. You can achieve a desired ride height throught these adjustments as well. You can also see why coil-overs are the best choice for track cars. They are also less complicated in terms of installation and interaction with the car because it is a single unit per wheel. The real drawback is immediate cost since you have to buy everything all at once. It can be a lot.

Springs & struts are analogous to the stock set-up. You can make great improvements to the stock set-up by changing the spring and the struts, but the adjustability pales in comparison to that of coil-overs. The spring is one component and the strut is a seperate component and, consequently, installation is quite a bit more involved. There are two types of springs, progressive rate and non-progressive rate. Progressive rate springs are definitely the better choice for street cars because they allow for a more compliant ride, but aggressive driving will still be rewarded with good handling because of the increased stiffness at the higher compression zones. You can get struts with some adjustability, but it's mostly a 10-detent dial where the adjustments can be roughly assessed as opposed to the fine-adjusting, threaded collars of the coil over. While the coil-overs are more immediately expensive, the total per-wheel cost of the spring & strut set-up can approach the same figures (depending on what you buy), but since you can buy the components seperately you can spread the cost out over time.

A lot of factors should come into play when deciding on the purpose of your car. If you're gonna be doing a lot of track time or you have money to burn or you're concerned with bling factor, coil-overs are a good choice. If your car will spend more time on the street, you can get some great results using the stock set-up with the improved springs & struts. Even occasional stints to the track or autocross course can do great with improved springs & struts.

There are a lot of good manufacturers on these parts. Eibach, Suspension Techniques, Tokico and KYB are just some names I can think of right now. There are others.

The bottom line is...the suspension was carefully designed to offer a combination of ride quality, handling and safety. You can enhance those characteristics and tailor them to your needs by carefully researching, acquiring and installing a well-designed after market set-up or you can destroy them by taking a torch or SawzAll to you stock components. If you're gonna do the latter, make sure your baggy pants are pulled up outta the way, your fightin' dog is tied up and yo' pimpin' Escalade wit 22s ain't too close. Also, wear a face shield so if the spring come out it don't knock out all yo' goad teef.