I am looking into lowering my car and seeing everyone else suggesting only lowering the car by an inch or an inch and a half. If I was to just lower the car by an inch or an inch and a half would you guys recommend buying a whole set of coilovers, or would you recommend buying lowering springs? Yes I also realize that it is recommended by most if you do get lowering springs to also replace the struts. Given my car only has 63,000 miles would that be something to look into as well?

 

Miles + age is the factor. Even with "relatively" low miles, those struts are near 40 years old. It's worth replacing them.

I have lowering springs and struts on my FC, and I'm pretty happy with it. It's not slammed on its nuts, so I can actually drive it places, and it still looks better than stock height.

 

What kind of ride quality are you after? Does it matter? Budget? Goals for the car?

There is digressive valved coil overs out there that will rival some magnerride systems...

In my opinion, there is no denying that having the adjustability of coil overs to dial in ride just right is a clear winner for me. My other car has BC Racing coil overs and I'll get them for my new to me FC as well.

 

I mean ride quality is not the greatest concern for me I really just don’t want it to be unbearable considering I have an hour commute that i’m going to have to do almost daily. I have somewhere around a 1,000$ budget I mean the less I have to spend on something that is still good quality is obviously better but if it’s a bit more that’s okay too for a big step up in quality.

 

To lean towards budget friendly, get some new shocks - any brand will be better than what GtiKyle point out, 40yr old shocks. Figure out some recommended spring rates for lowering springs. I wouldn't even bother with cheap coil overs.

Decent struts and lowering springs with spring rates for appropriate for an FC on the street will get the job done.

 

Yeah I mean I figured I would ask I seen that there was a decent amount of coilovers that were around $1,000 dollars and figured that was a median price for something that was rather entry level. I mean springs and struts are also a fair bit cheaper so I will do some more research and figure out what I need to do. If you have any experience with coilovers that were good quality and somewhere near my price range that would also be greatly appreciated.

 

The last set of coil overs I went with were BC Racing BR series with custom spring rates (I choose some slightly stiffer springs for that car). I really like them because they're rebuildable. Meaning if the oil leaks out of the strut body, a strut shop can rebuild them, replace the seals, oils etc. Ride height and damping adjustability allows you to get it just right. They also build their strut bodies and valving specifically for lowered cars meaning a better ride than just struts and lowering springs.

Ride height does not have to equal harsh ride. Not any more, anyway!

*EDIT*
Something to consider/remember that I overlooked before that people don't talk about a lot is break in period. No matter what you do, lower springs, coil overs, air ride, whatever - there will be a break in period where everything is a little stiffer. When I first put my last set of coil overs in, I thought I made a huge mistake at first. After a few hundred miles things worked in and it got a lot better.

 

Yeah BC Racing was definitely my top pick for coilovers if I decided to get them in the first place considering I have heard a ton of good stuff about them and their pricing isn’t completely out of the range for a broke student like myself. They are definitely my number one option as of right now. I was not planning on getting custom springs considering it’s going to be a daily but again if you have conflicting ideas on that i’m open to them.

 

I have a set of Tokico Illumina 5 way adjustable shocks and springs for sale. The springs are mounted and the set is ready for installation. They are used and have little mileage on them. Let me know if you'd be interested in this set.