Dropping my car questions

Fuzzyneon · Post by **Fuzzyneon** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:59 am

i want like a 1.5 inch drop any reccomendations for parts what ill need to do this parts wise i have a 2005 sxt

jT · Post by jT » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:47 am

im no expert but you will definitely need new springs..

from what ive seen all springs more or less have the same drop height.. the differences seem to be in the spring rates and brand (=price)

i was going to get the vogtland springs.. they seem to have good things said about them and arent too expensive

then depending on your shocks you may need new shocks because stock ones dont have some sort of "perch" for the springs or something like that... and also the stock shocks can blow out real quick because they arent made for lowering springs... but i do not know if this applies to the stock 2005 sxt shocks, i know it does for a 2000 es for example

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:52 am

Pretty much when you lower your car you going to need springs and then replace your OEM struts (they don't like going that low for too long).

There are a lot of springs to choose from and Modern Performance has a decent selection, but not all inclusive

I've heard of:
Progress
Vogtland
H&R
Dropzones
Eibach

I know personally for Eibach that the Sportlines are a 2"-2.4" drop while the ProKit is more along the lines of what your looking for.

the most common Strut choices I can think of are
Tokiko and KYB

One other thing that you might need to consider is a camber kit. Again, MP has them at really good prices. I would not suggest getting them where you would normally get your car aligned (supposing that you are going to do this), you'll pay way too much. However, these might not be completely necessary.

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:34 am

1.5 isn't a lot, really. These cars sit incredibly high and there's a huge wheel gap in stock height. You might consider springs that drop you 2, maybe even 2.5", like Eibach Sportlines. You won't be too low. Trust me, these cars are WAY high to begin with.

My car is a little over 2" drop. You can see in my sig pic the front wheel. I have a section on my cardomain page that shows a measuring tape before and after my springs. Keep in mind when you look at the pictures that the wheel/tire combo I have is actually overall a bit taller than stock wheels/tires, so imagine that I would have a bit more wheel gap even now, if I didn't have the combo I'm running with.

MoxHair · Post by **MoxHair** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:48 am

1.5" Lower is right in the sweet spot of the suspension. Anything lower is just for show.

I'd go, and did go with, the H&R Springs.

Fuzzyneon · Post by **Fuzzyneon** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:23 pm

MoxHair wrote:1.5" Lower is right in the sweet spot of the suspension. Anything lower is just for show.

I'd go, and did go with, the H&R Springs.

yeah and i plan on going with 17's or somethign so i dont wanna drop it to much and rub everything

Fuzzyneon · Post by **Fuzzyneon** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:48 am

now could i run like Eibach Springs PRO-KIT 03-05 SRT4 on my 2005 sxt with stock struts or no? if no what are some decent ride quality struts

nate-00neon · Post by **nate-00neon** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:36 am

yeah
i lowered my car and have yet to buy dif struts.
i have the eibach kit where it was like 1.6 in the front and 1.8 in the back.
that might be something that you want.
i could take a pic of my car and show you the results on stock tires.

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:27 am

Fuzzyneon wrote:
MoxHair wrote:1.5" Lower is right in the sweet spot of the suspension. Anything lower is just for show.

I'd go, and did go with, the H&R Springs.
yeah and i plan on going with 17's or somethign so i dont wanna drop it to much and rub everything

With 17's, you will have to worry about tire size from the spring perch issue long before you worry about rubbing things. SRT-4 has 205/50-17's but the spring perch on their struts is higher. Your stock spring perch is lower, and it running 17's will mean that you have only two choices:

1) Run 17's with 205/40 series tires to clear the perch. Some of the guys here have done that, but they are either lowered more than 1.5" or they still look like they are lifted, because whatever they gained fromthe spring drop they lost with the tire size.

2) Upgrade to either SRT-4 stock struts (can be had very cheaply) or aftermarket struts, and aftermarket lowering springs or OEM SRT springs. Now you can run 205/50-17 like the SRT, or go a tiny bit bigger/wider like I did and run 215/45-17's. Your 1.5" drop will not leave a big gap now, and you won't need to run lower profile tires to clear the perch.

As was said earlier, aftermarket springs tend to blow out stock struts after a short while. How long it takes depends on the spring rate and the condition of your struts, although the stiffer brands do it pretty quick. SRT stock struts are a little tougher but not much, so pick a spring rate that will be kind, or you will be replacing struts soon, and that gets pricey.

I went with SRT stock struts for $100, and Megan Racing springs for $117 shipped. I also went with stock 17' SRt-4 wheels, with 215/45-17 tires (you can see them in my tag). If you want you can go look at my cardomain page, I have a page where I have comparison pics of the drop, as well as measuring tape pictures of the differences.

SRt-4 wheels are 17x7 I believe... the only concern with rubbing is when you change the offset or go wider. I haven't heard of anyone on here riubbing for going lower than 1.5" unless they were on airbags and going reeeeally low (much lower than 2.5"). And even then those guys seem to be fine, too. Neon wheel wells are huge.

TN.Frank · Post by **TN.Frank** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:36 am

Fuzzyneon wrote:i want like a 1.5 inch drop any reccomendations for parts what ill need to do this parts wise i have a 2005 sxt

Same car, same amount of lowering, don't want to get too low or when I get 17's with wide tires it might rub. Also, what's the deal with Coil Overs, would that be a better way to go then just springs.? I'm keeping an eye on this thread to see what the answer is.

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:43 am

Coilovers: YES.

Just not the cheap Ebay ones, as I've found out here. Those are the "coilover sleeves".

Real coilovers are a full piece. It costs, but it replaces *everything*... strut and spring both. It also means NO spring perch in the way. You will be able to go with 17", 18", etc., and pick your tire size with ease. You will be able to go as low as you want, and even take some of the rake out the back to even the car height (factory, the car is a bit taller in the rear than the front).

There's a thread on here about them somewhere.

I still want to go with the BC coilovers as soon as I can muster the cashola. You can get them under the "Megan Racing" brand name for under a grand.

Coilovers FTW.

TN.Frank · Post by **TN.Frank** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 11:54 am

It sounds like Coil Overs are THE way to go then even if they cost a bit more then new struts and springs. I bet they'd be easier to intstall too. I also noticed that the rear of the car sets a bit higher then the front and it makes it look fugly, I'd like an even looking gap between both the front and rear of the tires in the wheel wells.

P.S.
I think I've even heard that you can get adjustable Coil Overs so you can set the ride heigth where you want it. That'd be sweet.

P.S.S.
Just checked Modern's web site. You can get new struts and springs for aroun $460, coil overs are $1K for the least expensive BUT you can adjust the ride heigth and I'd be willing to bet that the ride would be a lot better too. So, Coil Overs are twice the price but I still think it'd be worth it in the long run.

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:31 pm

Here, check this out, one of the more active members on here wrote up a how-two, with good pictures and very wel documented:

http://forum.2gn.org/viewtopic.php?t=15763

Here's a discussion about inverted vs. non-inverted:

http://forum.2gn.org/viewtopic.php?t=21 ... =coilovers

You can get BC coilovers, the non-inverted kind, for about $845. They're branded as "Megan Racing" coilovers, are red and black, and are pretty easy to find online.

If that doesn't convince you, nothing else can.

TN.Frank · Post by **TN.Frank** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:55 pm

$845 is even a better deal AND I really do like the adjustablility deal. With springs and struts you're pretty much stuck with what you've got. With Coil Overs you can tweak your ride heigth to where YOU want it, I like that idea.

MoxHair · Post by **MoxHair** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:45 pm

Arro wrote:SRt-4 wheels are 17x7 I believe... the only concern with rubbing is when you change the offset or go wider. I haven't heard of anyone on here riubbing for going lower than 1.5" unless they were on airbags and going reeeeally low (much lower than 2.5"). And even then those guys seem to be fine, too. Neon wheel wells are huge.

17X6 aka Wagon Wheels

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:46 pm

if you look closely at the curve of the wheel wells, you'll notice the front one is higher than the rear. If you want an identical wheel gap, the front will still be slightly lower than the rear of the car. With my eibach sportlines, there is no wheel gap, the front is slightly lower than the rear, and it makes the srt spoiler a little less retarded looking. I'm also on stock struts with at least 5000 miles, and not a hint of strut problems, with the exception of a messed up upper front passenger mount. I don't think it's the springs.

Sawhiskey · Post by **Sawhiskey** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:41 pm

Would I get like a 0.5 inch drop with stock srt struts and springs?

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