RenGen

Got 18" amr wheels and I kept saying I wouldn't lower it, but now I'm really wanting to, but at the same time i'm terrified because the car has less than 30k miles and runs mint, and I would hate to try to lower it to look nicer and in turn make it ride like crap and end up slowly breaking all the suspension components 1 by 1.

but im feeling so itzy i want to do it :S I live in a town with lots of potholes and its hard enough to keep alignment with even stock suspension, so would you guys recommend against me lowering my car? does it make a difference worth the cost and risk? i don't care about performance, the car handles great imo, but I want to make it look nicer.


thinking of the SR 1.5" springs and from what Ive read I only need a panhard bar and some camber bolts for extra accuracy during alignment. And want to make sure I got this right:

springs: are what lower the car

shocks+struts: are what provide ride quality but since I got low mileage I can wait to replace?

panhard bar: recommended for s197s to center the rear

camber bolts: to help with alignment and a cheap alternative to camber plates which are recommended for drops greater than 1.5".

so with all this should I be okay? I'm going to a local alignment shop in town so I figure they should know the stuff considering they specialize in it. will order the parts then have them install it + do an alignment - and I should be okay?

I'm scared as hell I will be driving a week later then start hearing clunky noises and shaking and having the car pull and ride like crap ugh...now that i think about it maybe stock height isn't so bad lol...what do you guys say?

also i heard about the stock strut mounts and how they fall apart when you remove them and spread bee bees everywhere and if you lose even 1 tiny bee bee you will have a clunk for rest of your life?

808muscle

SR springs are nice...but you could go with a smaller drop. Ford Racing P springs. They are a one inch drop. You could even pass on the panhard bar and certainly the camber bolts. I didnt even bother with an alignment as the car tracks perfect.

Stock strut mounts suck no doubt. The GT500 units are only $100 at AM. Just get those at the same time.

Most everyone I know that has dropped their car has not purchased shocks. You can get away with the stockers but over time they will wear out. Upgrading to some Strange, Koni or eibach then are all good choices.

UPRSharad

Lower all the things! If you go with a modest drop, the ride quality will still be decent. You don't NEED anything other than the springs, but I certainly recommend an adjustable panhard bar as well.

Norm Peterson

As long as you don't mind paying to have your front suspension disassembled twice.

Wait and see if you need or want this, as it can be done separately from all other suspension mods. Don't bother with the PHB brace; the OE one is plenty strong enough.

If you're having difficulty maintaining alignment settings as it is, forget you ever heard of "camber bolts". Think camber plates or Steeda's HD strut mounts.

Don't assume so much. If they're into doing performance work you will probably be OK, but if they're the usual kind of place that only does standard alignments on daily-drivers, grocery-getters, and minivans - don't expect them to be at all familiar with modified suspensions. You'd be surprised how many places don't know how to cope with camber plates simply because most cars didn't originally come equipped with them.

If the work is done right, you shouldn't have any problems any time soon. Although over a longer period of time, noises that were going to develop anyway will probably become noticeable somewhat sooner.


They do come apart fairly easily, though I'm not at all convinced that the loss of only one of the BB's will guarantee a clunk. That said, the Steeda HD strut mounts (get the right ones for the struts) will get you around that problem an d give you some camber adjustability as well.


Norm