2000 base model. Absolutely stock. 87k.
It needs to come down about an inch. Currently about 3.5 inches of fender gap between tbe stock 14s and the body. Looks like ass.
Ive thought about trimming coils, and then went down the rabbit hole of research....
Ride quality is the primary concern. Thing rides fantastic right now.
So, how do I get there? Lowest budget possible and retain ride quality. Ots a 3k car....
FM Tokico shocks and springs was very nice for a DD. Step up to 15" wheels to fill the gap a bit.
The best measurement to use when looking at ride height is the center of the wheel to the top of the fender opening. This is unaffected by wheel/tire choice and inflation.
Get that number and we can start to talk.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
13.75 front and rear ny my trusted stanly tape measure.
Dad just bought the stage 1 Koni package for his 99 AE.
It should lower it about an inch and stiffen things a little without hurting ride quality too much.
The better solution would be the V-Maxx adjustable coil-over solution as the damping is a bit better than the Koni's.
In reply to Stefan:
As much as I would like to do coilover, i cant see dumping 1/3 of the cars value in it.
Granted, the love for this one is pretty strong.
What cheaper options are out there?
And how would a 205/50/15 fill out the wheelwells better? Near as i can tell, its pretty much the same diameter as the 14s.
I had a set of Tein springs with KYB Excel-G shocks on my '94 and it rode very well, similar to stock, but with better handling. I'd imagine any mild spring rate increase with smallish drop will be fine. With coilovers, much higher spring rates (550/325) and bilsteins it rides better than I'd expect, but the ride is definitely compromised.
In reply to Dusterbd13:
Yeah, that's why I linked to that page so you could see ALL of the options they offered.
Lowering springs will generally cause the ride to be more stiff than stock to help keep the car off the bumpstops and to help make use of the better center of gravity.
The trick is getting the damping correct to keep the ride decent enough to not make lowering it a horrible, horrible mistake. This is where the money goes and for good reason.
In reply to Dusterbd13:
Use 15x7 with a 35 offset. Looks distinctly meatier in the NA/NB wheel wells and doesn`t alter the scrub radius.
If the $659 V-Maxx is too expensive, then you're basically looking at ruining the ride just to make it look cool. There are no less expensive options that will do what you want to do. It doesn't matter what you paid for the car, there's a minimum cost to do this right. The good news is that with a low total outlay, you can have a car that rides well and looks the way you want it and handles better than basically anything else in that price range.
When you take away suspension travel, you have to increase the spring rate or you'll spend all your time slamming into the bumpstops. You want to drop the car to 12.75", which means you need to at least double the stock spring rate. Now, that can be done without killing the ride, but you'll have to pay for good shock absorbers. Either Koni Sport or V-Maxx. I think the Konis have better damping than the V-Maxx do, but they don't have adjustable ride height. Luckily, the FM springs are right where you want the car to sit.
Keith Tanner wrote: If the $659 V-Maxx is too expensive... --- It doesn't matter what you paid for the car, there's a minimum cost to do this right. --- When you take away suspension travel, you have to increase the spring rate or you'll spend all your time slamming into the bumpstops. You want to drop the car to 12.75", which means you need to at least double the stock spring rate. Now, that can be done without killing the ride, but you'll have to pay for good shock absorbers.
FM VMaxx is the easy button, and it isn't that expensive all said and done. I wish I'd done that, though I eventually went Koni/GC. In the end, I've paid a lot more to get there because I didn't want to spend "that much" the first time. It costs a certain amount to do it right. Spend it once...
On any car where significantly more spring rate is used, "OE replacement" dampers won't live, so in the end, it's not that cheap anyway.
I went with FM springs and konis for my 94. Dropped ride height by an inch and rides fantastic.
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