The ultimate loweringsprings guide!

[lo_puls]

Yep King springs are the major player over here and in Aus, but another brand that is getting big here are Dobi springs.

As an example to get springs here fitted to standard shocks is about $350-$495, and you dont need a cert for them, but to get coilovers fitted is a minimum $1200+, that is for D2 shocks, then certing them is another $300ish, so most people here cut their factory springs that is a big no no, or fit kings or dobi's.

Craig

 

[StuN16Sport]

Absolutely true.
Lowering springs serves only ONE purpose, lowering your car for styling.

i would disagree with that completely, while admittedly, they do not provide the benefits of a full kit, lowering the car at all (even on the original shocks) will reduce body roll significantly and improve handling. i lowered a vauxhall corsa by heating and shutting the bottom coil of each spring as an experiment and purely to se if it worked ar at all, thus lowereing the car evenly. the car was not only better to drive from a handling perspective, but would you believe on the same stretch of road it was almost 10mph faster, and so appearantly more aero dynamic too. lol.

i amnot saying that the ride quality is comparable because on most cars after they have done about 50K the spring does most of the shockers work anyway as the shocks are getting tired. so when you put progressive rate lowering springs on with standard shocks, obviously the car becomes in some cases very hard as the uprated springs are indeed stronger than standard ones and therefore do not compress as easily. not sayong your wrong mate, this is only my opinion after all, and personally i would never put just springs onto my own car again, however i still believe that they do have there benefits on the road as well as improving the look of your car.

 

[Damo-Sri]

Fuck me running!!!! Heating springs is one of the most dangerous,illegal and irresponible things you could possibly do to a road-going car. Heating metal weakens its structure especially metal under load. That bend your taking 10mph faster will probably have a family in a galaxy coming the other way, and when 2 of those springs snap under load and you kill 5 people head on........

 

[24SEVEN]

Where can you get Eibach springs? Is tein short for Bilstein, or is it a separate company?

 

[dub_almera]

Where can you get Eibach springs? Is tein short for Bilstein, or is it a separate company?

separate company www.tein.co.uk oh and expensive too

 

[24SEVEN]

just a bit! Still can't find eibach's for a non GTi. What other UK brands are worth going for? Soeone mentiones Pi? Jamex any good? I've no idea bout any of them.

 

[Deleted member 939]

I had 40mm Pi's on my SRi and they were fine! gunna buy them again (but with shocks this time) so they cant have been bad

 

[NaylorGTS]

just a bit! Still can't find eibach's for a non GTi. What other UK brands are worth going for? Soeone mentiones Pi? Jamex any good? I've no idea bout any of them.

shit and shitter. you want eibachs for your almera? dunnu if the gti ones should fit still? or just get some gti shocks too?

 

[Dale]

Apex seem alright for the money, ive had these on my car (almera SI) for a while.

 

[24SEVEN]

Eibachs are too expensive. I'm not bothered about ride quality really, I'm a hardtail downhiller so bumps don't phase me . I just want the car to look a little less like a monster truck , but don't want the springs to turn to porridge on me after 1000 miles.

 

[NaylorGTS]

cut the springs then :lol:

 

[24SEVEN]

I said "I'm not bothered about ride quality", not "I'm an idiot chav".

Like I said, essentially I want the springs to stop the car looking like a monster truck, but I'm not bothered about a hard ride and/or little suppleness.

 

[markbuts3]

Actually, most of the cheaper springs are too soft, and when you reduce the travel and don't use a firm enough spring you can bottom out if you hit a bump in mid corner. Going from a soft spring rate to a solid rubber does very dangerous things to the handling.

Are you planning on changing the dampers at the same time ??

 

[24SEVEN]

not straight away no. Hopefully buying some 15" wheels on tuesday (off sprint), and the car being a standard Si monster truck anyway, bigger wheels are only going to make that worse. Was thinking if I lkower it 40mm all round it might be a bit better. I don't like softy softy cars anyway. I like being able to feel the road underneath me and when I drove a mate's clio williams replica, it felt awesome, I really felt part of that car.

 

[NaylorGTS]

I like being able to feel the road underneath me and when I drove a mate's clio williams replica, it felt awesome, I really felt part of that car.

so you drove a valver or normal clio then? did the gold wheels or williams badges make it handle better like :uberlol:

say this again

Actually, most of the cheaper springs are too soft, and when you reduce the travel and don't use a firm enough spring you can bottom out if you hit a bump in mid corner.

= what we are saying is cheapo springs are SHIT.

 

[minigibb_gti]

buy pi springs and put them on standard shockies, hardens up the ride and better handeling, and gives a good ride hight

 

[StuN16Sport]

Fuck me running!!!! Heating springs is one of the most dangerous,illegal and irresponible things you could possibly do to a road-going car. Heating metal weakens its structure especially metal under load. That bend your taking 10mph faster will probably have a family in a galaxy coming the other way, and when 2 of those springs snap under load and you kill 5 people head on........

bollox mate. how the flock do you thing the springs are made in the first place. so long as the springs are allowed to cool in oil so as to retain the temper in the coils, and the whole thing is done in a hydraulic press its perfectly safe, i have now know of this being done on at least 5 rally cars and none of them ever broke a spring and think of the abuse they go through. im not suggesting for one minute that you do this without the necessary equipment (i did it at a metal engineers workshop), but it certainly isnt dangerous if it is carried out correctly.

 

[Damo-Sri]

bollox mate. how the flock do you thing the springs are made in the first place. so long as the springs are allowed to cool in oil so as to retain the temper in the coils, and the whole thing is done in a hydraulic press its perfectly safe, i have now know of this being done on at least 5 rally cars and none of them ever broke a spring and think of the abuse they go through. im not suggesting for one minute that you do this without the necessary equipment (i did it at a metal engineers workshop), but it certainly isnt dangerous if it is carried out correctly.

Erm by professionals in a controlled enviroment with trial and error. The origional spring is examined, sprung and unsprung weight are taken into account, driver alone or fully loaded car is also a factor, a precise level of drop is figured out based on a cars abilities to go lower on a standard shock aswell as, i imagine, a whole load of other pssible factors. Im not saying you dont know what you doing with the tools at your disposal all im stating is that in my opinion heating and cutting a spring is fucking dangerous and illegal. Any motor veichle will NOT pass an MOT inspection if the OE springs have been tampered with in any way, shape or form.

 

[markbuts3]

It is possible to shorten springs by heating them evenly (in an oven) while clamped then allowing to cool, but doing so will give you a shorter spring of the same rate so you'll bottom out or the spring coils will touch. Cutting will increase the rate but depending on the car, it may not allow the spring to sit in the seats correctly.

Much safer to buy properly designed springs.

 

[24SEVEN]

so you drove a valver or normal clio then? did the gold wheels or williams badges make it handle better like :uberlol:

say this again



= what we are saying is cheapo springs are SHIT.

Next time I ask for some advice, if you're only going to be sarcastic, then don't reply. I'd appreciate that, thanks.

I've been told that cheap springs tend to be too stiff with little progression to their stiffness and have little/no small bump sensitivity, not that they're to soft, hence me saying that I'm not bothered by a hard ride... if chaep almera springs are too soft then that's a different story.

and for the record, it was a valver, but was a much different animal when I drove it.