Any cons of lowering springs?
 

I was told if i swapped out for lowering springs, i would need new struts soon since it will wear them faster?
I always thought getting springs would mean an alignment after the new springs settle and i can just go about my business. Is there something im missing?

You'll need camber arms and toe bolts if you lower the car.

Nismo struts are fine, drop it on Swifts, get an alignment and be done. Depending on your rear tire size (305s) you may need to get camber arms and toe bolts.

Edit: You beat me to the punch!

Camber arms and toe bolts even if i keep my stock tire size?

And i was going to get swifts

If you lower the car, you will need camber arms and toe bolts to get the alignment back into spec.

i have the 2014 sport Z, has about 4k miles on it. so basically new struts and shocks. i already bought the following
spl rear titanium camber links
spl eccentric lockout kit
spl rear toe bolts.
b2 auto design titanium wheel spacers 20mm front / 25mm rear hub centric, bolt ons
and my swift spec r springs coming in saturday. so by next week everything my spacers and springs are getting installed
waiting a week for it to settle in then getting alignment + spl suspension put in.

depends on the springs you get. swifts will probably run fine with your stock dampers.

and alignment is required. think of it as part of the installation process.

I would get it done but if i need camber arms and toe bolts i probably wont get it done

you can run without camber arms, but it will eat your rear tires.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/S8...g=w533-h400-no
Eibach springs on sport suspension

Alignment is always required.

You're don't necessary needed the arms to lower your car But they will save more money in the long run because Z tires are expensive. Camber arms(spl) and toe bolts ~$300. A new set of rear tires $500-700.

Thats a good point. Guess its time to check out some diy on how to do them

I read that spl is the brand to go but their front camber arms are $500 more compared to spc??

Those tires are wearing fine !!

Turn faster, that'll fix your wear issue :rofl2:

They are a much better product, but many people use the SPC with no problems.

That's my plan, send them off in style before I get the arms and new tires :D


Does everyone have front+rear arms? I only plan to get the rear, the fronts were able to align to spec.

Im wondering too. Am i able to get away with just the rear arms and bolts?

It depends, some are able to get the front within oem specs, some can't. Each car will have a diferent result. My guess is it's dependent on how much experienced your alignment guy has working on our platform. You just gotta get it on the alignment rack to find out. For daily driving you should be okay with just rear camber arms and bolts.

I found my alignment sheet.

The fronts are a little out of spec, but I'm not having any tire wear problems with them.

Rear toe is fine, so I'm just going to do the arms and no toe bolts.

The Eibach springs arn't quit as low as the swifts, so you might need more with swift?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8D...Q=w755-h567-no

Was this done at a shop or dealer?

Z Car Garage in San Jose, CA

I run 305's and they were able to get it close enough that they didn't feel the additional cost of the toe bolts installation was worth it, you will need the arm's though.

With swifts I would at the least spend a little extra and get the SPL rear camber arms. My front alignment came just close into spec so I didn't buy any extra parts for the front.

With many thanks to dragonbreath, we (he) installed rear camber arms (SPL), toe bolts, and lock-outs today. We'll finish up the front springs tomorrow morning and I'll get an initial alignment tomorrow afternoon. I'll post results and plan on getting an alignment a week from now, after the springs settle.

Fingers crossed that the front end is in spec.

Is the spl wrench needed for spl camber arms? Or is that just an extra tool that makes it easier to adjust but not 100% required

I think it just makes it easier for the mechanic to perform adjustments for the alignment process, as well as keep them from scratching or rounding off the pieces that turn.

Other than the well known allignment issues, There are a lot of cons for lowering springs. Spring rate, ride height, and damping are all interrelated. To build a proper suspension, you first decide on bump travel. That determines your spring rate, and that determines your damping.

So with lowering springs only you have a dilemma. You can either go for stiffer springs that support the diminished bump travel (and properly stiff springs will have really high spring rates to go from bump travel of like 5 to 3 inches) which will the be woefully underdamped and cause the car to feel like crap.

Or you can go the route most aftermarket springs go for and just have similar spring rates, which won't be enough spring for the lowered bump travel. This causes the suspension to constantly bottom out, killing the shocks and doing damage to your frame.

In addition, lowering the car changes the suspension geometry and the roll center. It usually puts the roll center underground which is suck.

All in all, why do you want to lower your car? Looks? Performance? Lowering for performance isn't straight forward. You want matched damping for your spring rates. There are calculators online to figure out what spring rate you want to run for a given bump travel. Then after that you should probably get roll angle adjusters, and then probably weaker anti roll bars.

It's just another thing to get you to buy while you're there getting the rest of the SPL stuff. Not necessary at all. The camber adjuster is in the middle of the arm where there's nothing in the way of it. The jam nut is just as accessible and the 'sleeve' on the other end uses a 3/16 allen key.
Don't bother and save your money. Let the alignment guy deal with it.

104

I've dropped my Z on swifts, excellent ride btw! However without a camber kit, the rears wear slightly on the inside on mine, nothing too crazy but still not perfect. The fronts on mine were brought back to factory camber spec however. I would definitely suggest a rear camber kit for peace of mind.

Keep calling shops and they are all about $600 for the install of rear arms and springs and alignment

thats crazy, my shop installed my swifts and wheel spacers on sat, I'm getting wheel alignment and spl rear camber parts put in on friday. this way the springs can settle in nicely.

total paid $350 including everything, spacers, swifts, alignment, rear camber install.

Got everything finished up (including the installation of a Stillen oil cooler) and got an initial alignment. Looks, drives, and feels great! Wish I had done this sooner. :woot:

Alignment before springs settle? Does it matter if you get it done after install or a week after install

That was just an initial alignment. I'll go for another in a week, or so, after the springs settle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice! :pics:

Thanks, Zbrah! Hope to post some tomorrow.

Sweet! Can you snap a few shots of your toe bolts and lockouts. I've been looking for installed photos of the lockouts but seem no one has posted any:icon14:

Not sure if I can slide underneath any more, now that it's lowered, but I'll do my best. :tup:

They basically look no different than what's in there now. The stock toe bolts are essentially identical and the lock outs are just plain bolts with washers and nuts. The stock bolts in where the lock outs go are eccentric just like the toe bolts, so they look like the washers are 'off center'. The only reason to have pictures is to see where they go, if you don't already know.
The lock outs go on the inboard end of the camber arms. The toe bolts go on the inboard end of the spring bucket....in the same location as the stockers.

I'll take pics of mine this weekend of you're determined to see some. I'll be putting my spacers on.

104

Yep, I need pics to confirm where the lockouts are being installed. Also, if you don't mind showing the drill bit you used to elongate the camber holes too. I'm not too mechanical so pictures would help a ton here. Thanks!