What about lowering rear only?

[JProberts]

Has anyone just lowered the rear of the car?

What could be the problems with just lowering either the front or the rear of the car? I am not 100% sold on lowering the car completely, the more I look at it im thinking maybe only the rear needs to be lower to improve the look to my liking.

What would just lowering the rear do to ride quality and performance? I would assume that once you get it aligned it would be no problem but not sure how having OEM front springs and after market rear springs would work together. Also wonder how much that would change the view out the back window as well as the front?

Is this just a dumb a$$ idea or are others out there doing or thinking the same? Would like to see a car with just the rear lowered 1", if anyone has done it.

Thanks

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Actually BMR is in the process of finishing their rear control arms that have two height settings. Stock and 1 inch lower. Here is a link to the discussion.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65342

[ron10]

not cool to do only the rear.

[JProberts]

Originally Posted by ron10

not cool to do only the rear.

Yeah do mind elaborating a bit. Trying to get as much solid info as possible. Your statement dosn't exactly enlighten us any.

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Originally Posted by ron10

not cool to do only the rear.

Originally Posted by Brettzel

What is wrong with lowering only the rear

Originally Posted by JProberts

Yeah do mind elaborating a bit. Trying to get as much solid info as possible. Your statement dosn't exactly enlighten us any.

I think basically what he is saying is it won't look right with the rear sitting lower than the front.

[John M.]

Lowering the car is not just appearance but handling. I used Pfadt springs and bars ($1200 installed) and there was a new found confindence in handling. It was a completely different car! Once I did the strut brace it was truly awesome.

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Originally Posted by Brettzel

Then he really needs to check out some cars that are like that, they look sweet, and even have performance advantages

Originally Posted by John M.

Lowering the car is not just appearance but handling. I used Pfadt springs and bars ($1200 installed) and there was a new found confindence in handling. It was a completely different car! Once I did the strut brace it was truly awesome.

Yep, I was just trying to explain why the above poster said what he did. I guess I should leave that up to him.

[JusticePete]

Lowering just the rear is not a bad idea. In essence that is what we did with the Pedders USA Camaro. We did lower the front, but we lowered the rear much more. Having the car level, with no rake, help the car handle and brake better. The issue you would have in lowering just the rear with after market coils is the change in spring rate. Most after market coils are higher in rate. The mismatch could create handling irregularities.

[Lu]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Lowering just the rear is not a bad idea. In essence that is what we did with the Pedders USA Camaro. We did lower the front, but we lowered the rear much more. Having the car level, with no rake, help the car handle and brake better. The issue you would have in lowering just the rear with after market coils is the change in spring rate. Most after market coils are higher in rate. The mismatch could create handling irregularities.

What about lowering just the front? Our Camaro is a daily driver that will see some strip action, but never will it see circle type twisty racing.

Lu

[JusticePete]

Most Camaro owners don't push the car hard enough to know it pushes. The lower you make the front end in relation to the rear the worse the push will be. There are other considerations as well. When you step on the brake the front of the car dives down towards the ground. The lower you make the front the more you load the front end of the car on braking. The same is true when you brake entering a corner.

The OE has taken all of this into consideration and delivers a Camaro that runs the Nürburgring bone stock faster than some 'premium' European brands. Our job, as we personalise our Camaros is to make sure we maintain the virtues of the Camaro as engineered by GM.

If you raise the rear 1/2" no big deal. If you lower the front a 1/2" no big deal. It is all about keeping the suspension system balanced. It all depends on how you look at it. If I pull into a repair center and ask the shop to replace the two front struts they probably would. It doesn't matter that the rears are just as worn out as the front they would just do it. If I walked in and said please replace my right front strut and my left rear strut they would probably tell me I had lost my mind. Replacing half of your struts in any combination is not the preferred method.

We want the spring rates to be balanced. We want to achieve the right look too. Can you tell me what look or setup you are going for?

[Lu]

well, you sold me 3/4 raised rear springs paired with 1 inch dropped front springs for my GTO.. I believe it was what your website called the Hardcore strip package.

I would like similiar rake in the Camaro....but was thinking leaving the rear alone and just dropping the front, or, coilovers, though I have no experience with those.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by Lu

well, you sold me 3/4 raised rear springs paired with 1 inch dropped front springs for my GTO.. I believe it was what your website called the Hardcore strip package.

I would like similiar rake in the Camaro....but was thinking leaving the rear alone and just dropping the front, or, coilovers, though I have no experience with those.

The GTO is an unusual vehicle. The rear use K members. There is no upper control arm. The K members are in front of the axle. When you step on the gas in a GTO the rear squats like a bandit and the camber goes extremely negative. We used the 2589 to control the squat to control the camber.

The Camaro, as you well know has a very different IRS. In the Camaro when the weight transfers to the rear the camber doesn't jump of the chart into negative territory. Some squat in the rear helps the car hood better.

The most important mod to a 5th Gen Camaro for daily driving, road course or drag strip is the rear sub-frame bushes. Unlike the GTO that had two sub-frame bushes forward of the rear axle. The Camaro has four. Two in front and two behind. Because the bushes are rubber and the Camaro powerful and heavy the IRS sub-frame twists on hard launches, under power over bumps and under load in turns over bumps. This is called rear end step out and is common to vehicles using the four bolt four bush sub-frame mounting. The Chrysler LX is one and there are any number of Euro performance sedans with the same issue. On a drag launch what happened as the engine torque screws down the right rear wheel the sub-frame twist to the left almost as though you had turned your steering wheel a bit, not a lot, a bit to the left. In normal driving it will just tweak left or right depending on which wheel hits the bump first and what your are doing at the time of the impact.

To settle down the IRS we just add urethane inserts (EP1200) to the OE bushes. This settles the IRS down making the car more predictable under all types of driving including drag launches. This is the essential Camaro suspension mod.

For the raked look, Pedders 220032 front coils drop the car to 657mm front ride height with 20" wheels. The rate is higher than OE. I have not driven a Camaro configured this way. It would have a more traditional Muscle Car look. I would suggest to anyone that is considering suspension mods they take the lowest hanging fruit first. Do the sub-frame bush inserts. It may be the only mod you need to make after you drive it that way for a while.

[Lu]

Thank you for the info, a shop in Arizona whom no longer exists did my install, if I go with the front springs and the subframe bush inserts you mention, what shop nearby me can do the install? I am in New Mexico and can drive to Arizona, Nevada, or Colorado. Do you guys have 'Pedders days' anymore? Met Mike White at one in Washington State.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by Lu

Thank you for the info, a shop in Arizona whom no longer exists did my install, if I go with the front springs and the subframe bush inserts you mention, what shop nearby me can do the install? I am in New Mexico and can drive to Arizona, Nevada, or Colorado. Do you guys have 'Pedders days' anymore? Met Mike White at one in Washington State.

Loud Pedal.

Yes we do. Not as often becuase as we grow I have less and less time.