Pedders Coilovers / How Low To Go

[Fishdadddy]

I am about to install a set of Pedders Coilovers on my car. I don't really want it to have that slammed look where I am tearing up bumbers etc. So I was wondering, how low everyone has been going and still maintaining everyday drivability.

How about some pix too?

[ElManny]

heres mine. just installed last week. still playing with the settings. i had it lowered so the tire line was at the fender line but it was so low that we couldnt get it on the alignment rack. we cranked it up 6 turns and got this look.

[JusticePete]

Looking good!!!!

[radz28]

Have you measured ground clearance with that set-up 'Manny? I'm curious as to what kind of problems, if any, you have with parking lot entrances/exits, speed bumps, driveways, etc. I know it looks good, but having a car with limited clearance in the past was a bit of a PITA. Having to worry about driving over those gas station fuel truck filler caps takes a little away from the joy of driving, lol.

Thanks

[Info@PeddersUSA.com]

The average drop seems to be in the 1.5 to 1.7 inches. But there again, we have guys going from +1 lift to a 2 inch drop.

Do you have headers, ground effects, what wheels and tires?

Depending on what types of driveways your community has, speed bumps, etc, will have the influence of where you want to go, Take a 2 inch drop for example. This is similiar to a ZO6 corvette, which many have to be slow on speed bumps and sometimes go up steep driveways at an angle.

One thing you can do is stand back and initially measure your ride heights. Then in the back, start adding weight to the trunk to lower the back end to the point you would like it. Then measure the difference


Now for competitive styles of driving, you will want the back end approx 13mm lower than the front. This stance looks and acts very aggressively.

So tell us what you want

thanks
mike
dms

[ElManny]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Looking good!!!!

thanks pete im loving it! cant wait to fully pedderise it

Originally Posted by radz28

Have you measured ground clearance with that set-up 'Manny? I'm curious as to what kind of problems, if any, you have with parking lot entrances/exits, speed bumps, driveways, etc. I know it looks good, but having a car with limited clearance in the past was a bit of a PITA. Having to worry about driving over those gas station fuel truck filler caps takes a little away from the joy of driving, lol.

Thanks

i havent measured it yet but no problems with most entrances. just my sisters and its a extreme angle that i scraped before i lowered it so i just back out now. speed bumps only the real tall ones. im runing a little lower than stock in front and the rear id say 1.25. lol if you go with my ride height the gas fill covers arent a issue. i run a gas station and drive over them everyday no scrapes

[radz28]

Originally Posted by dms

The average drop seems to be in the 1.5 to 1.7 inches. But there again, we have guys going from +1 lift to a 2 inch drop.

Do you have headers, ground effects, what wheels and tires?

Depending on what types of driveways your community has, speed bumps, etc, will have the influence of where you want to go, Take a 2 inch drop for example. This is similiar to a ZO6 corvette, which many have to be slow on speed bumps and sometimes go up steep driveways at an angle.

One thing you can do is stand back and initially measure your ride heights. Then in the back, start adding weight to the trunk to lower the back end to the point you would like it. Then measure the difference

Now for competitive styles of driving, you will want the back end approx 13mm lower than the front. This stance looks and acts very aggressively.

So tell us what you want

thanks
mike
dms

See - I'm thinkink of going to 19s, like you're guy's car, so I know I'll loose some height there from the shorter tire. But I also want to make sure my fenderwell tire gap doesn't look like it's gone wrong, so I know I'm going to want to reduce that difference, but I just can't visualize the undercarriage and get a good idea of the approach and breakover angles. On my next day off, I should find me a place to get a better idea what I have in my head. I know of a Pedders dealer 15 miles away, but I'm pretty sure I already know where I want to go, and it's not there. I should really get to the next cruise and meet some people and look at some cars!

Originally Posted by ElManny

thanks pete im loving it! cant wait to fully pedderise it

i havent measured it yet but no problems with most entrances. just my sisters and its a extreme angle that i scraped before i lowered it so i just back out now. speed bumps only the real tall ones. im runing a little lower than stock in front and the rear id say 1.25. lol if you go with my ride height the gas fill covers arent a issue. i run a gas station and drive over them everyday no scrapes

So most speedbumps are cool and only somewhat extreme driveways are a bit of a problem? If that's the case, I feel better. Thanks for the info'.

Please post more impressions as you get miles on the car. I know I'm not the only one interested, if nothing else, in general about suspension set-ups. I already have something in mind, but know I can still learn a lot from you guys who have your cars already

[JusticePete]

I run long tubes and ride on 19s low, really low.



The cats are my new skid plates for tall speed bumps. Aside from watching my approach angles I drive the car as you woukld drive any car where you consider brake pads, tires and cats as wear items. I do watch for pot holes and dead animals because the front spoiler is less than 50mm off the ground.



Without the spoiler the car is really no problem other than the cats in the ARH long tubes.

[radz28]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

I run long tubes and ride on 19s low, really low.



The cats are my new skid plates for tall speed bumps. Aside from watching my approach angles I drive the car as you woukld drive any car where you consider brake pads, tires and cats as wear items. I do watch for pot holes and dead animals because the front spoiler is less than 50mm off the ground.



Without the spoiler the car is really no problem other than the cats in the ARH long tubes.

See - I keep eyeballing your car, and think the 19s are almost too small, but the ride height totally makes up for the wheel/tire gaps. I know I won't be running LTs, but know I'll be going with a CB; I really doubt that will pose an issue. Are the LTs the lowest part of the undercarriage? I'd consider a chin spoiler (I was actually looking at the GMPP GFX) but I'm still mulling over that. I pay attention to pot holes, even in my truck, so I'm not too worried about that (I believe you have a bigger worry because of your area, yes?...).

Hmm. Having read that, maybe I'm worrying over nothing

[Fishdadddy]

I'm just running high flow cats and mids. No headers. Stock tires. I'm sure I will mess with it a bit since I'm probably installing them myself. So I was really looking for a good starting point.

Looking Like 1" in front and maybe 1.25" in rear?

Any more pics of lowered camaros?

[radz28]

Originally Posted by Fishdadddy

I'm just running high flow cats and mids. No headers. Stock tires. I'm sure I will mess with it a bit since I'm probably installing them myself. So I was really looking for a good starting point.

Looking Like 1" in front and maybe 1.25" in rear?

Any more pics of lowered camaros?

Please share when you jump in. Ideally, I'd like to do a lot of the work myself, since I'm going to have a budget, and I know I'll have to run at least a few things to a shop for bushing installation, but the more I can do, the better. The more fun it will be too If you do, and wouldn't mind maybe taking some pics', that'd be great too.

[Fishdadddy]

Yeah. I'll try and document the install as much as possible.

Not sure when I'll get to it. I usually do a ton of research before I jump into stuff like this. Hence this thread I started.

Not really afraid to work on the car. just don't have any experience with suspension work. But, I will say that based on the instruction manual, the video of the GTO install on Youtube, and what I've read here. It looks like the hard part will be getting the parts off of the stock strut and spring to reuse. And ride height setting.

[radz28]

Originally Posted by Fishdadddy

Yeah. I'll try and document the install as much as possible.

Not sure when I'll get to it. I usually do a ton of research before I jump into stuff like this. Hence this thread I started.

Not really afraid to work on the car. just don't have any experience with suspension work. But, I will say that based on the instruction manual, the video of the GTO install on Youtube, and what I've read here. It looks like the hard part will be getting the parts off of the stock strut and spring to reuse. And ride height setting.

So you're just doing the coilovers then? It looks like it shouldn't be too bad at all. I'm thinking - schedule a weekend to dedicate to the project, take your time, have a few adult beverages (or not ), and have it on the ground before the end of the weekend. I'm interested in DYI complete system upgrading, however, I'll get what I can find, lol.

Well, good luck and I hope you find all the information you need

[Fishdadddy]

So far so good on the info.

Mike from Pedders said he'd fly out to assisst if I run into a problem