Lowering a daily driver 1LE, advice please

[bkevind]

Originally Posted by camaro500

Detroit speed makes the most bada$$ Camero suspension period! They are simply charging a little extra for all that R&D and perfection that goes into their products.

Eh, good marketing but not informative.

I'm curious if there is a technical or manufacturing reason. The real money of a suspension is in the shocks, not the springs.

Anyway, if JP says they are good then I believe it, just have that itch of needing to know a bit more.

I get it, if it's a small-ish shop, and they are making springs themselves to a high quality with low quantity. But I also have to wonder, if like many, they are buying springs from one of the major manufacturers and rebranding. Nothing wrong with that, as there is expertise required in choosing the right spring and spring rate for the application, and supporting your customer base.

[Olddudesrule]

Originally Posted by bkevind

Eh, good marketing but not informative.

I'm curious if there is a technical or manufacturing reason. The real money of a suspension is in the shocks, not the springs.

Anyway, if JP says they are good then I believe it, just have that itch of needing to know a bit more.

I get it, if it's a small-ish shop, and they are making springs themselves to a high quality with low quantity. But I also have to wonder, if like many, they are buying springs from one of the major manufacturers and rebranding. Nothing wrong with that, as there is expertise required in choosing the right spring and spring rate for the application, and supporting your customer base.

If you follow the series "Search for the Ultimate Street Car" a show about the Optima Batteries sponsored series, you'll see a large number of the cars there are either partially or fully running DSE suspension parts. I believe they initially specialized in upgraded suspension parts for 1st and 2nd gen muscle cars, and now have a full late model parts selection. Their stuff is in the upper price category, up there with Penske and Moton, but I believe their stuff is tried and tested, quality stuff.

[GR8WHITE1]

Go Hotchkis 1" drop springs, that's what I did because they had the least aggressive spring rate so you won't need a kidney belt to drive to work. I couldn't be happier.

[Firefighter]

Originally Posted by GR8WHITE1

Go Hotchkis 1" drop springs, that's what I did because they had the least aggressive spring rate so you won't need a kidney belt to drive to work. I couldn't be happier.

I'm running the Hotchkiss Springs too the drop came out to about 1.1" they are slightly more aggressive than stock Springs and a good fit for a DD. No regrets here either.

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[MBaseman]

^^^That's exactly what I did. I went with Hotchkis and have been very happy with my choice since it's my daily driver.

[mma]

Does anyone here actually have pics of their rides on DSE drop springs?

It'll be for my DD. Torn between the DSE and the BMR 1.25 drop.. I was satisfied with the BMRs on my V6, but seems like that isn't the more popular choice on this thread. Hotchkis doesn't seem aggressive enough for me.. and DSE is 1.5 drop I believe, which is a little too much?

[MarioSS]

I ordered myself a KW V1 coilovers to replace my BMR springs, and i can't wait!!!! I hate how the ride is compared to the standard coils

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[2_C1LEAN]

+1 Hotchkis. 1" is plenty on these cars, and if you DD like I do you'll find more than enough stuff to scrape on, especially with headers

[Too-many-cars]

Hi

New Camaro and 1LE owner here. The car I just bought is lowered and on coilovers. I read through all 13 pages but didn't see many references to what the actual factory ride height is.

What height does the car sit at stock? Ground to the fender lip front and rear? With 285's all around.

My car also already has 305s in the rear so I guess I will need to factor that in. It scrapes the edge of the fender in you hit a dip through an intersection or on the highway when you transition onto a bridge. Obviously the car is too low, I'd just like to know how much I really need to raise it. Other than the one scraping issue, it rides very well considering the mods. Tram-lining is pretty bad but to be expected with such big rubber, but I don't know the alignment specs the previous shop used. The car is not going to really be a daily, more of a cruiser that I will autocross and take to some track days if possible.

Ground to fender lip, I am sitting around 720mm up front - 285s, in the rear ~725 with 305s.


Thanks and glad to be here

[SS PANTHER]

Originally Posted by Too-many-cars

Hi

New Camaro and 1LE owner here. The car I just bought is lowered and on coilovers. I read through all 13 pages but didn't see many references to what the actual factory ride height is.

What height does the car sit at stock? Ground to the fender lip front and rear? With 285's all around.

My car also already has 305s in the rear so I guess I will need to factor that in. It scrapes the edge of the fender in you hit a dip through an intersection or on the highway when you transition onto a bridge. Obviously the car is too low, I'd just like to know how much I really need to raise it. Other than the one scraping issue, it rides very well considering the mods. Tram-lining is pretty bad but to be expected with such big rubber, but I don't know the alignment specs the previous shop used. The car is not going to really be a daily, more of a cruiser that I will autocross and take to some track days if possible.

Ground to fender lip, I am sitting around 720mm up front - 285s, in the rear ~725 with 305s.


Thanks and glad to be here

Check my post #118. You want to measure from the bottom of the wheel, outside lip, to the top of the fender arch. Too many differentials measuring from the ground. With 285's all around with a 1"'drop I am 650mm(25.5") front, 660mm(26") rear. The factory height would be approximately 675-685mm high. Too low will put undue stress on your suspension.

[Firefighter]

With the adjustability of coil overs I would just dial the suspension up until you don't have issues any longer.

Like panther said too much lower can mess up your drivetrain though.

I'd try and find a happy medium. Somewhere between 1" - 1.5" should be fine for all around use.

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[Too-many-cars]

Originally Posted by SS PANTHER

Check my post #118. You want to measure from the bottom of the wheel, outside lip, to the top of the fender arch. Too many differentials measuring from the ground. With 285's all around with a 1"'drop I am 650mm(26.5") front, 660mm(26") rear. The factory height would be approximately 675-685mm high. Too low will put undue stress on your suspension.

For the front, did you mean to say 25.5"?

I just re-measured per post #118, I am at right around 25.5 (645-650mm) on all 4 corners.

[SS PANTHER]

Originally Posted by Too-many-cars

For the front, did you mean to say 25.5"?

I just re-measured per post #118, I am at right around 25.5 (645-650mm) on all 4 corners.

Your right. I made a typo. I'm going to edit now. Thanks.