Lowering Car with help of control or trailing arms?

[mike.nite]

I am pretty happy with the stock suspension (for a DD it's a perfect mix IMO). From a styling point of view I would love to lower the car just a little. I don't want to buy coilovers or springs. What other possiblities do I have to lower the car?


What I found so far are lower control arms from Spohn which allow to change ride height in the rear:
http://www.texas-speed.com/c-354-low...trol-arms.aspx



- What can I do in the front - since this will lower the car only in the rear?
- will this affect the ride quality?
- is there any alignment needed after installation?


Thanks for your feedback

[jeremywes]

Pfadt makes some camber plates for the stock springs and I bet that would give you a little drop in the front since it replaces the stock strut isolator, they also have a version for 2.5" springs so make sure you order carefully if you decide to go that route

[caverman]

Why are you against lowering springs yet you're willing to change out your control arms? There is nothing wrong with a good quality spring and if you keep it around 1" drop there shouldn't be any issues.

I will say that any time you lower car you should have it re-aligned. You should also have your bushings timed as well.

[Blues45th]

Had my mistress lowered. 1.25 bmr lowering springs. Then went and got alignment for a shop that knows what to do to lowered cars. A regular alignment won't fix the lowering issues. Not sure about bushings. Spoke to Kyle at bmr. No bushing issues or anything

[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by caverman

Why are you against lowering springs yet you're willing to change out your control arms? There is nothing wrong with a good quality spring and if you keep it around 1" drop there shouldn't be any issues.

I will say that any time you lower car you should have it re-aligned. You should also have your bushings timed as well.

I couldn't have said this any better! Get a good quality springs that doesn't drop it too much and you will still keep a nice, tight ride without it being too stiff. Definitely get an alignment if you remove the front struts or change up the ride height. Timing the bushings will ensure that you get the advertised drop so it is important to make sure this is done also.

Originally Posted by Blues45th

Had my mistress lowered. 1.25 bmr lowering springs. Then went and got alignment for a shop that knows what to do to lowered cars. A regular alignment won't fix the lowering issues. Not sure about bushings. Spoke to Kyle at bmr. No bushing issues or anything

We appreciate your business!

If you can, shoot some pictures of the car with the lowering springs installed to kyle@bmrsuspension.com. I like to keep as any pictures of lowered Camaros in our database so any pictures would be greatly appreciated.

[mike.nite]

Thanks for all the inputs - highly appreciated! I maybe however consider the dropsprings as well.


BUT:

What about the lower control arms from Spohn which allow to change ride height in the rear:
http://www.texas-speed.com/c-354-low...trol-arms.aspx


Wouldn't this be a solution as well? Are there other brands offerings something like this?

[JDP Sales]

Originally Posted by mike.nite

Thanks for all the inputs - highly appreciated! I maybe however consider the dropsprings as well.


BUT:

What about the lower control arms from Spohn which allow to change ride height in the rear:
http://www.texas-speed.com/c-354-low...trol-arms.aspx


Wouldn't this be a solution as well? Are there other brands offerings something like this?

I would highly suggest going with a set of lowering springs over the LCA's in your link. You said your car is your daily driver and those LCA's are recommended for hardcore race applications as the Delrin bushings will increase road noise.

As long as you don't go lower than about 1.25" you will not effect ride quality in a bad way, any lower and it will result in a bumpy ride and your shock/strut life will be reduced.

Both the BMR and Pfadt springs are great choices. Feel free to call, PM or email me with questions. We are always happy to help!

Best regards,

Tyler
888-308-6007

[dragon22]

I agree. Lowering the stance of the car is best done with springs. The sponsors on here can set you up properly if you tell them what you're looking for and what you're using the car for. And yes, any time you change ride height, you need to align.

I've had many people come into shops I've worked in with lowered cars. (Cutting the springs, heating the springs to make the car drop, wrong springs...the list goes on). Not only does it make them harder to work on, but the customer is never really satisfied with what has been done.

Like I said, make sure you are honest and up front with the people supplying you, let them know the purpose of the car and they will guide/advise you properly.

[Jayrcr3]

Mine is on BMR 1.4" drop springs all the way around. Pretty much rides like stock. Slightly firmer, but not harsh. Make sure whoever aligns it knows how to time the bushings. It's critical to ride quality. I drove mine for about a week before getting it aligned and the bushings timed, and it was bouncy.

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[dragon22]

The best way to "time" the bushings is, before tightening the bolts going through the bushings, "settle" the car. You can do this by driving it gently around the block. Then the best way would be to drive it up on ramps. You don't want the wheels to hang when you tighten the bolts. Get underneath and tighten the bolts to spec with the wheels on the ramps.

I admit, this is way easier to do if you have a ramp style hoist that you can lift the whole thing into the air, but it is doable on ramps lying on your back under the car.

[Blues45th]

Hey jay you think that a place that does a good alignment and knows about lowering cars would also just do the timing. I had same issues with mine before alignment and after it was night and day. But I didn't know about the timing until yesterday. Kyle at bmr says that I'm sitting where I should be in height. I'm at 29 1/4 on my v6 with stock 20s. It's a 45th.

[REDLFX]

Originally Posted by mike.nite

Thanks for all the inputs - highly appreciated! I maybe however consider the dropsprings as well.


BUT:

What about the lower control arms from Spohn which allow to change ride height in the rear:
http://www.texas-speed.com/c-354-low...trol-arms.aspx


Wouldn't this be a solution as well? Are there other brands offerings something like this?

I'd just go with a good set of lowering springs. I just intsalled 1" drop BMR's on my 1SS and it's great. My car is a DD and my wife has been driving the heck out of it, she says it rides better and she knows zero about cars. It's the simplest way to lower it and get it in DD mode.

[Jayrcr3]

Mine felt ok before they timed the bushings, but I noticed on hard bumps it was slightly bouncy. After the alignment and bushing timing that bouncing is gone. I was lucky enough to find a shop that knew what I was talking about when referring to timing the bushings. I also took them the instructions from the BMR website on how to do it. Also, without the BMR lower control arms, there is not enough adjustment to get your rear camber into spec. It's about a half degree off.

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[BMR Sales]

Originally Posted by Jayrcr3

Mine is on BMR 1.4" drop springs all the way around. Pretty much rides like stock. Slightly firmer, but not harsh. Make sure whoever aligns it knows how to time the bushings. It's critical to ride quality. I drove mine for about a week before getting it aligned and the bushings timed, and it was bouncy.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

We appreciate your feedback on your BMR lowering springs!