Lowering Spring: Truth or Myth?

[Mitevo8]

Was toking to a tyre shop owner about lowering spring for my car.

 

He told me lowering of spring no good for tyres and will wear them off faster.

 

I said if take for granted, always play cornering then it's true lah...

 

But he told me even on straight road and constant driving will do the same harm.

 

Huh? got logic meh....?

Edited August 27, 2005 by Mitevo8

[BMW320i]

Kills your absorbers. Worst case senario I've heard so far, cheapo springs killed all 4 stock absorbers in 3 months.

[Beachboys]

tell your installer to fly kite... obviously he's not very comptent...

 

anyway serious stuff: toking bout tyres, if u lower your car, the camber angle will become more negative which inturn will wear down your tyres faster than normal. However, this can be corrected using camber kits to re-adjust the camber angle... slightly rear negative camber (-1 degrees) is good for handling n cornering though

Edited August 27, 2005 by Beachboys

[Spoonsports]

actually IMOP

1. the owner is honest to what i see. lower the spring will case the tyre to wear off faster.

can see that he is being kind

2. the owner have your interest at heart, dont want u to waste too much $$ in change tyre often.

so he tells u even for straight rd also same(who dares to say tyre dont wear off even on straight Rd)

 

so to lower the spring or not totally depends on individual.

[Felipe]

tis is wat i noe abt lowering car.

 

if wanna lower, one should upgrade suspension. wat it really means u gota go find out yrself.

next, it will lead to greater wear and tear. but generally, lower by at most 30mm shud be ok.

handling will be improved though.

lastly, expect to spend more money.

[Mitevo8]

So what r the good one to look out for?

[Mitevo8]

So in a way he's telling the truth lah......

 

now i know wat a camber kit is used for? If i change spring also need to spend $ on camber kit...sigh.

[Mitevo8]

At first, i couldn't believe he said even on str rd tyres will also wear out faster. now i understand he means uneven wear due to the point bought up by beachboys.

[Mitevo8]

I actaully intended to lower by 20-30mm. dun want to spend so much on changing suspension or coilover.

 

so u think it's still feasible to change?

[Wrxblue]

if you want to change to a lowering spring, you need to upgrade your shock absorbers too to match the higher stiffness of the lowerered springs.

 

if not, then your original shocks wont be able to control the movement of the new springs and the suspension geometry will be affected and hence it will cause uneven wear on the tyres(it is one of the sign to indicate suspension problem)

 

furthermore, it will also affect all your bushings and suspension components and if too much vibration and stress is created by the lowering, they will fail pre-maturely.

 

Camber is only one of the wheel alignment setting that you have to take care, you have to accord for castor and toe-in/out changes due to suspension change. Anyway, there is already such things as static camber and dynamic camber - camber kit with wheel alignement would provide you the correct static camber but becoz of your change is suspension geometry, the dynamic camber would be changed not only by the static one but other parameters too, that it is difficult to assess unless you have sensors to measure them.

 

Normally it is wise to re-set your wheel alignment parameters once it is lowered. But to maintain the proper setup you need to the above!!!!(pt 1)

 

CONCLUSION --- make sure you get a suspension kit(SET) that is properly developed by a reputed manufacturer and all the wheel alignment and suspension components accounted for!!!

[Mitevo8]

Thanks for your informative insights.

 

I m now enlightened by u.

 

either i change i whole suspension system or change to bigger rims/tyres (so no need to lower).

Edited August 28, 2005 by Mitevo8

[Wrxblue]

Changing to BIGGER tyres and rims in turn increases the unsprung mass(mass not included in the car body)

 

This affects the performance of your suspension too. So normally a heavier rims/tyres would require upgraded suspension too.

 

[Ahdi]

frankly speaking, if u wan to go for conering, dun jus onli change the spring. i regretted changing the spring onli, as ride become v bouncy, but of cos its the cheapest way to lower ur car as compared to using coilover, and oso safer as compared to cutting ur spring.

 

it do shorten the life of ur shock, whereas tyres wear, if ur car is proper align, it wun haf much efect on the wear of the tyre, jus that u need to go for more regular rotation...

[Huggable]

Huggable's car has been lowered for 5 years already, and my tyre installer always complimented that the tyre wear is "so even"! My advise is that if you wish to lower the car, get a reputable manufacturer, eg Eibach springs. The dampers (ie gandong) has to be changed too. The installer shop I went to sent the car for 4-wheel alignment after installing the lowered springs. So far I have no uneven, or premature tyre wear.

 

Cost wise, a set of lowered springs, plus a set of new (race) dampers is quite the same as a set of adjustable coilovers. Remember to factor in the labor cost as well.

[Ahhuat]

Doesnt make much sense. Tyre shop guy doesnt seem to know much does he!

[Mitevo8]

I mean upsize only by 1 inch and getting the lighter rim...as u knw stock rim can be much heavier then aftmart one.

[Mitevo8]

Din knw there are so many concerns for lowering spring, glad i came here to get advices first. if not regret. thanks adhi.

[Mitevo8]

Who's ur installer? care to share? if not convenience can pm me? roughly how much?