Any comments positive or negative about hotchkis coil springs before I purchase them. I have 20" Matrix rims right now and dont want to have to deal with camber alignment and rolling fenders. I was told with these springs I wont have to roll fenders or get a camber kit. Anyone else have any insight on these?

 

Rolling fenders has nothing to do with your wheel diameter but more due to your offset and tire width/wheel width. If your rolling diameter is the same as stock, I would not worry.

I got camber back to stock in the rear. Camber in front is not adjustable on our cars so it was -1.3 deg. Stock is -.5 deg. The shop told me that's not a huge deal.

 

so far i like them. Seems like road noise has increased with my stock tires. When I run my 19s, they are quiet and comfortable

Going in for alignment tomorrow

 

when you lower any car you will get pos camber (slanter outwards)

 

should have thought about lowering before buying those 20" wheels

 

I've been running them for awhile and not a huge fan. Going to drop the coin here shortly and spring for a coilover kit.

 

I think you mean "negative" camber. ( at least with the Z you do) When looking at the front (or back) of the car the tires look like..... / \ (although not that bad, unless you go real low.

 

my camber and toe wasn't that bad. I just got alignment today and they were able to get it back within specs without any camber kits or toe bolts

 

What dont you like about them? Are you saying you dont like springs in genral vs coilovers (which I understand)?

 

I don't think they pair very well with the OEM shocks but I may be in the minority on that b/c many on this site led me to believe otherwise when I was shopping. They may also have been using shocks valved to work with the softer 03-04 springs. I also frequently read that they ride like stock, but they are definitely rougher...maybe b/c of the roads in my area and maybe b/c I also added the sways at the same time. On a side note, the sways set to med. f/r destroyed my endlinks within 1500 miles (again maybe the roads in my area). Sure you can buy beefy aftermarket units for $316 from Z1 but may have kept them stock had I done more research first.

The rear spring is also softer than stock (04.5+) which basically makes the car porpoise over freeway expansion joints like an 03-04. The combination of stiffer-than-stock front and softer-than-stock rear seems skittish and mismatched at highway speeds. I think they are a good autocross setup for that reason since you never really get going too fast.

In restrospect I actually really liked the stock ride/handling...just wanted it a tad firmer with less body roll and a lower stance for aesthetic reasons. On that point...they don't quite drop enough for my liking. I was drawn to the fact that the rear drops more than the front, but even then, once installed they kinda leave you wanting more.

The Bilstein coilovers are expensive but I think exactly what I'm looking for in that they are height adjustable with progressive rates and dampers designed to work with soft springs.