I have some few questions about lowering springs. Lowering springs obviously cost less if you keep the spring rates around the OEM springs like (tein s tech) However, Lowering springs needs Front and rear Camber Arms.

Lowering Springs and front and rear camber arms cost As much as Tein basics. So Why get springs when you can get coilovers for same price? Do anyone drive lowered car with OEM camber Arms? I heard it will increase in tire wear. It almost seems like coilover is the only route you will save money in long run.

Why springs and Why coilovers? I checked 350ztech.com and I came down to Coilovers. Can anyone tell me the advantages of springs/coilover and disadvantages of them?

sam

 

Anytime you adjust ride height it effects the stance of the car and thus will throw off camber/toe ect.

For the Z, when it is dropped over an inch, it has the tendency to create way more negaetive camber than what is needed. If not corrected it will eat away at your tires causing uneven wear.

Springs are made for a specific drop height, whereas coilovers give you the ability to adjust your height. It doesnt matter if its a spring or a coliover, if the drop is more than an inch, than you will need camber kits to correct and save your tires. The Z naturally likes some neg camber.

If you are going for looks I would say get springs. If you are going for true track performance, then I would get the coilovers, but in either situation I would buy some camber/toe bolt kits if you are looking for that "slammed" look.

I have the hotchkis spring which drop my car less than an inch all around. I do not need the camber kits, since I was able to get it aligned back into spec on stock equipment.

There is a saying that "you have to pay to play". Dropping your car is expensive if done right.

 

Thank you for the quick reply.

I am mainly looking for looks and not so much of performance because I dont track my car. I am sure lowering springs will still give you better cornering than the OEM springs.

There are many kinds of Lowering springs and many of them have differnet drops and differnet spring rates. If i dont want to get Camber/toe bolt kits then I should get the ones that are similar to OEM spring rates and near 1 inch drop springs.

So If you get conservative drop and simliar spring rates as OEM springs, then I wouldn't have to get camber/toe bolt kits. Is this correct?

If I were to get 1 inch drop on my car right now, what specs should I get checked up at the local shop?

Thank you in advance.

sam

 

+1 ^^

With all the specs and threads I've been through and researched... regardless with it being springs or coilover, you'll have to get camber kits if you pass OEM standards on lowering... like previous posts states, it really depends on what your intentions are with your suspension.

 

suspension mod is soo expensive
I just want to drop my car and here i am about to spend 500+ for springs and 1000+ for coilovers(these including camber kit)

So the only problem i am going to have not getting camber kits when I lower the car is...

1. Increase in Tire wear
2. Oversteer/understeer

are these things I only have to worry about?

sam

 

If you don't have camber kits on your car, the worst is that your going to go through tires a lot quicker.

A cheap setup would be:
1. springs with drop < 1"
2. OEM camber

Moderate: (possible to do just rear kit only)
1. springs
2. front control A-arms
3. adjustable toe bolt

Expensive:
1. Coilovers
2. F&R Kits

FYI - the sponsors on this forum have some really good deals for camber kits. I have seen F&R package for less than $600.

If you keep the drop below an inch you wont need camber kits, although each car is different.

I am not sure by what you mean you have to buy springs and coilovers? Coilovers are basicly adjustable shocks with springs already on them. Springs are just that springs. The lower the spring, the more stress it puts on the OEM shock. Just like anything else when a part is designed to handle only a certain load and then something else is put on it, it will wear out quicker.

 

HAHA thank you trodis and Jubes... great easy explanation.

This is my last question.... I swear I won't ask anymore after

Why do you say springs have to be less than 1 inch drop? How much can OEM camber hold? These are spring rates and stiffness for different springs. From my knowledge I have to stay within 10% of OEM spring rates in order to keep the OEM camber.

Is it the spring rates/stiffness that requires to change OEM camber or just over 1 inch drop that requires aftermarket camber?

sam

P.S. WoW thank you in advance AGAIN! I am surprised I didnt get flamed for all these noob questions, I am sure this will help a lot of other people also.. thank you

 

Would you need a camber kit for tein s-techs on an 08? I was thinking about trying just the springs with OEM everything else. Or should I go with H-techs if I don't want to mess with camber kits?

 

let me guess before the experts tell you... I personally think you dont need it for tein s-tech but its on a borderline... and H-tech definitely not needed if you dont want to... My rough guess

sam

 

Well my info came from asking Gsedan35 (jim)... he's like the suspension guru to me...

I explained my situation in regards to how I wanted to set up my suspension and what I was going to do with it.. which pretty much mirrors yours... I wanted it lower for looks of course but without having to go through too much tire wear on daily driving...

I wasnt planning to track my car, so I had no purpose of building the ultimate suspension, like many enthusiast do on here, which I give a lot of credit to, that takes dedication... But I when I told him, I've read that if the drop went past the .8" OEM specs that I know I would have to invest in camber kits. He agreed and clarified that regardless of what you do to your rears, you'll always have neg camber on the rears, because that was how it was designed.

I told him I purchased the TEIN S-TECH springs because it's a .6/.7 drop which is within the borders... and as long as I dont drive hard, i should be ok. He mutually agreed. As for the rates, I believe stock springs are progressive... I've read that somewhere, but correct me if I'm wrong.

 

drive hard as in "cornering?"

I was thinkin about getting eibach pro kit which gives you 1 inch drop... i think tein s tech is just too little IMHO. dammm... so much info. i have headache...

 

No problem dude.

I say less than an inch drop because thats about the height line where you are safe and shouldn't normally need camber kits. OEM can usually handle it.

Hotchkis, H-techs and other springs that drop that much have been reported that no camber kit is needed. They all are around the same drop.

Spring rate is very different issue. It has to do with how stiff the feel of the car is. I am no expert by any means, all of what I know is based on being on these forums and learning and reading as much as I can. Spring rate has to do with more shocks than camber.

I would recommend going to the media section and searching for pics of ppls setups with the different springs you are looking at to get a "feel" of what it might look like.

Yeah, u are lucky no one has flamed you yet, yelling at you to "USE THE SEARCH", "this topic has been discussed to death", blah blah. I personally dont care for the my350z snobs. In the future try and do some searching, cus everyone isnt as nice as I am.

My setup: Hotchkis springs

 

My buddy has Eibach and you will need a kit with those. They tend to settle a lot so you have a nice drop, but need a kit.

 

safe side....H-techs.

 

Hmm... I can't really tell the drop so much on your car... only in the front and slight on the rear. There are still a lot of fender gaps.. I wanted a bit lower than that, but if i want to keep OEM camber I have to be less greedy and go with conservative drop..

Basically over 1inch drop will make the OEM Camber kit more negative which occur increase in tire wear correct?

here is my car from profile,, it looks as low as your car with stock suspension IMO.

sam

It could be just the shading that makes my car look lower

 

im installing my eibach pro's as soon as i get the time ive had them for what seems like forever now just been too busy to install them. I just bought the spc rear camber and toe kit for like 160 bucks. Didnt get anything for the front, if its a little off then that means ill still need to replace the fronts about the same time as the rears. We shall see though i think you would be fine with that though.

 

How would you know if it is off or not? Just get it checked at the local shop if the camber is too negative? Cuz eyeballing would be hard....

 

Im sure the alignment shop could tell you but they may charge you. I just went ahead and got them since i know ill be just mor then an inch.

 

if you get coilovers but with very moderate drop say less than 1 inch. do you still need camberkits?

 

Varies from car to car, some won't need it in the rear , some will. The front technically will, but the little extra camber won't hurt. Most don't get the front kit , unless they track their car and want more camber that what you get from lowering.