Lowering
12-30-2008, 09:25 AM
#1
Lowering
I've done some research.
I want to just lower my ZR for looks & not spend more money than I have to...but I also want to avoid any tire wear problems & etc.
I have a '04.5, v1 front lip & 19" wheels w/custom offsets.
I've decided so far to go with the Hotchis TVS stage1 kit.
As far as I know I do not need a camber kit with the Hotchis kit.
Do I need to replace my stock endlinks? 11k miles.
Some people say I have to....avoiding clunking sounds but I found out that the clunking sounds can come from bad endlinks or endlinks not sufficiently torqued or not enough sway bolt tightening than what the directions say (change to 80ft/lbs) & to use bearing grease to lube the sway bars.
Am I ready to go with the Hotchis kit only & then an alignment?
I want to just lower my ZR for looks & not spend more money than I have to...but I also want to avoid any tire wear problems & etc.
I have a '04.5, v1 front lip & 19" wheels w/custom offsets.
I've decided so far to go with the Hotchis TVS stage1 kit.
As far as I know I do not need a camber kit with the Hotchis kit.
Do I need to replace my stock endlinks? 11k miles.
Some people say I have to....avoiding clunking sounds but I found out that the clunking sounds can come from bad endlinks or endlinks not sufficiently torqued or not enough sway bolt tightening than what the directions say (change to 80ft/lbs) & to use bearing grease to lube the sway bars.
Am I ready to go with the Hotchis kit only & then an alignment?
Last edited by sluggoZ; 12-30-2008 at 09:31 AM.
12-30-2008, 11:52 AM
#2
You may be "within spec" with the Hotchkis kit w/o buying a rear camber kit, but it won't be the same as stock. IN MY OPINION, a rear camber/toe kit is not an option with ANY lowering. But, I'm very picky about my alignment.
My front endlinks are starting to make some popping noises when I go over speed bumps at any sort of angle. I have had the TVS kit for maybe 5,000 miles. Eventually I'll need to replace the endlinks, but it's not bad enough yet to worry about and I don't have the cash. Otherwise I would have done it when I put the swaybars on the car.
I have 18's on my car and the REAR gap is decently noticeable. If you are a stickler about having just the right amount of lowering, with the 19's you may want to go lower. You COULD cut up the rear spring mounts to gain a little more lowering though. The front on my car looks great IMO.
EDIT: If you just want to lower the car for looks you should probably go with the GF210's and the SPC rear camber/toe kit. I think they look better, but I prefer the Hotchkis kit for performance.
My front endlinks are starting to make some popping noises when I go over speed bumps at any sort of angle. I have had the TVS kit for maybe 5,000 miles. Eventually I'll need to replace the endlinks, but it's not bad enough yet to worry about and I don't have the cash. Otherwise I would have done it when I put the swaybars on the car.
I have 18's on my car and the REAR gap is decently noticeable. If you are a stickler about having just the right amount of lowering, with the 19's you may want to go lower. You COULD cut up the rear spring mounts to gain a little more lowering though. The front on my car looks great IMO.
EDIT: If you just want to lower the car for looks you should probably go with the GF210's and the SPC rear camber/toe kit. I think they look better, but I prefer the Hotchkis kit for performance.
Last edited by Beau; 12-30-2008 at 11:55 AM.
Good choice.
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12-30-2008, 09:47 PM
#9
From the track driver's I've been following (their posts, I'm not a stalker!), front camber needs to be -2.5 to -3.0 or so on the track.
But if you want decent tire wear, then yes, you may need camber arms in the front also.
I'm biased. All I care about is performance. Not looking pretty or tire wear. that's what a Civic is for.
But if you want decent tire wear, then yes, you may need camber arms in the front also.
I'm biased. All I care about is performance. Not looking pretty or tire wear. that's what a Civic is for.
12-31-2008, 04:17 AM
#11
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12-31-2008, 06:05 AM
#13
From my research and personal experience, most non-track peeps don't bother with the camber kits (front or rear) on the Hotchkis drop because you can usually get within or close to stock tolerances. If after you drop and get an alignment, you are out of spec and are concerned about tire wear or performance then you can always add the camber arms then. It may cost a little less time and $ to do them at the same time but sounds like it might be overkill for your needs.
12-31-2008, 06:08 AM
#14
Your alignment has a lot to do with handling and tire wear. It may be trivial, but if you can't get your alignment back to the way it was before lowering the car you may be disappointed. It would really suck to put all this money into lowering the car and NOT get the full performance that you SHOULD because of $159 shipped and a couple hours of install time at most. It's a small price to pay for peace of mind.
I'm picky as hell about my alignment as I said earlier. My alignment is EXACTLY how "I" specified it now. Do it once, do it right.
I'm picky as hell about my alignment as I said earlier. My alignment is EXACTLY how "I" specified it now. Do it once, do it right.
12-31-2008, 12:50 PM
#16
Z1 has the SPC kit for $159 shipped I believe.
There are much worse things you could do besides cut the rear spring mounts. At worst you'll have more cabin noise. Just remember that however much you take off of the spring mount will be multiplied at the wheel since the springs sit inboard.
There are much worse things you could do besides cut the rear spring mounts. At worst you'll have more cabin noise. Just remember that however much you take off of the spring mount will be multiplied at the wheel since the springs sit inboard.
01-01-2009, 03:45 PM
#17
I got your PM and I'm gonna post my response here too, in case somebody has something else to add.....
I could only find one pic of your car, so I don't know if it would look better or good enough. One way you can tell how low to go is to throw in a bunch of sandbags or bricks until the rear sags on flat level ground. I did this before I cut the bushings to see what it would look like 1/2" lower, using concrete stepping stones LOL but worked.
If you are happy with the way the front looks and just want the rear lower, you might be able to just use the rear Hotchkis springs but I don't know how that will affect the car by mixing springs that way. Also if you were to just use the Hotckis rear springs, it might lower the rear too much and the front will then look too high.
If you lowered with Hotchkis and cut the mount yes I would assume you would need the adjustable arms to bring things back into spec. If you just cut 1/2" off the mount and use the stock springs, you should be able to get back into specs fine, with just getting an alignment done. The rule of thumb with the 350Z is if you drop by more than 3/4" you have a 50/50 chance of being able to get it back to factory specs without having to buy adjustable arms. Some people say they have dropped 1" and more and were ok, so who knows for sure.
If you think your car will look good by just dropping the rear 1/2" just cut the mounts. If you don't like it, you can put the old mounts back in then go with some springs. The Hotchkis springs will settle after time. My front springs settled quite a bit, which is why I cut the rear mounts. I had to much forward rake (*** end was too high).
I could only find one pic of your car, so I don't know if it would look better or good enough. One way you can tell how low to go is to throw in a bunch of sandbags or bricks until the rear sags on flat level ground. I did this before I cut the bushings to see what it would look like 1/2" lower, using concrete stepping stones LOL but worked.
If you are happy with the way the front looks and just want the rear lower, you might be able to just use the rear Hotchkis springs but I don't know how that will affect the car by mixing springs that way. Also if you were to just use the Hotckis rear springs, it might lower the rear too much and the front will then look too high.
If you lowered with Hotchkis and cut the mount yes I would assume you would need the adjustable arms to bring things back into spec. If you just cut 1/2" off the mount and use the stock springs, you should be able to get back into specs fine, with just getting an alignment done. The rule of thumb with the 350Z is if you drop by more than 3/4" you have a 50/50 chance of being able to get it back to factory specs without having to buy adjustable arms. Some people say they have dropped 1" and more and were ok, so who knows for sure.
If you think your car will look good by just dropping the rear 1/2" just cut the mounts. If you don't like it, you can put the old mounts back in then go with some springs. The Hotchkis springs will settle after time. My front springs settled quite a bit, which is why I cut the rear mounts. I had to much forward rake (*** end was too high).
01-01-2009, 05:00 PM
#18
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I am lowered on Hotchkis springs with no camber kit. I just got my alignment done a few days ago, and attached the results. This was after driving for over a year since my previous alignment and with one track event. I had the springs for a couple years now.
As you can see, the camber on my fronts are slightly off stock spec by about .3-.4 degrees, and rears are almost borderline at around -2.1 and -2.3. I am not concerned about the camber too much as I track my car once in a while and prefer a little bit more negative camber than stock anyways. Also the toe, which IMO have more to do with tire wear, was able to be adjusted well within range.
As you can see, the camber on my fronts are slightly off stock spec by about .3-.4 degrees, and rears are almost borderline at around -2.1 and -2.3. I am not concerned about the camber too much as I track my car once in a while and prefer a little bit more negative camber than stock anyways. Also the toe, which IMO have more to do with tire wear, was able to be adjusted well within range.
Last edited by phorbo007; 01-01-2009 at 05:02 PM.
01-01-2009, 05:16 PM
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^
I thought about getting the GF210s also instead of my Hotchkis because of the bigger drop, but camber kit will be a necessity if you don't want to prematurely wear out your tires. Also it might be a good idea to change out the shocks too due to the higher spring rate and lower drop.
The Hotchkis are actually tuned to work well with factory shocks, so that's what I chose as a cost-effective solution.
I thought about getting the GF210s also instead of my Hotchkis because of the bigger drop, but camber kit will be a necessity if you don't want to prematurely wear out your tires. Also it might be a good idea to change out the shocks too due to the higher spring rate and lower drop.
The Hotchkis are actually tuned to work well with factory shocks, so that's what I chose as a cost-effective solution.