Is it possible to get an inch drop (or a little less), without needing a camber kit? how about an alignment?

I already have to go over some questionable speed bumps that tap my cats going straight and slow, so I think I can get by going an inch lower going angled and slow - I don't want to create difficulties

I also don't want to spend more then a couple hundred if I am just getting springs. I mean really, if I have to get a camber kit, shocks, alignment .. at that point, I feel like I should say **** it, and buy a set of coilovers.

this is really for asthetics and I'd like the ride comfort to remain unchanged, this is my daily driver and I do a mix of city/highway driving.

appreciate your help in advance, I've been searching and reading threads for the past hour, but I don't feel confident in the info to make any decisions.

 

get hotchkis springs and alignment and call it a day.

 

I am just going to repeat Adam's @ Z1 auto words : "every car is different but you should be ok".
I may also add that Eibach Rear Camber/Toe Kit is on sale. Just contact Adam.

 

yeah, I know you can't say for sure, but if I can narrow down the risk, it would be cool to hear success stories for similar scenarios, lol.

edit - I will hate myself if a 200$ spring purchase turns into 500$+, or half the cost of a 'decent' coilover set up.

 

springs + shocks + front/rear camber kit cost me a little over a grand...money well spent if you ask me.

 

I agree. I am trying to scrape by on a 200$ spring purchase and an alignment tops though. If there is more then a 25% chance that I am going to have to drop 500$~ish, I would rather wait a little bit and get coilovers.

 

smart move friend, but do consider eventually you should replace your factory shocks, and there is a slight chance you might have to get a rear camber kit.

 

I recently dropped my car on Tanabe GF210's, and the alignment after could not get my camber back in spec. I'll need to get a rear camber kit soon to correct the issue.

 

hmm.. and that's a 1.0/1.2 drop right?

I am dreading that scenario. springs, self-labor to install, pay for an alignment (<--want this process to end here), camber kit, pay for another alighment.. meh.

I have the money in case things go wrong, but I don't really want to dump it on this. I was hoping to hear of something close to 1" where almost all reports haven't needed a camber kit.

nex - which hotchkis springs are you suggesting? do they have multiple offerings? the one I looked up has about a half inch drop in front and 3/4 in the rear.. ?

 

The Hotchkis springs lower 0.6" front and 0.75" rear.
The GF210 springs lower 1.0" front and 1.2" rear.

I'm in the same boat as you and still haven't made up my mind!
If I go with the Eibach Pro-Kit (1.0/1.0) or GF210 springs I was thinking about doing the camber kit at the time of install and not risk having to redo the alignment.

 

Coilover with the same drop will also require the same camber kit. You can get away with just the rear on most/all cars cause the front will be in the -1.5 range with a 1 inch drop. Yes the front is out of spec, but its perfectly acceptible to most and doesn't add to much extra tire wear.

I run -1.5 front and have 45k on the front tires. Only the first 20k was at factory alignment specs. The tires are still going strong.

 

i had a local nissan dealer (performance nissan) install gf210 a spc rear camber kit and did the alignment all for $386

 

I hate to be the devil's advocate here but are you going to be happy with the .6 and .75 inch drop? You say the worst thing to do is to make your $200 purchase turn into a $500 purchase but no matter how much you spend the worst thing actually is spending the money and not being satisfied. Trying to skimp and then not being happy with the results will be far worse because then you took a step backwards. Sure, you will get some money back on the parts you sell used but then you have to go spend even more money than you did the first time to get the look you wanted in the first place. On top of that with the next step up in drop 1/1.2 you will probably need a rear camber kit as well and therefore another alignment. Maybe you won't need it, you can get by, but to get the camber back within OEM specs it will most likely be required.

Everyone has their own tastes but IMHO a half inch drop is really not too noticable, you will get the improved handling but asthetically it doesn't do much for me. As with anything you want to do, save up and do it right the first time and you will be happy

 

I agree with you. Fact is you either drop it or leave it hanging. .6 drop is virtually no drop. That's just my thinking BTW.

 

.6 front and .8 back drop IS visually noticeable btw

 

.6 is about a finger... which is noticeable on our already "low" cars..

 

lol I know how much .6 of an inch is, and to me it's not really anything at all... barely if you want to be generous. And our cars are not that low, especially once you throw some rims on them, but I'm a slammed kind of guy

considering if you look at his album he's on aftermarket rims and he's got a lotta gap in the rear.. .6 is a no go.. much more required.

 

for everyone who says they didn't need to change anything with a 1 inch drop, you'll get people to say they needed to change parts for even a 1/2 inch drop.

Want to know for sure? Take it in for an alignment checkup before you install the springs, then after. Then if needed, buy the parts, install them, take it back, and have the alignment done. To me, seems like alot of time (which is money) to spend on tracking down something that could be avoided altogether. Your best bet is purchasing the rear camber/toe kit, at a minimum

As for "drop it this amount, no that amount, no this amount", it is all subjective.

 

thanks guys. I am not against spending the money to do it right, I just needed to hear if it was feasible to get a drop near the level I wanted without the camber kit. sounds like it's silly to even try without it.

 

you can get decent rear camber kits for ~160 shipped, pop them on yourself and then go the the alignment shop like you were gonna anyway it shouldn't set you back too much. Just make sure you get what you want the first time