Getting Coilovers, Have a Question!
01-27-2009, 10:18 AM
#21
New Member
iTrader: (68)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: McDonalds - NOVA - DC/MD/VA
Posts: 4,121
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
My car is lowered more than an inch (1.2 inches to be exact) and I don't run a camber kit. My camber is at -3.0 degrees in the rear and -1.6 in the front. Great handling and not very noticable tire wear either. Camber kits are overrated unless you get them for their hardened poly bushings.
Cusco sway bars weigh MUCH more than stock + other aftermarket brands because they are solid bars. Other brands offer hollow designs. I personally prefer solid over hollow, but it doesn't mean that hollow is worse. It's personal preferance at this point
Cusco sway bars weigh MUCH more than stock + other aftermarket brands because they are solid bars. Other brands offer hollow designs. I personally prefer solid over hollow, but it doesn't mean that hollow is worse. It's personal preferance at this point
01-27-2009, 10:38 AM
#23
^true that jonathan, I'm glad everyone's so helpful here.
So is there any purpose of buying aftermarket swaybars then? If they all weigh the same and what not.
Abui and steeeZ I get what you're saying about negative camber, but tires are too expensive for me to let the alignment and all be the way it is when I lower the car. I'd love to have some sick negative camber going on, it gives a mean look to the car. But tears up the inside of your tires, thats for sure. I have 275/35/18 tires, and just with the TEIN springs, they were basically done after just about 7 or 8 months. I don't know if that seems good. But I know that after I lower the car more, it's only going to get worse. So I'd rather save some life on the tires and get the camber kit I guess.
Like I said, Im not autocrossing or anything. so I don't really need the science and handling behind negative camber, although I do absolutely love the way it looks. haha
So is there any purpose of buying aftermarket swaybars then? If they all weigh the same and what not.
Abui and steeeZ I get what you're saying about negative camber, but tires are too expensive for me to let the alignment and all be the way it is when I lower the car. I'd love to have some sick negative camber going on, it gives a mean look to the car. But tears up the inside of your tires, thats for sure. I have 275/35/18 tires, and just with the TEIN springs, they were basically done after just about 7 or 8 months. I don't know if that seems good. But I know that after I lower the car more, it's only going to get worse. So I'd rather save some life on the tires and get the camber kit I guess.
Like I said, Im not autocrossing or anything. so I don't really need the science and handling behind negative camber, although I do absolutely love the way it looks. haha
01-27-2009, 10:47 AM
#24
New Member
iTrader: (68)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: McDonalds - NOVA - DC/MD/VA
Posts: 4,121
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
The point of an aftermarket sway isn't weigh savings, but for the handling purposes. If you're starting off, I would actually rec the Hotchkis sways set on hard front/medium rear. The books state that you should do med/med until you get more comfy w/ the settings but I wanted a more neutral handling feel therefore hard/med was best. Cusco rears have NO adjustability, it's set at 173% stiffer than stock. The fronts have 2 adjustment holes.
Another thing to keep in mind: Hotchkis use poly sway mount bushings which might creak overtime, Cusco reuses stock rubber ones: no creak.
And if you haven't already thought about it, end links are a MUST have to maximize the effectiveness of your sway bars. Stock rubber/plastic crap SUCKS butt. With the SPL endlinks, you can also adjust pre-load on your swaybars which is always a huge plus for corner-balancing (you might not ever do this but maybe one day!)
Oh yeah, and I went through 3 sets of tires.. maybe 2-3k dollars in a year. But you'll be able to hug those corners! LOL!
Another thing to keep in mind: Hotchkis use poly sway mount bushings which might creak overtime, Cusco reuses stock rubber ones: no creak.
And if you haven't already thought about it, end links are a MUST have to maximize the effectiveness of your sway bars. Stock rubber/plastic crap SUCKS butt. With the SPL endlinks, you can also adjust pre-load on your swaybars which is always a huge plus for corner-balancing (you might not ever do this but maybe one day!)
Oh yeah, and I went through 3 sets of tires.. maybe 2-3k dollars in a year. But you'll be able to hug those corners! LOL!
01-27-2009, 10:48 AM
#25
Registered User
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Greensboro, NC
Posts: 289
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I never actually measured how low my car after coilovers but I cant put a finger in the wheel well after 20mm spacers with the stock track wheels. The neg camber is aweful as you can see.
01-27-2009, 11:01 AM
#28
New Member
iTrader: (68)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: McDonalds - NOVA - DC/MD/VA
Posts: 4,121
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
^Wow, that's a lot of neg camber + toe-in. Our cars are naturally equipped to toe-in a bit (when your tires are pointed toward the center of your car) but that looks a little drastic. Toe is what EATS rubber. Too much toe-in in the rear will cause you bump-steer (the feeling you get when you hit a bump on the highway and the rear end feels like it's flying all over the place.. yes.. NOT fun!) Might wanna go to ptuning and get that checked out.
Side Note: SPC Toe-Bolts (as much as they advertise these... I never found a use for them. Neither did any shop I went to... so why do people buy them? *shrugs* beats the heck outta me!) They supposedly correct your toe and also require you to drill-out your subframe to elongate the factory holes. I'm slammed more than an inch and i can still get my toe back to factory specs.... so why are people buying SPC Toe-Bolts?
All you might need are the SPC Camber Arms for your setup and a good alignment (ptuning)
Contrary to popular belief: lower the car = lower center of gravity = better handling. <-- INCORRECT
Lowering your car TOO much can also have a negative effect on handling. The last thing you want to be is the noob w/ a super duper lowered car w/ handling that sucks more than stock... and you'll wonder wtf is going on? Make sure to measure the load on your control arms, you want them to sit like this / \ in comparison to the ground. Some people lower it so much that their control arms sit like this \ / (If you know what I mean) You don't want them to sit perfectly parallel either. There's a buncha science that goes into it, but these are just the basics.
Side Note: SPC Toe-Bolts (as much as they advertise these... I never found a use for them. Neither did any shop I went to... so why do people buy them? *shrugs* beats the heck outta me!) They supposedly correct your toe and also require you to drill-out your subframe to elongate the factory holes. I'm slammed more than an inch and i can still get my toe back to factory specs.... so why are people buying SPC Toe-Bolts?
All you might need are the SPC Camber Arms for your setup and a good alignment (ptuning)
Contrary to popular belief: lower the car = lower center of gravity = better handling. <-- INCORRECT
Lowering your car TOO much can also have a negative effect on handling. The last thing you want to be is the noob w/ a super duper lowered car w/ handling that sucks more than stock... and you'll wonder wtf is going on? Make sure to measure the load on your control arms, you want them to sit like this / \ in comparison to the ground. Some people lower it so much that their control arms sit like this \ / (If you know what I mean) You don't want them to sit perfectly parallel either. There's a buncha science that goes into it, but these are just the basics.
01-27-2009, 11:14 AM
#29
Registered User
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Greensboro, NC
Posts: 289
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Like I said this was done yesterday. Notice the SPC rear camber arm and cusco sway bar. With snow in the way I couldnt go get the car to the alighmnet shop. I'll post more pics after thats done and see how off I am.
Last edited by Z33@SIM; 01-27-2009 at 11:17 AM.
01-27-2009, 05:44 PM
#31
New Member
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: MD
Posts: 323
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
still having that problem jonathan? LOL
By the way... where do you guys get your car aligned? When I slam my car I have no clue where to take it for alignment. I don't trust anybody. (sorry, don't mean to thread jack)
By the way... where do you guys get your car aligned? When I slam my car I have no clue where to take it for alignment. I don't trust anybody. (sorry, don't mean to thread jack)
01-28-2009, 09:35 AM
#34
