general lowering questions.

[freshnasty]

so right now im riding on my 16 year old stock suspension set up.
id really like to install some lowering springs, which would also require a set of struts, and possibly a camber kit...

right now im in highschool working a part time job, so my pockets arent exactly deep.. (not everybody has a daddy who buys them a brand new BMW for a first car)

im looking to drop my front about 2" and my rear about an 1" to 1.5"
ive been told to stay away from the ebay coilovers.... rightfully so, you get what you pay for.
I need some advise one some cheep but reliable coilovers as well as struts.
not nessecarily as a set.... also if i need something else, please fill me in.

i would like to do this right so i dont f*** up my car, but i would also like to do this on a budget.

[Extacee]

try some ground control coilover sleeves on some koni yellowa, or kyb struts. GC use eibach springs and run at around 300 dollars plus what ever koni yellow cost.

if you want cheap like you said buy some megan racing lowering springs and some stock replacement shocks from autozone. some might dislike this setup but it works well, really well. i recommend buying shocks with lifetime warranty, like at autozone or chekers etc.

thats my set up but with skunk 2 springs, rides like a beauty!

[C91BLX7]

Save up money.

[freshnasty]

Save up money.

..... you sir are not helpfull

[C91BLX7]

You buy cheap shit and your never going to be happy, period.

[JoshM]

So you're wanting coilovers?
What's your price range?


To do it right, you're looking around $600 at the very least.

Sets:
Function & Form Type-I's are around $600.
D2, Megan, and KSport are around $800.

Seperately:
Ground Control sleeves & Koni Yellow shocks will be in the $800-$900 range.
(GC=$300, Koni Yellows=$500-$600)

[freshnasty]

You buy cheap shit and your never going to be happy, period.

anything is better than a 3 to 4 inch gap lol

[JoshM]

anything is better than a 3 to 4 inch gap lol

Ummm, no.
"No name" coilovers on your stock shocks will NOT be better than your stock suspension.

[freshnasty]

So you're wanting coilovers?
What's your price range?


To do it right, you're looking around $600 at the very least.

Sets:
Function & Form Type-I's are around $600.
D2, Megan, and KSport are around $800.

Seperately:
Ground Control sleeves & Koni Yellow shocks will be in the $800-$900 range.
(GC=$300, Koni Yellows=$500-$600)

well so would it be cheeper to do just lowering springs?

ive been told that its better to go with coilovers so that i can set my front and rear at different heights. so idk...

[Hondapawa]

..... you sir are not helpfull

No he really is helpful, depending on your budget, you should save up, suspensions are expensive. And coilovers are even more expensive...

[JoshM]

well so would it be cheeper to do just lowering springs?

ive been told that its better to go with coilovers so that i can set my front and rear at different heights. so idk...

Name brand lowering springs + shocks that will support the drop will still be $500+.

Coilovers do give you the opportunity to adjust your height. However, everytime you adjust your height you'll need an alignment. That's not the case with a spring/shock combo.

[JoshM]

I'm not trying to sound like a dick, but I really think you need to read this sticky:
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=470

It has a lot of useful information.

[WilliamW]

I would have to agree with saving up a little more money. You need to weigh quality price and safety. If your car's safety is below acceptable you need to do something now. If it's not, then save up a little bit for quality parts.

You can find quality parts such as Koni Yellow shocks and neuspeed race / sport springs used on places like E-bay but their quality is always questionable. It's an unknown factor that could land you in trouble when you least expect it. Buying new quality parts lets you know that the only thing that could make your car mess up is the quality of your work.

Koni
Neuspeed
bilstein
Tein
Eibach

These seem to be respectable quality manufacturers you should look at. There is also a sub 300 dollar section on here, http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=147055 but I am unaware if it has a name brand or not. Also check out the Lowering 101 thread http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=470 it has useful advice.

Other than that just try and plan on somethings not going right and parts needing replacement, or tools needed (spring compressors and what not).

[DJ metadelic]

Hey fresh, first off you stated yourself when you op'd. Ebay sleeves suck ass, period. I've run about 3 of my hondas with them. You'd think I would've learned, I kept going back for more, thinking the next drop job would be different than the last. The issue always was toe, camber was second in line. I dropped 3" frontt, 3" rear on my old EG. Ended up being -2.5 degrees in front, -1.5 rear. The fronts were wearing tires like a mofo. Went ahead and went with "generals" tires because I was sick of spending a lotta money on decent tires. What I should've done to begin with was install a camber correction kit front and rear. Never did. And it was on me in the end, no one else's fault!

Learn from my mistakes man. If you're planning on going any lower than exactly 2", camber kit is win. As is decent struts that can handle a higher spring rate, or a sleeve kit. Remember springs settle as does the rest of the suspension, it puts stress on EVERYTHING. Well, especially where I live in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road. This is my two cents, but the outcome is just to overall avoid cheap sleeve kits. If you're going to go with coilovers, it's worthwhile to spend the money on GC's since their springs are manufactured by Eibach, Dropzone imo is junk. D2 makes decent 2.25" drop springs, so look into those as well. Some guys run ebay sleeves no problem, I think it depends a lot on whether or not your suspension components are in healthy shape.

[freshnasty]

No he really is helpful, depending on your budget, you should save up, suspensions are expensive. And coilovers are even more expensive...

lol if im asking for specific answers as to how i can lower my car on a cheap budget, then simply saying "save up your money" is not going to help at all
i can get that answer from just about anyone on here...

like i said, i was told get coilovers, so i looked into coilovers not really know that they were so much more...