I Was just wondering how low can we lower our cars with the stock shocks?? i have the money for springs right now but not for shocks, and my car looks lifted with my new konig trouble rims, i will eventually do the shocks about 3-4 months later

any input would be appriciated

thanks
-Anthony

I'm guessing it'll depend on the road conditions and how you drive too.... I'd say anything more than 1.4" front and rear is too much for the stock struts... but don't take my word for it....

Do not do it. You're riding on 4-5 year old struts already. I'd give your struts less than a month to blow with a drop.

Good point... I didn't realize he had a 2000.... I'm guessing around 60-80k miles on them struts?

Could he get away with mild drops like Eibachs, H&Rs, or Maxspeeds?

Absolutely not.

ive got a 2" inch drop with stock struts. i have had no problems(knock on wood). mine has been dropped for about 2 months. still saving up for struts. but i would just save my money if i had the chance to do it over again. now that i look back i think the road to go down is coil overs. i think that would be a better solution to you "4x4" wheel well gap. thats just my opinion though. i mean i am a newbie.
-adam

I had over 30k miles on my car when I installed my Maxspeed springs (used for 10k miles) on OEM struts. I have now driven over 15k miles on my car with the OEM struts still installed. I have had no issues at all with shocks blowing out and the ride has been fairly decent, and Columbus doesn't have the best or worst roads. It has gotten a bit more rough since the installation of 19" wheels with 35 series tires however. If I did have to do it over again, I would probably have waited and done everything at once (like I plan to do in the spring), but I could not wait to lower my car and I got a great price on the Maxspeeds (thanks Gio).

Gook luck. And check out housecor's site with extensive information and comparisons on different setups.

Here in NYC, my struts wouldn't have lasted more than a month. If where MaximaVQ97 lives has very smooth roads...I'd say he can go for it. If not, then I strongly do not recommend it.

Yeah... I'm still inclined to think that a minor drop like Eibachs/H&Rs/Maxspeeds/H-Techs on stock struts will be fine... his location is listed as Cali so I'm guessing it can't be too bad where he is in terms of road quality...

Although I would still agree that it depends on the amount of beating that the stock struts have already taken to this point.

MaximaVQ97, maybe you should just get some used struts off the Classifieds or something... I got some Tokico HPs off there for $165 shipped with 10K miles and they work great....

I put a 2" drop on my max with the stock shocks and now I am up to 31k miles with no blown shocks and the ride is still fine. On my 97 max I put the same 2" drop on 55k mile shocks and they didnt blow until I hit 95k miles.

Hmm... if what I recall is correct... roads in GA are pretty nice... and some of the Org members in that area have sick low drops.... am I right? Or is it just my imagination?

So I guess my point is that.... road conditions probably play a big part in determining whether this is do-able or not....

I dropped my 2K2 with Eibachs and stock struts. Struts had 5000 miles on them when dropped, and I blew the rears after 5000 miles of driving on NYC roads. My suggestion save yourself the time and money and do it right the first time. I asked the same question before I dropped my car and didnt listen...I learned the hard way.

Hey!!

thanks for everyones input i greatly appriciate it! i guess ill just hold off and wait and get the springs and the shocks/struts together when i gather more money.. ohh yeah and i do live in southern california but the roads here are pretty bad there always tearing them up for one reason or another.

thanks again
-Anthony

Actually where I head to work and live there is a lot of construction and back roads that are torn to hell so no the roads are not that great in Ga.

Don't make the same mistake I did, save for the struts / Tokico Illuminas $435.00 on ebay, no shipping but you'll have to pay tax in CA

just buy the springs now and dont install them until you get your struts, that way if you come across a good deal now, just get them and wait till later, EBay is a great place, Tein s-tech for 145 shipped and tokico illuminas for 445 shipped its not too bad.. in my opionion