My shocks/struts are worn and need new ones.

I am seriously considering doing new struts (Tokico Illuminas for sure), but am not sure about doing the springs. My mechanic advises me not to do a drop, since he says the car is not engineered to drive lower, but instead is manufactured to factory specs. He says he has a customer who dropped an Audi, and now regrets it.

Do any of you have regret doing the drop? For instance due to harsh ride, bottoming out, weather conditions, wearing out of struts faster, etc...

I am seeking a firm, hopefully smooth ride - I don't race or take curves that fast - so will not need sport springs or anything. I've heard H&R are good, as well as Eibach but those all have a drop of an inch or so.

It's also hard to find springs that aren't made for drop, for example, I'm having trouble finding OEM springs.

At the end of the day the decision is mine, not my mechanics, but I want to hear some of your feedback on doing the drop before I take the plunge and buy the springs.

 

your mechanic is a moron....um...ALL cars are manufactured to "factory specs"....

while there are downsides to excessive drops, there are really no adverse effects on the car of a mild drop.

I have maxspeed springs and tokico illumina struts and my ride is as good (or better) than stock (oh, and I have other suspension stuff too), plus handling is far far improbed.

H&R and Maxspeeds offer the most mild drop (1 - 1 1/2") and ride quality is similar to stock...also they don't make the car "look" dropped, they make it look like it SHOULD HAVE looked from the factory....

 

No regrets here. I was faced with that same decision 3 months ago. my struts when bad so i had to replace them. I changed springs and struts. like u said its ur decision.

 

the fact that your mechanic has ONE customer who has a lowered vehicle basically means he is not an authority on lowering a car. irish is correct with what he said. a mild drop is not gonna give you any problems. guys here, including myself soon, are running 2" drops with no issues. as long as its done correctly, and the alignment performed properly afterwards, you will have as much enjoyment out of the car as with a stock car.

 

I have Maxspeeds/Illuminas and the only regret I have is not putting new struts on when I put the springs on. I put struts on recently, and I really believe it rides as "smoothly" as stock (stock isn't all that smooth anyway).
Also, I am an "old fart" of 41 with wife and 2 young kids. Nobody complains or even makes remarks about the ride. It does handle better, and looks just low enough to get rid of the 4 X 4 look.

I could see some people that have "slammed" their cars having regrets. This can change the stock geometry of the suspension too much, eliminate too much suspension travel, and make the ride excessively harsh. Maybe this is what the Audi owner did.

 

I'm on Progress springs and Tokico HP struts... no regrets whatsoever... haven't had any problems with it yet either....

FYI for with regards to struts/springs:

http://www.innerbean.com/housecor/sp..._decision.html

 

I'm looking to replace my shocks pretty soon and I'll probably go with springs as well. I was wondering how much different will a 1" vs 2" drop look and feel? Anyone have comparison pics? Thanks.

 

Please see post above yours and click on the link...

 

rLx77, like everyone else, don't listen to your mechanic.

I have Tokico Illuminas with H&R Sports, i love the ride and feel and wondered why I waited so long to do so. I haven't experience any harshness over bumps. If you're considering H&Rs, you won't get a harsh ride. Plus with the adjustability of the Illuminas you can get a really soft ride with 1F & 1R (boat like ride like the GXEs). i set mine to boat-like feel with 1F & 2R. I don't have experience with other setups so others will chime in their thoughts with diff. setups.

either way, you won't regret..!

 

Oh sorry about that. Thanks....link helps a lot.

 

My illuminas ae dialed in to 3 and 3 with Maxspeeds (and keep in mind I have 18" rims now) and the ride is STILL at least as smooth as stock SE, if not better.

 

I'm going with Puppet's setup and I can't wait to get them on (next Saturday!) I just check his setup on his homepage and it makes me that much more pumped - that and I've also ordered the 01 SE tails. What a great weekend next Saturday will make!

 

I regret sometimes. I have to look out for potholes and bumps constantly because when I do hit them, it feels like my car is falling appart.

 

If you don't want a huge drop, Maxspeeds are the way to go .
I have S-Tech Teins and I don't regret it.

 

Glad ya like it and I hope ya find the suspension set-up to your liking... I'm def happy with mine... good choice in tails too... Do ya have aftermarket rims on your Max? Just curious... I wanna see how the ride quality is with bigger rims too...

Do post pics when you're done...

 

It's true that the engineers designed your car to ride at its stock height, but just remember that any mod can be beneficial if you do it intelligently. There are definite adverse effects to dropping your car too low or picking the wrong spring/damper combo. A mild drop with good dampers (the Tokico Illuminas are one of the better choices) will put a grin on your face.

 

Probably i am the only stupid person here. I have maxspeed and stock strut on the front only. I will change the strut as soon as my stock strut blown. Otherwise that stock strut will full my garage. Asking about handling? WOW even much better than my stock AE.

 

No regrets on droppping my previous ride, and no regrets when i get my baby dropped. like mentioned above, maxspeeds, H&R, are close to stock. i bet maxspeeds are even cheaper than stock springs if you dont want to spend alot. but dont worry about bottoming out, or anything else. if you go between 1"-1.5" you should have no problems or no regrets. maxima's already come with a ugly 4x4 fender gap, your just making it back to factory gap.

 

I have maxspeeds and stock struts for over 30K and no problems. I'll replace the struts when they blow, but I've been saying that for years!

No regrets, but I do have to go slow up some steep driveways.

 

Was running Maxspeeds on Stockers now just finished installing HPs/Progress this morning. Man does it ride smooth. Zero regrets. Thanks for the input Puppetmaster, I love the new set-up.

 

Irish couldn't be more right. What car isn't manufactured to perform at the stock components. Let me know where this mechanic is. I will pay him a visit.