I've had my H&R/Tokicos for about a month now and have been paying extra attention to the look/feel of my Max since I knew that it was going to settle. I've noticed two main details so far: 1) it does not look lower and the front is still higher than the back (normal) and 2) the ride has gotten considerably more stiff, I'm feeling a lot more bumps on local streets and freeways. Did you guys with lowering springs have similar experiences or is there something I should know about. Also, how long does it normally take for the springs to settle? Any input from all brands of springs would be greatly appreciated.

 

My eibachs seem to have gotten a tad softer... perhaps cause my first ride with them I had about 700lbs of passengers in the car.

 

Unless you get coilovers and adjust the height (or don't lower the rear, etc.), I don't think you'll get the wheelgaps to be the same. I've lowered my front more than my rear, but the rear still has a tad bit less gap.

Yup, the ride will be stiff... there's not way around this. If you think H&R's are stiff, come take a ride in a car with coilovers.

My Eibachs settled pretty quickly... probably within a few days.

 

It should take no more than a couple of weeks for your springs to settle. They may settle a few more centimeters of the course of time. After two weeks is when you should get an alignment. I noticed a big difference between stock and lowered before my springs even settled. There is now way around it your front is alway going to be higher since your car is fwd. The only alternative is to get air bags on each corner! And yes my ride is hella bumpy. But a wiseman once said, "It's costly to be flossy!"

 

Thanks for the responses guys. I was actually fully expecting the ride to be rougher and the front to be higher. Just wanted to get some consensus from the .Org folks on how your rides have settled. No regrets, the best mod on my Max in terms of looks and handling.