I will be getting them installed this week, hopefully tomorrow. I will post plenty of pics of the drop on this thread once they are installed and also I will post pics on my website. I am going to measure the before and after so I can know what kind of drop I get, (I know certain people are always curious about that kinda' stuff)... So stay tuned... I will also give you my impressions of the ride since I will be running the stock SE struts for a while.

Tirerack.com has these quality springs for $225 plus $12.50 for two day shipping, so check it out! Of course Circo mentioned to me that apparently shox.com will beat any advertised price so you may wanna pressure them to beat $225, just make sure they don't rob you on shipping to make up for it!

 

Congrats!

Now if you can just mod that sig to normal width.

 

at least you can get your sig to work

 

...Is that better? I think maybe I had just one too many pics on, I have a 19" monitor with high res so I need the feedback... Is that more viewable?

 

i meant you can get your sig to work but i can't get mine to work

 

I just measured my 'before' wheel well measurements for this spring install. They are from level ground to the high point on each wheel well (fender)...

Front Right: 28 1/4"
Front Left: 28 1/4"

Rear Right: 27 7/8"
Rear Left: 27 7/8"

Ground clearance from grade to bottom of side sills: 9 1/2"

...I am an architectural project manager so my measurements can be trusted! The front two are only 3/8" higher than the rear, but that is enough to create that look that the front is lifted a little that we all hate! Hopefully the slight tilt the new springs will provide will cancel that out. I will post the 'after' measurements in the same fashion as soon as they are installed!

 

Sorry dude a little too late! I believe that Tirerack has the best shipping prices period. So maybe you saved on shipping. I paid only 199 for the eibachs!

 

I got H&R springs & love them....hopefully I'll buy a digi cam & take pics this weekend of my car

 

can't wait to get my maxspeeds installed and give before and after shots for yall

 

I know how you feel...I just ordered my H&R's as well as KYB AGX's..I can't wait to get them/get them installed..then I will post pics of my car on the site..

 

Aren't Eibach Prokits better than the H&R Sports anyways?

 

from what i have heard the eibach's lower the car slightly more, and they are a stiffer ride. the H&R's give a smoother ride, similar to stock..remember this is just what I have heard/read

 

From what I heard, they are both reputable brands of springs. Both made in germany and follow the same quality standards.

 

I wonder if there's anybody out there that has had experience with both the Eibach Prokit AND the H&R Sport springs, on a 5th gen?

 

Maybe Chimp DJ or someone he knows.

 

um...actually he H&R lowers the car more and gives a smoother ride...the eibachs just have stiffer springs

 

i am just curious why people get different results in drop with the same model spring and same year car

 

I should have some pics by the end of the week! I am expecting to get the car back tomorrow afternoon and I will let it settle for a day or two before measuring and taking pics. As for the question mentioned about Eibach vs. H&R, here is what I know:

Eibach pro-kit for 5th gen estimates 1.3 front and 1.0 rear drop. But many reports claim they underestimate and the drop is more than that...

H&R sport for 5th gen estimates 1.4 front and 1.3 rear, and most reports I have heard is that their estimate is pretty much right on the money. They are said to have a stiffer more controlled ride than stock, but not as stiff as Eibach.

Both are considered among the best for quality, reliability, and name recognition in the spring category... Both made in Germany to highest specs, I know H&R test all their products on the Autobahn, and calculates unique spring rates and drops for each individual application... I am not sure how Eibach does their calcs...

Just my 2c....

 

A friend pointed this out to me today. He said that it might look like the Eibachs give you more of a drop in the front, but the fact is that the drop is perfect. If you look at the bottom of the car relative to the ground the drop is actually even or the back is actually slightly higher.

 

Ya, ya, ya, we know your car is perfect, quit making us feel bad rubbing our faces in it! Ha! Just kidding. Seriously though dude, your ride is sweet. I love those rims on the black Max, and the springs really make the effect complete. Maybe I need to get those rims...

...The mod bug is already biting me again!

 

Not even close to perfect! Haha! I would say adding a stillen kit, SC kit, posi, RSB, Flywheel, and then maybe I would say its almost there! I still would rather have a 3.5L over my 3.0L. Thanks for the compliments.

 

...Are you running 245/40/18? or the more typical 235/40/18?

 

235/40/18. But I kinda wish I went with the 19's. I thought 35 series tires would be way too thin, but after taking a look at the 40's that I have on now. The 35's wouldn't have been all that bad. My local speed shop wants me to get the lowenhearts in 19's

 

lowenharts but that will break anyones bank but if you can go for it

 

Woah. Seriously, let me know if you plan to upgrade the wheels again, I might be seriously interested in buying those used R6's off of you at a reduced price, especially if they are in good condition... What is the offset on those, do you know???

 

I don't know if this is right, but this is my guess 45 offset. I think MY 4DSC said that this was my offset. Could someone explain how this affects performance?

 

...Offset determines how far (in mm) the wheel hub of your car seats from the center of the actual rim. For instance, if your new 18x8 rims have a 38 offset that means the hub seats 38 mm out from the center (4" in on each side) of the new rim. This affects performance because the smaller that number gets, the more your rim/tire assembly sticks out from the wheel well. If you have a stock 50 offset and upgrade to a wheel that has a 35 offset the wheel will stick out 15mm more that your stock wheels once they are installed, giving your car a wider stance and more agressive handling. Getting too crazy with the offset (like going 'negative' like a truck rim) will make your tires stick out from the car many inches, and that can be bad for your suspension, plus it makes you look really ghe-ttttto! (I am sure you have seen it.)

 

 

Thats what I was guessing from all the heated discussions here. I saw diagrams and all this bullshiznit, but thanks to you I now have a better understanding of the concept. Problem is that I let tirerack do the calculation, but I didn't know it affected performance. I thought the idea was to get the aftermarket rims as close to stock as possible. Plus, I have a hard time as it is to keep those damn pigs off my back. I had to take out my sub and amp cuz I got a ticket.

 

Ok, so sounds like the H&R's give a smoother more stock-like ride, and are better for getting rid of the front wheel gap. How's the handling characteristics compared to the Eibachs?

 

Eibachs have better handling

 

Which Lowenhart's? I like the LD1's...so my .02 is DO IT DO IT!

 

Actually its the BR5's and I really need to think about it cuz I just don't picture it on my max. He has it on his e class and has another syle on his GS400. He claims that it won't weigh a lick more than my modas. I call BS!

 

Oh yeah, those ones are definitely very classy too! Those are expensive though! Did you get a quote yet?

 

Tell me about expensive, that shiznit is like just over 5 grand. I would much rather take a supercharger and all that is needed to fine tune it than spring 5g's for a sick set of rims. Now I know he's ballin with is e class and lowenharts.

 

Baller alert...I have no problem droppin 3-4K on rims...as long as I can garage park it and have them insured.

 

When you guys installed the Eibach Pro Kit/H&R springs, did you just install the springs or did you also switch shocks and struts? If just the springs, are you guys bouncing around or is the ride "normal"?

I want to get ride of that damn wheel well gap, but I don't have the $$ right now for springs/shocks/struts. But, I can afford teh springs. let me know!!

 

...Well, technically since you have upgraded to the 18x8 wheels from the stock 17x7, even if your offset were identical you would still have an extra .5 inch sticking out away from the car on each wheel...

Blow your mind???

The reason, if you picture it in your head, is that a 45 offset on a 7" wheel measures 45mm out from the center of a SEVEN inch wheel, 3.5 inches in on each side. An EIGHT inch wheel will measure out 45mm too, but from the center of an EIGHT inch rim, 4 inches in on each side. So you are gaining an extra inch of overall "track" front and rear. Nice huh? You still gained some width and handling benefit on your overall stance even if you went with an identical offset. Now if your new rims are 18x7 (i doubt it) that is a different story... Those would have exactly the same track width.

 

Ok, I have had half a day on my new springs (no I didn't do struts yet, I am still on stock SE but they are almost new because my car only has 6000 miles on it.) and I must say I love them. The cornering is flatter and the car definitely looks and feels lower. It has only had one day to settle, but here are the after measurements:

Front right: 27 1/4"
Front left: 27 1/4"

Rear right: 27"
Rear left: 27"

ground clear under side sills (both sides): 8 1/2"

...So you can see that the front after one day and no settling has dropped exactly an inch from my before measurements (I even measured them before and after in same exact level parking spot for consistency) and the rear has dropped exactly 7/8" from before with one day to settle. I expect that to drop a little more as the weeks go on.

The drop has given the car a nice 'rake' so that the car look like it is crouched forward just a tad, which I love. The front definitely dropped more than the back a tad, which is good, but as you can see it is still 1/4" higher but it is unnoticeable to the naked eye...

My wife couldn't care less about my mods, but even she said the car felt lower, more like a car now than an SUV, and felt more confident on the road and in turns. You can FEEL that the car is riding lower when you drive, it is very sporty compared to the lifted tall feel I got when the car was stock.

But one side effect I never anticipated was, (gasp) the car actually seems to absorb little imperfections in the road better than the stock springs! I was amazed, because I expected the ride to be harsher, and it really isn't. Again, my unbiased lovely wife agreed. I really feel like I got the best of both worlds.

...Now, when somebody asks about H&R springs, direct them to this thread, because this is as detailed as I think anyone will get with a spring review!!!

 

pics pics pics i might change my mind and seel my maxspeeds