Now I'm itchin' to lower this puppy
 

Actual
http://img42.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s35000085zr.jpg
Photochop
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/3711/falc0fb.jpg

Hmmm....def drop it then! Are you considering springs or coilovers?

I've been researching my *** off. Right now I'm leaning towards H.tech's in the front, stock in the rear and illumnas all around. I'm thinking this should give me very slight lean in the front as opposed to sitting back on the tail.
This isn't in stone though.

I don't think it would be a good idea to go with stock springs and aftermarket. Could really through off the balance of the car...could almost be dangerous.

Well for the combo $ of springs+shocks, you may look into the K-sport coilovers in the GB forum.

i'll ck it out

Looks good. Would it hurt the ride quality?

I already scrape the bottom as it is stock, lowered looks real cool too, good luck.

so, did you do it?

This was my I35 on Illuminas and H&R's...

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member.../412362_18.jpg

hey kingpin, did you install yourself? if not where'd you get your's installed? and how much? if so can we work something out in regards to you helping me? well when I finally buy the parts.

It's really not that hard to do. I'd never done it before and I did it myself. In fact I've done it maybe 3 times by now..?

Well I've done suspension before, but 1)I had help and 2)the tools were provided. So I can really help a lot, but just don't feel comfy doing it alone. Besides I don't have the tools anyways. Or as I think about it, by replacing struts and springs would I still need to compress the springs? As I type that I'm thinking yeah.

It's an easy install. When I did my springs, it was my first and only install at the time. Springs came from TireRack and Illuminas came from a Place in Texas called ProAm...Nopi is local and has them. Autozone will rent you the spring compressor. It would REALLY have helped me if I had a power tool or two, because I was using a ratchet with the help of one of the interns at my last job...lol. I will be willing to help out any way that I can, but it just depends on scheduling.

how much do spring kits usually cost?

H&R's 220ish Eibachs 250ish, depends on the car. Try tirerack.com for a ballpark.

i would just hate for it to ruin the ride quality of the vehicle....

The lowered ride is not bad at all. It really depends on how low you drop it and your spring/strut combo. I wouldn't slam it too low, that could be a little harsh. Ask Metaorbit for his take on it. He has had a couple of different setups. My I had a great ride IMO, and the loooook.... :hs:

As kingpin mentioned, I've had a couple different setups. I'm really picky about the ride.

The stock sport suspension was the epitomy of comfort to me - for reference.

I then went to the fad spring of the org a few summers ago - the Tein S-Tech springs with the only struts (that weren't Tok blues) that were available at the time - KYB GR-2 struts.

The look was cool, but I'm not too much for the slammed to the ground look, so I didn't fall in love with it. Furthermore, the ride quality was absolute crap. The spring rates were too soft for the amount of drop, there was virtually no suspension travel, and you literally felt EVERY bump, ripple, pebble in the road. The GR2s did nothing to control the rebound of the vehicle and consequently, it bounced like a civic with torched coils. On a perfectly smooth road it seemed to handle well, but the only times you see a perfectly smooth road is when you're the first car to drive on a freshly paved interstate. On real-world roads, the slightest undulation, bump, etc. would upset the car's balance, making the practice of taking corners even more difficult than before (stock).

Needless to say, I went back to stock pretty quickly.

I'm now on Tein H-tech springs and Illumina struts. The springs are stiffer, which helps prevent bottoming out, and the adjustability of the struts keeps the motion of the car under control. It still doesn't ride like stock, but it's not unbearable either. On really rough roads you'll likely still hate your life, but on regular roads you see 80% of the time you'll be hard pressed to find a difference. I do hate that it's rougher at all, but for me, at least, it's definitely worth the looks.

Meta,

I'm gonna go with Illumina/H-techs also. What about performance wise? How's she handle in turns with the current set-up compared to the S-tech/GR-2, and to stock?

S-techs with GR2-2s didn't even handle. Stock handled better than those.

Personally, I think stock handles better than what I have now. You still have less suspension travel with any kind of lowering spring which, in one way or another, adversely affects handling. I have a drop almost purely for aesthetic reasons anyway.

Thats because the gr-2's are not meant for that kind of drop. We have a group deal running right now on H Tech's

You don't say.

Done! Woot! Woot! Woot!
H-tech's and stock struts. I figured if the only applicatoin ppl would recommend are the illumana's it'd be worth holding onto my $500 bux, blowing my stock struts and then buying the illumans at that point. I must say I was expecting a terrible ride. I can't see the touring struts being that superior, but obviously they are. My ride now is better than stock. Handling is better, body roll has reduced. And although it's still early I've noticed none of the problems others have detailed with complete aftermarket setups. Oh and the look is amazing!!!!!

Any Pics???

Some pics were taken, but they have to be sent to me via email first. Besides it was late at night. I'll most definitely have some up by the end of the w/e. This was a pretty even drop for the most part too, which I hadn't expected after seeing many pics of max's and i30's.
You know what that photochop is a pretty good idea of what it looks like.