im getting lowering springs...for the meantime

[Tommy_G]

Well i was looking, and presumably the more expencive one are better.

but as they will only be on about a year, is it worth saving a few bucks?

think the options were P.I, Eibach, Apex, G-max and spax.

they range from Spax at £75 to P.I, Apex and G-maz at around £100, to eibach at £170

so what do you guys rekon. im looking for a 40mm drop, on 15s.

[SiCaln]

i had spax on my koni shocks n they gave me no trouble

[Jozinobi]

Out of the lot I would go for 40mm Pi Tommy.

Looks the ticket. A happy medium, not too cheap, not too dear and has been used by many respectable eps on the site (ex mod cars)

Joz

[Tommy_G]

ok cool, they seem around the right price..you rekon 40mm is too low/high?

need to get some stuff ordered, get the ball rolling for my little starlet.

[Jozinobi]

Check Scutch0's old ride (now OliH's).

He had it lowered on 40mm Pi. They go a little lower once settled too.

To me it looks spot on.

I reckon 60mm Pi would be too much even for myself lol and Im on coilovers.

Sound man, 2007 will hopefully see some nice changes and progress for you and your starlet.

Joz

[Tommy_G]

what about cobra ones? again for around 100?

[Jozinobi]

I would still recommend Pi bro.

Tried and tested, you can't really lose, but the choice is yours of course.

If I was to go back and get lowered suspension again I would get Pi, a safe choice.

If in doubt wait til someone who has/had them in to come along and tell you

Products on recommendation are usually spot on and the Pi's are up there.

Joz

[ecksjay]

ventura lower by like 50mm+ (state 40mm) and are around £80.

none of them will be too kind on your stock shocks though, which prob wont last too long with just the springs.

[Jozinobi]

But seeing as you'll have them in for one year, assuming that you will be progressing to a full suspension setup afterwards I reckon you'll be fine.

Many members are still on stock shocks and lowering springs and seem to be doing fine so as long as you dont rag it everywhere all will be dandy.

Joz

[Tommy_G]

yer, i think ill go with the P.Is, as i sed they wont be on for too long, i just havent got coilover money atm.

and im not going to be racing, rallying (hopefully not), so they should be ok.

how much will the ride be affected?

[Jozinobi]

Well surely you should know that the ride will be quite a bit firmer than stock so you will certainly feel bumps more and be memorising pothole locations. 15" rims will be spot on!

Your cornering/handling will be better but don't get too cocky hehe. If you want to improve your cornering a little more then get a front strut brace onto your shopping list.

Also it would be worth getting your geometry re-aligned afterwards to make sure everything is not too far off course.

Be sure that you want coilovers hehe, depends on your plans and your preferences. Can be enduring at first but you get used to it and satisfying on the fast bends as well as a true road feel. Tight as a nut, not easy even for 1.6vti to catch up

Im sure more information will follow...

Joz

[Tommy_G]

gdgd, i think ill feel safer with alloys and springs, also maybe a strut brace.

will make loads of differece to the stance and look aswell.

[SiCaln]

may well have a strut brace after Xmas if u want it

[Tommy_G]

maybe so...how much?

[SiCaln]

not sure yet, prob round the £40-50 mark

[Tommy_G]

cool, ill have a look at the finacnes, guna be spending quite a bit soon.

alloys, springs, spoiler, deflectors, grill....bla bla

but shud have some spare.

[ecksjay]

thats quite bad advice joz, i've known of 3 sets of shocks that have literally gone pop as SOON as aftermarket springs were installed on them, literally they didnt last very long at all before deciding to die, which results in dangerous handling characteristics and generally very poor ride quality, as there was no rebound.

you may get lucky and they might last a while, but then again they may pop quickly as has been seen many times.

the handling characteristics will not be anywhere near that of aftermarket shocks, because the stock shocks arent designed to have lowering springs on them, and thus the rebound settings will not match the springs at all, it will ride a bit crud to be honest, but thats the price you pay if you dont want to shell out for aftermarket shocks.

[Tommy_G]

perhaps ill just get springs then get shocks if ther reli tht bad or the shocks pop.

but i need to do quite a few things and am on quite a tight budget.

darn car looks like a old ladies mobile, a few subtle touches improve it no end in my opinion

[ecksjay]

perhaps ill just get springs then get shocks if ther reli tht bad or the shocks pop.

but i need to do quite a few things and am on quite a tight budget.

darn car looks like a old ladies mobile, a few subtle touches improve it no end in my opinion

for sure, just regularly check the shocks for leaks etc, dont wanna be caught out on a nasty corner with shocks that have dumped all their oil/gas.

[Jozinobi]

I don't think I gave bad advice Tommy (what was bad about it?). Its the same as anyone would recommend if you wanted a temporary solution and you are only going to dump the old shocks anyway.

If you consider current members are using the same setup which is exactly what you are asking about. You seem to have your heart set on getting lowering springs for the meantime anyway. Like I said wait til someone comes on and tells you their experiences using standards shocks and lowering springs, I also know a few members personally and they are quite pleased with the setup.

The setup seems to be working fine for them which is why I could say so if I was on a budget I would do the same, but of course everyones experiences will be different and could possibly have bad things happen more quickly. The implications/risks are always there.

I wanted my car spot on so I went straight to coilovers after waiting half a year to save up and searched for a nice 2nd hand set, as you can tell I like to do things properly on my car.

All the best with your decision mate, and I wouldnt want to give you bad advice ok however much mr ecks wants to say so and always seems to be on my back I understand mr ecks has seen many bad things happen so just gives you an idea of the more than possible risks of going this route.

So the bottom line is ideally you want new uprated shocks and springs or coilovers to lower safely and improve handling, but because you're on a tight budget and want a quick fix for a year then lowering springs could help you out until you can get something better in a years time ;)

Let us know how you get on and I hope I've been helpful. No one else complains besides humbugs lol

Joz

[Tommy_G]

cheers guys, good to see people giving out advice, and being so friendly

[Jozinobi]

Your welcome mate!

Enjoy the site!

Joz

[keirz]

i have had 40mm pi springs on standard shocks for about a year now. its not bad, and my shocks have lasted fine. touch wood.