Best way to lower?
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,451
Likes: 2
From: East Peoria Illinois
Best way to lower?
I'm ready to lower the car, but it seems stock bolts dont drop it enough. Other than buying 50 billion dollars worth of new shocks, springs and all that, is there something else to drop it a bit more then 1"?
Safety Car
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,799
Likes: 1
From: Northern Virginia
St. Jude Donor '08
You might want to reconsider dropping your car more than an inch, at least with the stock suspension, because you will mess up your suspension geometry and screw up the car's handling.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,451
Likes: 2
From: East Peoria Illinois
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,521
Likes: 146
From: Watertown CT
Yes, dropping on the stock bolts is OK, GM actually designed the car so this can be doen, adn done easily. The car should be realigned after dropping it though. Coilovers, IMHO is the best way to drop a car and pick up some sick handling. But yeah, it's a little pricey!!
Dan
Dan
Safety Car
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 3,814
Likes: 105
From: Dearborn Heights Michigan
My 00 is lowered nearly 2" and it didn't screw up handling or anything else, except the F45 shocks will bottom out on hard bumps.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 2,331
Likes: 2
From: Akron Ohio
Dropping over 1" with stock leafs is tricky at best, those longer bolt/no bushing ways to lower preload the springs and can cause all kinds of other problems. The best way to go low and still have full suspension travel is a set of coilovers. I ended up with the Pfadt kit after trying many different setups, leaf and other coils, and could not be happier I went with them. I am 3" lower than OEM z51 4x4 ride height, or about 1" above the tires. My ride and handling have never been better.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 2,331
Likes: 2
From: Akron Ohio
Can cause bump steer, rough ride, bottoming out, and the end of the springs can touch the wheel or tire. Less suspension travel also means shocks must be replaced with shorter arm and/or stiffer dampening.
I had that setup on my car for a few months and it was darty, rode terrible(w/Z51 shocks, though it was better with the Bilstein Sports I put on later), and spring ends hit the insides of my rear wheels and tires casing damage as well as a loud noise everytime I hit hard bumps or cornered quikly. You can get away with 1", but once you get out of the factory envelope and start getting aftermarket parts like I did, you end up spending a lot more on the trail to getting the coils then just buying the right stuff in the first place
I had that setup on my car for a few months and it was darty, rode terrible(w/Z51 shocks, though it was better with the Bilstein Sports I put on later), and spring ends hit the insides of my rear wheels and tires casing damage as well as a loud noise everytime I hit hard bumps or cornered quikly. You can get away with 1", but once you get out of the factory envelope and start getting aftermarket parts like I did, you end up spending a lot more on the trail to getting the coils then just buying the right stuff in the first place
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 5,786
Likes: 6
From: Lafayette Colorado
Lowering a 1" is fine on the stock bolts. Anything lower, the best route is to switch over to coilovers. The coilovers will allow you drop lower than 1" without affecting the handling.
Keith
Keith
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 2,331
Likes: 2
From: Akron Ohio