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Hey folks, I was wondering for those that have put on the Paragon Performance Lowering Springs how the ride compares to stock? They are supposedly 30% stiffer than Z51 springs. I have the FE1 suspension and am thinking about putting on the lowering springs (they are sitting in a box right next to me on top of another box with Z51 springs), but don't want a harsh ride. If you can share your thoughts on the ride it would be much appreciated. Additionally, from a performance perspective I'm also interested in feedback. My car is a weekend toy, pure backroad canyon carver, 6/10s driving max, no plans to track. FE1 is actually great, no issues, but I like to experiment. It seems like an obvious thing that stiffer springs yields better cornering, but there's more to it than just the springs I realize. Thank you for any comments.
Eibach is the better choice for performance and ride quality. True R&D vs. basic trial & error.
what is the issue with Hyperco springs? Some of the top shock companies use them. I find them super high quality. Havent used the paragon Hyperco lowering springs but use Hyperco on all my coilover set ups.
I put the EIBACH springs on mine and my wife and I did not notice any change in the ride.
I do however always hit the bottom of the lower brake
ducts I believe?
The stance is sooo much better with them and the paragon spacers. Couldn’t live with the car stock.
I have the Paragon lowering springs on mine and love them. They tighten things up but it's not a rough ride. I always say it's like having a sport plus setting if you had mag ride. Tighter than sport but not a hard ride like track.
I cant stand the stock ride height and this was the first mod I did 3 years ago. Love the height and the ride.
I purchased some Hyperco brand new for $200. I plan to drop the Z51 perches a bit as well. Not completely slammed, but pretty close. Still want to keep a neutral camber as I drive mine on the street more than the track.
I finally found a shop that can do an alignment and will hopefully lower mine in the next month or so.
You brought an important issue: in lowering the C8, what are the effects on static and cornering camber?
We know the GM engineers designed the suspension for minimal camber change with the factory static camber and ride height.
Lowering the car will move the camber arc into greater camber-gain in corners, but my unknown is what are the changes in static &
cornering camber per inch of lowering?
The results could be there is not enough change to worry about, but it would be nice to know the exact numbers.
You brought an important issue: in lowering the C8, what are the effects on static and cornering camber?
We know the GM engineers designed the suspension for minimal camber change with the factory static camber and ride height.
Lowering the car will move the camber arc into greater camber-gain in corners, but my unknown is what are the changes in static &
cornering camber per inch of lowering?
The results could be there is not enough change to worry about, but it would be nice to know the exact numbers.
I'd be interested in this as well. When initially lowering my car about 1.5" with coilovers, the camber didnt change all that much (really none at all) but toe did considerably. I raised it back up about 0.5", Will get it re aligned again after I am done messing with things over the winter.
You brought an important issue: in lowering the C8, what are the effects on static and cornering camber?
We know the GM engineers designed the suspension for minimal camber change with the factory static camber and ride height.
Lowering the car will move the camber arc into greater camber-gain in corners, but my unknown is what are the changes in static &
cornering camber per inch of lowering?
The results could be there is not enough change to worry about, but it would be nice to know the exact numbers.
Since I did not design it, nor have I seen the design...but the lack of camber change would be a dependent upon the suspension geometry and its arc. The spring should have no effect on the path of the control arms.
Since I did not design it, nor have I seen the design...but the lack of camber change would be a dependent upon the suspension geometry and its arc. The spring should have no effect on the path of the control arms.
it is the change in ride height that will change geometry not the spring itself that's the question here.
Since I did not design it, nor have I seen the design...but the lack of camber change would be a dependent upon the suspension geometry and its arc. The spring should have no effect on the path of the control arms.
it is the change in ride height that will change geometry not the spring itself that's the question here. This is one reason companies make drop spindles isn’t it?
it is the change in ride height that will change geometry not the spring itself that's the question here. Thisbb be is one reason companies make drop spindles isn’t it?
If the suspension is designed to retain a constant camber throughout the range of motion, then the ride height has no bearing on the camber. With that being said, I have heard that lowering the C8 will change the camber, but I have not see the numbers to prove this.
Of course, this is my best guess. Do we have any suspension engineers on this forum?
@mikegr hah, I do not know. Just read a bit about it and I understand it just as well as I did before reading. If you find anything, let me know. I will stick with enterprise software architecture and leave the suspension questions to the experts.
If the suspension is designed to retain a constant camber throughout the range of motion, then the ride height has no bearing on the camber. With that being said, I have heard that lowering the C8 will change the camber, but I have not see the numbers to prove this.
Of course, this is my best guess. Do we have any suspension engineers on this forum?
I would think as range of motion changes so does the camber. Even a stock suspension in a corner has camber changes as the suspension compresses.
As.you lower the car, you get an alignment to compensate for small camber changes. I've played around with my suspension four times and aligned it after each one to compensate.
I would think as range of motion changes so does the camber. Even a stock suspension in a corner has camber changes as the suspension compresses.
As.you lower the car, you get an alignment to compensate for small camber changes. I've played around with my suspension four times and aligned it after each one to compensate.
so did you see significant camber changes after lowering? As I mentioned above I saw toe changes and caster changes as I changed the rake a bit but camber really didn’t change at all.
I'd be interested in this as well. When initially lowering my car about 1.5" with coilovers, the camber didnt change all that much (really none at all) but toe did considerably. I raised it back up about 0.5", Will get it re aligned again after I am done messing with things over the winter.
Not to derail the conversation, but I was wondering how you lowered your car 1.5" with coilovers? The most adjustment I thought you could get is in the neighborhood of .75".
When I had the dealer lower my car (they installed Paragon collars in the front and adjusted the coilovers in the back) they strongly recommended that I have them perform an alignment on the car. As @mikegr stated, the camber didn't noticeably change, or at least it wasn't out of spec.
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Paragon Performance Lowering Springs Ride
