Lowering your car has several advantages as well as achieving that great looking ’sporty’ look that is so popular throughout the world.
By lowering the vehicle and hence it’s center of gravity, you can vastly improve the handling allowing you to have better stability around corners and taking away that ‘boat’ handling feeling you can often get with some vehicles.
While you will sacrifice some of the comfort that a standard vehicle offers, which varies depending on how low you can go, the advantages are surely worth it.
But bear in mind you don’t have to necessarily slam it all the way to the deck, a lot of kits are available which lower around 35-45mm on average which are increasingly popular, for some vehicles you can get kits which will lower as little as 20mm. For the really adventurous among you you can slam your car down 60mm and sometimes even more!
Another advantage of lowering you car is that often the aftermarket kits designed for lowering are cheaper than their OEM standard counterparts! So not only will you be upgrading your vehicle, you will actually be doing it for cheaper than standard! So it’s a win-win situation really when you think about it, what have you got to lose?
So let’s look at some of the more frequently asked questions:
What types of lowering kits are available?
There are several different options available to the modifier when it comes to lowering, so we’ll now take a look at those and what the differences are between them. One thing worth considering is that whichever option you choose the labour to fit is effectively the same, so don’t forget this when choosing your required kit.
1) Option 1 – Lowering Springs
Probably one of the most popular methods of lowering your vehicle, mainly down to the cost – or rather the lack of.
Springs are the cheapest route, though on their own using the vehicles standard springs they are realistically limited to drops of no more than about 45mm depending on vehicle make and model.
This is because when you lower a vehicle using it’s standard shock absorbers, the piston in the shock is then compressed down before they are even starting to have to do any work, this means that the life expectancy of the shock absorber will be reduced as well as giving the potential for bottoming out issues and decreased handling.
However if you are on a budget or even just because you are looking to lower a relatively small amount, they more than suffice for the task and give excellent results on their own. And while yes, the shock absorbers even at less of a drop will still suffer to an extent – at least you can spread out payments by not replacing the shocks with uprated lowering models until your originals have seen the end of their life.
Something you should bare in mind though when going down this route it false economy, while you will save money at the start it is usually more expensive to purchase springs and shocks seperately compared to buying a complete kit with a discount. Also, unless you are handy with the spanners and carrying out the work yourself or by a friend, you will have to pay for two lots of labour to end up with both the springs and shocks fitted.
But depending on your plans, this may not be an issue so don’t let it put you off!
2) Option 2 – Spring / Shock Absorber suspension kit
Another option which is definate must when dropping more than about 45mm on most vehicles is a complete suspension kit. If you have the budget this is also generally preferable over springs even at lesser drops as the shocks are specifically designed for the application and will therefore have a longer life, better handling and better ride quality.
A spring/shock kit is the perfect opton when wanting to achieve a fixed ride height, you get everything you need to replace the existing suspension and you don’t have to worry about fastly deteroriating shock absorbers.
Different manufacturers may offer different options on these types of kit, a lot of kits will not offer any dampening adjustment for instance, but you may sometimes have the option to upgrade to kits containing dampening adjustable shock absorbers. That way you can adjust the dampening, on the car, to whatever your desire for different driving conditions. For instance you may find you want it completely different depending on wherever or not you are driving to the shops – or going on a track day with your mates.
3) Option 3 – Coilover kit
Considered by most to be the ultimate lowering modification, coilovers give you incredible looks while having the massive benefit of being height adjustable. This way you can literally adjust the vehicle’s height independantly all round to your desire, all within the specifications that the kit allows of course!
Generally speaking most kits will automatically lower the vehicle by a minimum of around 30mm, while allowing you to drop it as much as 80mm. This varies between manufacturers and also which vehicle you are purchasing for, so ensure you obtain the full details before purchasing if in doubt.
Some kits will also allow you to independantly adjust dampening as well, which is an added benefit, though as you would expect can increase the price of the kit substantially.
On non-dampening adjustable kits, as you would expect, the lower you go the harder the ride becomes, so bear this in mind when purchasing. This is always the case when lowering a vehicle and even on kits where you can adjust the dampening you are going to be restricted to what you can achieve.
The price of coilovers is generally quite expensive when compared to fixed height suspension kits, though saying that more and more retailers such as ourselves are now being able to offer coilover kits at increasingly low prices – as low as £175 in our case! – for a range of the most popular vehicles, such as VW Golf’s for instance.
This is highly comparable to their fixed height counterparts, so it really does make more sense to go for the coilovers in cases like this.
Why have I only got 2 springs / What is a ‘torsion bar’?
On some vehicles such as Saxo’s and 306’s rather than having coil springs on the rear you have what is known as a torsion bar. If you are interested in how it actually works then you can have a read on Wikipedia by clicking this link, otherwise the main benefit you have to think of is that you can actually adjust it to change the ride height without having to buy any additional parts. Though as with the springs it is recommended to uprate the shock absorbers as you are still lowering the vehicle and hence putting them under more strain.
This is why some kits only come with 2 springs and are therefore, more importantly, cheaper!
What are ‘progressively wound’ springs?
Virtually all the spring, suspension and coilover kits we sell here are Performance 3000 utilise progressively wound springs, which basically means that the more you compress the spring the harder it becomes. This helps stop problems with bottoming out or rubbing when hitting bumps while still giving a comfortable ride with good handling.
As you can imagine, a soft spring would be comfortable to an extent – apart from when it’s causing the suspension to keep hitting the bump stops of course! A hard spring would solve this problem, but it would be very uncomfortable and wouldn’t help handling realistically.
The progressively wound spring offers an excellent compromise between the two, giving you excellent handling and comfort.
Is there anything else I will need?
One question we often get asked is – “Is there anything else I need”, well this varies to an extent so it is always best to ask if unsure. While you will need the obvious things such as the skills and tools involved or a garage or mechanic to do the job, there are a few other things to consider.
1) You will need to use your exisiting topmounts when fitting a suspension or coilover kit, these don’t come with the kits so if for some reason yours are no longer suitable you will have to purchase replacements.
2) Some vehicles such as Saxo’s and BMW E30’s have shock inserts, we often get calls from people who think they have been sent the wrong part but in fact you have to simply replace the insert rather than whole strut leg. This doesn’t affect a lot of vehicles and it won’t make a difference anyway unless you have damaged something else you were hoping was going to be replaced with parts in the kit (it’s happened before!), but if for any reason you are unsure just ask and we are always happy to advise.
3) When the kit is fitted it is highly recommend to have the tracking carried out all round, this prevents uneven tyre wear and solves bad handling issues that you might experience if you do not do this. We carry this out as standard as part of our fitting service, but beware of some garages that may offer a cheaper initial quote for fitting, only to find out this is not included and be charged an additional cost later! Or worse still remain unaware until a short time after and you have to go to the expense of having your tyres replaced!
If you fit the kit yourself, always ensure you get this done as well at your local garage (unless you are lucky enough to have the facilities to do it yourself) to prevent further unnecessary expense later.
How do you adjust the height on coilover kits?
Coilover kits come in three different configurations depending on the vehicle they are obtained for. The difference on these is on the rear, first we will take a look at the front coilover unit and how it is adjusted:
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As you can see the spring rests on an adjustable ring that can be turned to move it up and down the shock assembly. Using the tool you are provided with in the kit you turn this ring (looking top down) anticlockwise to wind the ring up the thread therefore raising the height of the vehicle.
To lower the vehicle you turn the ring clockwise, winding it down the thread, to make the vehicle lower. It’s all quite straightforward and bar having to take the wheels off this is easily adjustable on the vehicle.
You’ll note you have two rings, you simply adjust it to the required height and then nip up the secondary ring in place. Two spanners are not required due to the tension from the spring.
Now we’ll move onto the rear suspension configurations:
1) Rear coilovers
These are straight forward and found on various vehicles such as Civicss and Golf Mk2/3’s – they look basically the same as the fronts and are adjusted in exactly the same way – pretty easy!
2) Seperate shocks and springs with ride height adjusters.
On vehicles where the rear suspension design does not allow for an exact coilover configuration as on the front, you will often have the shock abosrber mounted seperately while the spring sits on a height adjuster platform.
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As you can see this works in exactly the same was as the coilover units. You turn the ring accordingly to raise/lower the spring to achieve the ride heigh you desire.
3) Vehicles with torsion bar
Some vehicles such as Saxo’s have a torsion bar on the rear rather than springs, so with these vehicles the coilover kits will comprise of front coilovers and just rear shocks.
The rear height is then adjusted using the torsion bar, this is something that we highly recommend is undertaken by a professional with experience in performing the work.
Please feel free to comment on this article, ask questions or submit any other topics you would like us to cover.
Fitting lowering kits and their parts can be potentially dangerous both in itself and also in the consequences when driving if it is done incorrectly. We always recommend that the work is carried out by a professional company or individual with the appropiate skills, tools and legal requirements such as insurance in place.
We do not accept any responsibility for misuse or misinterpretation of the information given, nor do we accept responsibily for the consequences of any other individual or company carrying out the work.
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