The POTN.COM Blog

3 facts you need to know before lowering your car

Posted on 07. May, 2010 by Nick in BMW, Cars, Suspension

Most of you will know lowering your standard suspension is the best way to improve the handling of your car, but you can run into a number of problems to watch out for. Here’s a few key ones;

Change in handling characteristics. When you lower your car you are going to firm the ride up around 30%. This will means it feels much sharper and more connected with the road. The compromise is a choppier ride on B roads and real bumpy situations. For a bit more money on a brand like Eibach you get a well developed kit that is as progressive as possible. Coilovers tend to give the firmest ride due to the spring design, but a well developed range like v-maxx works well with the added ride height adjustment. If you want your car to roll like a Rolls, then don’t change it.

Bottoming out. If you carry loads in the back, then you may find that the car will bottom out over speed bumps. Get used to it. you can’t have it all.  Some kits supply bump stops if the manufacturer feels its required. A quick word about the really cheap kits. The reason they’re cheap is because they copy the technical specification that people like Eibach and PI have taken time to develop and test on the track. This rarely translates directly and people have reported that the car sits too low at the back, front or all round. When you fit lowering springs over 35mm, be aware your dampers may be too long and get damaged. You can still lower over 35mm but your dampers will last about a year generally. What’s the solution? Fit shorten shocks. All the top brands do them.

Warranty. Think hard before fitting a cheap non-branded kit. Not only can this be extremely dangerous but they have no warranty if anything goes wrong. Brands like PI and Eibach offer a lifetime Warranty on springs. Start thinking about the cost of recovery and mechanical work to put things right and it may well be worth paying more.

Tags: eibach, springs