Greetings / Lowering Springs

[zephyr911]

Hi all!

New to the forum, have had a 2002 Protege5 for a little over a year. I'm about to begin my first round of mods (body kit, rims, suspension, short throw, and a few details). As this is the first car I've done this with, I'm looking for a bit of advice, mostly with lowering the vehicle. Since I would like to try more than one height, the Skunk2 coilovers seem like a decent option so far. Can anyone who has them or has used them in the past give me your opinion, and tell me if you have any concerns with them, or if you would recommend anything else instead?

My plan would be to install these for the minimum drop (about 1 inch from what I've read) and then once I get a feel for the ride, to gradually experiment with lower heights. Does this seem reasonable, and is it fairly easy to adjust them? I'm also wondering what other issues you've encountered with lowering a P5. I can prepare mentally for the ground clearance issue - I'm already driving it like it's dropped - but I'd just like to know if the choice of springs will have other unexpected results. I've heard of using dampers along with these. Is it always necessary?

Final question... is this a good place to pick them up:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7981483697&category=33582
...or is there anything I should be worried about if I go that way?

 

[Captain KRM P5]

i do not believe Skunk2 coilovers are the best option at all. PM me or check my site we offer a wide range of lowering springs for this car.

welcome to the forums.

 

[65racecoupe]

K Sport coilovers

I just installed them. They are fully adjustable and they are a quality piece. They are for handling, not just for a drop.

My car is as low as I want. I haven't given the car a lashing in the corners yet because the turbo isn't in yet (and I probably need to break in the LSD and new clutch), but the ride seems solid. You also drop about 5 to 6 pounds per corner versus the stock stuff. I want to say that the stock stuff is about 19 lbs, the K Sports are 13 or 14.

(I PROMISE that pics are on the way. I have the sweet coilovers, brakes, rims, and exhaust on right now finally.)

 

[Nomad]

Coilovers usually have a very high spring rate. This will make the ride much more rough, bouncy, jarring, harsh, whatever you want to call it.
If you get lowering springs and especially adjustable perch sleeves (what you are looking at are not true coil overs) you NEED to get struts.

The higher spring rate puts a lot of stress on the dampers and wears them out quickly, plus the lower ride height and decreased suspension travel will bottom out the shocks easier, killing stock struts.

Every time you change the ride height with adjustable perch springs you technically should get an alignment. Most people don't and ultimately wear out their tires quickly and drive with possibly unstable settings.

To really benefit from adjustable perch springs you really should corner weight your car. This will give the best performance and also the most accurate settings which translate to a safe handling car.

If none of these things are important to you, do whatever you want (just don't dive around me...)

 

[zephyr911]

Coilovers usually have a very high spring rate. This will make the ride much more rough, bouncy, jarring, harsh, whatever you want to call it.
If you get lowering springs and especially adjustable perch sleeves (what you are looking at are not true coil overs) you NEED to get struts.

The higher spring rate puts a lot of stress on the dampers and wears them out quickly, plus the lower ride height and decreased suspension travel will bottom out the shocks easier, killing stock struts.

Every time you change the ride height with adjustable perch springs you technically should get an alignment. Most people don't and ultimately wear out their tires quickly and drive with possibly unstable settings.

To really benefit from adjustable perch springs you really should corner weight your car. This will give the best performance and also the most accurate settings which translate to a safe handling car.

If none of these things are important to you, do whatever you want (just don't dive around me...)

LOL! no u silly i jus wan my ryd 2 skrape the gnd who crz ab00t pformtz?

But seriously, that helps a lot. I'm asking around because those things are important to me. I love the handling of my P5 but I want to stiffen it up even further without making it *too* rough of a ride, and I also want to keep it for a long time. Otherwise I'd just leave it (mostly) stock for the sake of resale.

Aesthetically, I like a car low as hell. Functionally, I realize that there are plenty of reasons not to do it. So, you think I should just start out with a fixed height that I know will work? I mean, compared to the other things I'm prepared to buy, springs are cheap, and I'd rather do things right even if it means taking my time and possibly spending more.

 

[65racecoupe]

True. The K Sport coilovers are TRUE coilovers. I wouldn't put anything less on the car. I am sure that most of the true coilovers are of comprable quality to each other. Spend the money the first time if you are serious.

 

[carsandguitars5]

what about Ground Control coilovers? Im also looking into slamming my car now and would like to know my best options. Like the lowest i can go without totally killing ride quality, that type of thing.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

neither ground controls nor skunk2s are true full coilovers.

 

[zephyr911]

what about Ground Control coilovers? Im also looking into slamming my car now and would like to know my best options. Like the lowest i can go without totally killing ride quality, that type of thing.

If sparks fly when you hit a bump, maybe it's too low. Maybe.

 

[zephyr911]

neither ground controls nor skunk2s are true full coilovers.

What are your thoughts on a true coilover then?

 

[Nomad]

What we mean by "true coilovers" is a strut body that is threaded and the spring perch rides along it's body. It is one piece.
The Ground control and Skunk2 are threaded sleeves that fit over any shock to make it "similar to" a coilover strut.
Anyhow,
If you want low but don't want to kill ride quality I'd say you may want:

1. A true coilover due to the strut piston rod being shorter, therefore having less bottoming out within the strut body on heavy bumps. BUT, at extremely short suspension travel systems the springrate needs to be very high to keep the car from bottoming out the strut and the damper values have to be very high to effectively control the springs.
ALSO: at extremely low settings you are now out of the engineer's designed perameters of roll centers, and capacities. This makes it important for longevity to get adjustable parts to put things back into a good range. Bushings usually take a lot of beating due to really low settings and things start to snowball after time.

2. A lower fixed height spring with good dampers. Maybe a 2" drop with a good high spring rate (low and soft is worthless) and adjustable Tokico Illuminas. Add the rear sway and adjustable endlinks and GET A GOOD ALIGNMENT. I'm sure the car would "wake up" like you want it to.
Less headaches than some set ups, might be less hardcore but may be better in the long run, depending on use.

Either of these will give you better performance but each with it's compromises.

I'd never ride around on the stiff shock settings I autocross on, but hate racing at my softest "street" setting.

To get the most out of an adjustable perch or coilover set up GET YOUR CAR CORNER WEIGHTED. That's the only true reason to use these adjustable perch systems. Truly competitive racers who pay attention to engineered suspension geometry typically use GC's to corner weight the car at a height only slightly lower than stock. But they get good stiff springs, good struts and sways and a suspension that works in it's ranges.

When you see Pro Touring cars racing and they are super low (heck yeah it looks cool!) 99.9% of the time they've got totally different suspension mounting points engineered by the team.

Good luck! I'm trying to figure out which setup to get for my wife that keeps great ride quality.

 

[carsandguitars5]

If sparks fly when you hit a bump, maybe it's too low. Maybe.

haha yeah, i couldve figured that. I just want a really low ride without sacrificing a lot, but i dont know if thats possible.

 

[NJP5Guy]

Just be aware of the dangers of lowering. i just learned some new info recently about lowering and it led me to rethink what i was going to do with my suspension. check out the latest sportcompact car magazine(the supra issue) for some good info on lowering.

 

[zephyr911]

Just be aware of the dangers of lowering. i just learned some new info recently about lowering and it led me to rethink what i was going to do with my suspension. check out the latest sportcompact car magazine(the supra issue) for some good info on lowering.

Ehhh, I'll check that out.

I really appreciate all the responses so far. The more I read and talk to people, the less I think I know... for now I'm going to get the body kit on, continue shopping for rims and keep researching the rest. I'd like to hear your firsthand experiences with high-end coilovers, as well as various springs and shocks.

 

[capnsavem]

haha yeah, i couldve figured that. I just want a really low ride without sacrificing a lot, but i dont know if thats possible.

sure. just put it on blocks like those minitrucks. good to go. you're welcome.

 

[Nomad]

sure. just put it on blocks like those minitrucks. good to go. you're welcome.

Hope you are joking...

Blocks would work... only after you replace the whole rear end with a solid rear wheel drive axle, and leaf springs. I suppose you could technically keep the front wheel drive but while you are cutting up the unibody you might as well rotate the engine 90 degrees and stick a driveshaft in it for RWD. It won't be much more work than you'd be doing.

Then you could use those blocks!

(stfu)

 

[dinux]

Welcome. I don't use coil overs or any other manufacturer lowering springs than Sprint so sorry I can't help you there.

 

[zephyr911]

Welcome. I don't use coil overs or any other manufacturer lowering springs than Sprint so sorry I can't help you there.

Well, you could tell me a bit about them if you don't mind... what you paid for them, how long you've had them, how much they lowered the car, how the ride feels, whether you replaced your shocks to match... I'm curious about anyone's experiences. I would put this thing on the floor if I didn't have to cross train tracks at least 4 times a day, so I'm all about finding some happy medium... I'm just doing my best to learn from others who know better, so I don't destroy my car in the process.

 

[zephyr911]

Welcome. I don't use coil overs or any other manufacturer lowering springs than Sprint so sorry I can't help you there.

BTW, I like the white-on-white look. What I've had in mind is similar... but don't worry, I'm not gonna rip off your look

 

[DeadGeneration]

I am also in the market. All this info is good.