To lower, or not?

E

ErrErrminator

Active member
I’m not majorly into modding cars, other than a few cosmetic tweaks to get them looking how I want. The Zed is no different. Nothing major - de-tango the lights, change of wheels, etc.

I got thinking that maybe my car would benefit, aesthetically, from being slightly lower. However, I don’t want to really mess up the ride.

I believe it currently sits on standard sport springs, having been changed from SE spec by a previous owner. For me though a little less arch gap might be nice, in conjunction maybe with another wheel change?

What do you think? How much lower would be good without going too far? What are my best options for achieving this without ending up with a car which is no longer a pleasure to drive? Or do you think it should be left well alone and leave as it is?

Pic as it stands. Will try to get a decent side profile shot to better show the ride height.

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Chuck some eibach springs on it. It will sit pretty good on those. This is mine on eibach springs and Bilstein B4 shock absorbers, along with 12mm & 20mm spacers.

If your shocks are the original ones from factory, then your Z4 may sit a bit lower than mine. My ride height raised by around 10mm when I fitted my Bilstein shocks.

I did used to have FK springs on years ago. They were just too low for everyday use. Ended up ripping a heatshield off going through small puddle :x

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i didnt enjoy the eibachs I had on, scraping speedbumps and bottoming out are not for me. some spacers and a slightly higher profile tyre would lessen the arch gap
 
philbo909 said:
i didnt enjoy the eibachs I had on, scraping speedbumps and bottoming out are not for me. some spacers and a slightly higher profile tyre would lessen the arch gap
Click to expand...

Did you replace your shocks? I had the same problem before I put the B4's on.
 
Personaly just lowering springs is a massive no! As it will ruin ride quality and the fun driving aspect as well. Springs and shocks and if you doing that why not get a good quality coilover?

Good quality mid range coilovers, some new bushings and an alignment should come in around £1000 at a garage less if you do some work yourself. You will have a refreshed suspension set up. And you can set the hight, and how soft or hard it rides win win!

I gave entry level coil overs and they are better than the stock set up I took off. And miles better than the lowering springs only.

My advice would be if a grand sounds to much money or even £500 is too much. Leave it alone as you won’t be happy with a £500 set up
 
I'd say it depends what you're using your car for. Coilovers for a daily driver is overkill. Mine gets a decent amount of abuse down the local B roads and I can't say I've been unhappy with the way it handles since I've replaced suspension parts.
 
My standard car only just makes it over the speed bumps so wouldnt want to risk lowering it. Also MOT test centre has to use blocks to drive it onto the ramp so I would think twice about lowering.
 
You could move to ///M fitment tyres, 225/45 and 255/40, which would close the gap and improve ride quality.

Car looks great, by the way. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks all for your input. I’m really not wanting to spend a grand replacing everything for the sake of a small aesthetic improvement and I really don’t want to make the ride firmer. Actually, given that my village is plagued by speed humps reducing ground clearance further might be a problem too.

The wheels I have on the car at present are 8x18 ET34 and 8.5x18 ET37, so I don’t really want to add spacers and risk arch rubbing. Interesting that a couple of you suggest increacing tyre profile. Would that not also risk rubbing? I do like the idea that by doing this I could reduce the arch gap a bit and actually improve ride comfort. Would need to check the visuals to see they wouldn’t look to balloon like.
 
ErrErrminator said:
8x18 ET34 and 8.5x18 ET37, so I don’t really want to add spacers and risk arch rubbing.
Would need to check the visuals to see they wouldn’t look to balloon like.
Click to expand...
215/45/18 on the front and 245/40/18 on the rear
shouldn't rub, should give an accurate reading on the speedo and won't be too balloon like :thumbsup:
 
I fitted Eibachs along with new standard shocks and found small bump/ road imperfection absorbtion to be much improved thanks to them being progressively wound.
Also looks way better and is more stable at speed.
In over 3000 miles since fitting i have only grounded twice in very steep parking garages in Lake Como and Prague.
 
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