Lowering recommendations - Yes the NOOB is asking

S

SilverStreakFX

Member
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Car
2010 Fx50s
Sorry for bringing up the subject again, but in all the searching, I couldn't find the exact answer I was looking for.
I want to lower the car. From what I read, H&R's will meet my objectives, but I wanted to see what experience everyone else had with Eibach's etc.

Please note this is for a daily driver.

Object - Lower the car around 1-2". Avoid rubbing or extreme modifications to fenders, etc. Focus on a great handling SUV and ride comfort comes second. I do not feel the need to go coil-overs as I am goiung to stay with one ride height and again not wanting to go with an aggressive drop.

Alignment - What will happen to the toe and camber with a not too aggressive drop? Is it necessary to get a camber kit for front, rear, both?

In the near future, I will be purchasing GTSpec bracing. The springs should compliment.

Currently have 20" OEM wheels and factory Sport package. Only 57K miles so I think I am good on stock shocks for now and will replace with OEM/KYB in the future.

Advice?
 
1) unless you do the labor yourself, change the struts, shocks, strut bearings and rubber mounts front and rear. It takes 3 to 4 hours in labor and depending on labor rate can be very expensive to do it twice (once now to swap springs, then later to swap struts and shocks).

2) you should be able to get your alignment in factory specs.

3) H&R have no known failures. Eibach has a few reported, one that I know of personally. He went out to his car and saw a piece of coil. It broke off while parked. He was lucky it didn't snap when he was driving.

4) I had the same idea as you (daily driver + only an inch or two drop) and wish I went coilovers from the start for flexibility. But when I did have h&r's they were awesome and never regretted having them.

Hope that helps.
 
Welcome to IS man. Honestly, go coils and there is a good group buy going on for Kido right now in the forum. Why? Well, I was in your situation last year. I first bought H&R Springs with 25mm spacers. It looked good, but there was always that gap that bothered me. Getting coils will give you better ride, better adjustability too. I have my coils set as low as it will go without the need for a camber kit. I don't plan on changing the height settings for winter/summer. I leave it as it. Yes you will have to roll the fenders, but the payoff for the work, money invested versus springs, the payoff is night and day. Whatever setup you choose, you will need to get an alignment. The GTSpec bars will definitely compliment any suspension setup you decide to go with.

I drive my car daily and on crappy Chicago roads with 35 series tires during the summer and the ride is decent, just slightly harsher than OEM 20" setup. So highly recommend coilovers, but if you must choose springs then H&R are more readily available and better quality than Eibachs. Good luck on your decision.
 
I'm on H&R Springs and it lowered about 1.3" (if I remember that correctly). If you're not planning to using wheel spacers to push out the wheel/tire flush with fender, there are no rubbing issue with H&R.

I have not notice any uneven tire wear due to camber nor hear anything from techs that did my alignments.

It is a consent on the forum that struts and shocks will need to be replaced around 60K. KYB is the only available struts and shocks that I'm aware of for aftermarket. As matter of fact, oem strut and shock are made by KYB.

H&R and Eibach springs have no impact with any GTSPEC braces.
==================================

Here are some number for your consideration:
New H&R Springs around $250 - $275 shipped
New KYB struts & shocks around $250 - $260 shipped
Installation can be anywhere from $250 - $350
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the help all!

Aero : I came from Chicago...I know what the roads are like :-) I saw that you were selling your H&R's on another post. Are they still available?

I should have said that I have a budget...a small one (married, you know how it goes). I have about $300 to spend on lowering initially (just dropped $250 for the MediaBridge and we are trying to buy a house).

I do all my own work except for the alignment and was planning on alignment afterwards anyway.

I had H&R's on my Cobra and used to work at a shop where we installed them on many cars. I didn't have any experience with failures, but may depend on the application. I had Eibachs on my second Mustang and felt the ride was too soft.

I have two sets of 20mm spacers at home. I assume it is worth putting them on for cosmetics. With the H&R's will I rub the fenders?

Thanks again!

---------- Post added at 11:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:51 AM ----------
GEE35FX said:
^^^ the 1st Gen FX owners are lucky, they don't need to get camber kits. Wish it was that way with the 2nd Gen.
Click to expand...

But you got the looks on the Gen 2's lol although I still love the look of the Gen 3's. I think the interior on the Gen 2's are so much better but I was working with a budget..darn it.
 
Oh, you are Tim, okay. LOL, I got your message on my phone from YouTube you sent me, but I couldn't reply to you until I got home from work. So you got IS working, good. Well, I sold the springs locally to another member, so they are gone, sorry. Also don't forget you will be spending money on an alignment too and if you plan on keeping the OEM wheels, they will looked tucked in from the drop, so spacers are nice to add, which adds another $200+. Just more stuff to think about if you are on a budget.
 
No worries. I was desperate trying to figure out a way I can get a hold of you before you sold them. Jeff from IS was able to get it working for me. I have 2 sets of spacers left over from my G35 with a 66.1 bore. I should be able to use those. Unfortunately, I do think they are only hub centric and not wheel centric. I am hoping since I will be using the stock wheels, for now, that I shouldn't have vibration issues. If so, I will get some new spacers.
Springs - $250-275 (hopefully a little cheaper)
Alignment ~$100
Total ~$350-375. I should be good with this :-)
 
Watch out for the strut bearing when you take the spring apart. The wheel spacer on the G35 should fit the FX. The bore on the FX is 66.1
 
:smug:
ocal21 said:
I just searched eBay and did a quick search for H&R springs and the cheapest I found was $236 on eBay. The company is in CA don't know how far from u do that might save shooing and handling.
Click to expand...

Yep these are the ones I saw. Total price is high due to shipping and tax. It will be roughly $300

What do you mean watch oout for the strut bearing? Will it fly away or should I just plan on replacing it.
 
la_fx35 said:
I'm on H&R Springs and it lowered about 1.3" (if I remember that correctly). If you're not planning to using wheel spacers to push out the wheel/tire flush with fender, there are no rubbing issue with H&R.

I have not notice any uneven tire wear due to camber nor hear anything from techs that did my alignments.

It is a consent on the forum that struts and shocks will need to be replaced around 60K. KYB is the only available struts and shocks that I'm aware of for aftermarket. As matter of fact, oem strut and shock are made by KYB.

H&R and Eibach springs have no impact with any GTSPEC braces.
==================================

Here are some number for your consideration:
New H&R Springs around $250 - $275 shipped
New KYB struts & shocks around $250 - $260 shipped
Installation can be anywhere from $250 - $350
Click to expand...
Excellent info from Andy. This should be stickied.
 
TIMCA said:
:smug:

Yep these are the ones I saw. Total price is high due to shipping and tax. It will be roughly $300

What do you mean watch oout for the strut bearing? Will it fly away or should I just plan on replacing it.
Click to expand...

I was the buyer of Aero's springs (sorry) and Andy (la_fx) did my install. The strut bearing can pop out kind of abruptly during the install process so be aware when you get there. And in my case my strut bearing was destroyed to say the least (prior to install, just a bad strut bearing) and luckily Andy had the Nissan replacement piece readily available! so be aware of it flying and or replacing it. Worst case scenario of course.

Many guys would tell you to get the lifetime alignment at Firestone if that is in the cards for you too.

Sent from my DROIDX
 
blueduck1105 said:
I was the buyer of Aero's springs (sorry) and Andy (la_fx) did my install. The strut bearing can pop out kind of abruptly during the install process so be aware when you get there. And in my case my strut bearing was destroyed to say the least (prior to install, just a bad strut bearing) and luckily Andy had the Nissan replacement piece readily available! so be aware of it flying and or replacing it. Worst case scenario of course.

Many guys would tell you to get the lifetime alignment at Firestone if that is in the cards for you too.

Sent from my DROIDX
Click to expand...

Awesome! Thanks for the help. I will just plan on getting new ones during the install. I may just buy new shocks too to be on the same side. Labor is free, but alignments aren't!
 
AeroBFA said:
I have my coils set as low as it will go without the need for a camber kit.
Click to expand...

Have you had an alignment?
My car is pretty low but not as low as it will go and my camber was really bad in the back (-3.8) I needed a camber kit to get close to spec.
 
I have h&r, love the ride. Much better performance and looks than stock. I got my wheels and tires from humbertocali, and I do run with 15mm front and 20mm rear spaces. I only rub on big dips on the freeway, no other time. I know he was rubbing too, but he was on cut eibachs. That was running 285/35/22. I am now running 265/40/22 and do not rub at all.
 
toy4x said:
I have h&r, love the ride. Much better performance and looks than stock. I got my wheels and tires from humbertocali, and I do run with 15mm front and 20mm rear spaces. I only rub on big dips on the freeway, no other time. I know he was rubbing too, but he was on cut eibachs. That was running 285/35/22. I am now running 265/40/22 and do not rub at all.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! For now I plan on running on the stock 20's. I may get different wheels later on, but can't see going anything larger, just wider!

---------- Post added at 03:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:37 PM ----------

On second thought though, have you seen the special edition FX50? They are 21" and look like turbine fans in a dark gunmetal. I saw them on an FX at the dealership and thought they were absolutely sick!
 
if you're on a budget i would hold off on doing this.. money better saved now and put elsewhere from what i can see..

this advice is coming from a guy who just replaced all of the suspension and brakes 2 weeks ago.

its worth waiting to do right.. your current springs are fine, and honestly if anything suspension-wise needs replacing at 60k it would be the shocks. your fx will hold up until you get everything together to make it worth doing imo. if cash is tight, and i know how that is, being in college myself.. i would wait.. the springs won't make as big a difference on your fx as they did on your mustang cobra.
 
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