Jump to content
SAU Community

Are Lowering Springs Really That Bad....?

polyarkos
 Share

Recommended Posts

polyarkos Explorer

polyarkos

Posted
Posted

So I priced up some BC Golds for $1495NZD, plus $500NZD for the certification to make them legal, when I found some Jamex springs for $299NZD delivered that will give me a 40mm drop.

The seller (Jamex NZ) says there are no problems with using these as they are legal (no cert needed, direct replacement etc) and are fine with standard shocks - even saying they have never had issues with any of their springs being used on standard height shocks.

I understand the attraction of coilvers, but I don't think I NEED that kind of adjustability. I just don't wanna wreck my ride or injure anyone by using lowering springs alone.

Are they really that bad?

P.S. At $400+ a corner to replace only the shocks(KYB) it is worth going to coilovers, but only if I need to replace them.

Daleo Grand Master

Daleo

Posted
Posted

OEM shocks can be had for significantly less than $400 per corner!

Think amayama.com or similar.
I can possibly get information for you as someone just purchased a swag of OEM suspension components (including all 4 shocks) and the total was just over $700 delivered.

What is involved in the Certification for Coilovers? Is this for some kind of external/independant testing?

I'm curious, as the main stumbling block to engineering BC coilovers in NSW (Australia) is the absence of material data & testing info from the parent manufacturer.
If I had this kind of information; I could provide it to an engineer, and he'd be happy to sign them off.

KiwiRS4T Grand Master

KiwiRS4T

Posted
Posted

OEM shocks can be had for significantly less than $400 per corner!

Think amayama.com or similar.

I can possibly get information for you as someone just purchased a swag of OEM suspension components (including all 4 shocks) and the total was just over $700 delivered.

What is involved in the Certification for Coilovers? Is this for some kind of external/independant testing?

I'm curious, as the main stumbling block to engineering BC coilovers in NSW (Australia) is the absence of material data & testing info from the parent manufacturer.

If I had this kind of information; I could provide it to an engineer, and he'd be happy to sign them off.

Getting a cert is easy (all my mods are certed/legal) but it costs around $550 so you tend to do it once for all the mods.

Over here the cert process is remarkably sensible.It is run by the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (not a government body) . Certifiers have a lot of discretion and although there is a guide manual which mandates some things much is left up to their experience and knowledge. For example they will pass Cusco camber arms but not some of the dodgy cheapo versions although there is not a list of approved arms as such.

polyarkos Explorer

polyarkos

Posted
  • Author
Posted

OEM shocks can be had for significantly less than $400 per corner!

Think amayama.com or similar.

I can possibly get information for you as someone just purchased a swag of OEM suspension components (including all 4 shocks) and the total was just over $700 delivered.

Checked out amayama.com, and at $196USD per corner I'm looking at $922NZD plus shipping and 15% GST - call it an even $1200 plus springs and coilovers become a real possibility :whistling:

Daleo Grand Master

Daleo

Posted
Posted

Checked out amayama.com, and at $196USD per corner I'm looking at $922NZD plus shipping and 15% GST - call it an even $1200 plus springs and coilovers become a real possibility :whistling:

Let me find out for you;there is a cheaper way.

polyarkos Explorer

polyarkos

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I got Jamex lowered springs for my ARX and no problem with it. I bought it from Auckland.

Did you get them from the listing on TradeMe?

Let me find out for you;there is a cheaper way.

Don't rush, I don't need shocks. I just wanna lower my car and will use lowering springs unless they ruin my shock, at which stage I'll either replace or go coilovers.

stock stagea Collaborator

stock stagea

Posted
Posted

The only way they will damage your shock is if you go too low, the actual shock will top out and crap around the top. I have seen this happen to an old set that I used 40mm lowered springs then cut 2 coils off, this was done for shits and giggles on an old cortina that we used as a paddock/dirt racer and we had it in that car for about a year and a half.

Captain Wow Enthusiast

Captain Wow

Posted
Posted

I lowered my 180 on Tein lowering springs and the shocks were fine for a couple of years. I finally replaced them with Bilstein coilovers for track work. I actually preferred the ride comfort on the road with just the lowering springs.

- Lance

V28VX37 Veteran

V28VX37

Posted
Posted

Different car but still relevant, I had lowered King Springs with standard shocks on my R34 GTT for about a year and the ride quality was ... shocking (pardon the pun). Very crashy. The shocks also started leaking before long as they operated outside the designated area with the lowered springs. So in short, if you're going lower springs, get shorter shocks to match, to maintain ride quality.

I ended up going BC BR's with custom (softer) spring rates and difference with night and day, so much better than the OEM+King combo. I priced up a set of aftermarket shocks only, to go with the Kings, and they weren't much cheaper than the BC's...

Just my $0.02

  • Like 1
Sinista32 Grand Master

Sinista32

Posted
Posted (edited)

Keep the OEM shocks and get Lucas springs and you will be fine.

Ask a professional steering and suspension shop the part number, buy & install them your self and then take it back and get it aligned properly.

About $550 all up. $210 F/R pairs each and $85 for an alignment.

Ride remains almost the same (slightly stiffer) ride height less. Win/Win

Edited by Sinista32
Trex Grand Master

Trex

Posted
Posted

No one has mentioned that if you're getting stiffer springs, the shocks aren't designed for them. You'll notice when going over a bump or a ditch it will be firmer on the compression but spring back quicker when the spring is released from its downward stroke. The standard shocks aren't designed to have that much force pushing on them

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • PuReOwNaGe
      Wanting to Sell my R32 GTR

      By PuReOwNaGe · Posted

      Sorry
    • Danowner
      Hypergear ATR45 SAT Turbo With addons (brand new - never used)

      By Danowner · Posted

      Yeah pretty impressive hey, good to see quality products not over-shooting their prices. That's what drew me to buy the hypergear turbo, just a shame I've never got the chance to see it in action
    • Julsmadrid
      RB25det

      By Julsmadrid · Posted

      Thank you GTSBoy and MBS206 I have done the compression test with the motor out of the vehicle, reason for the test was to see if I needed to remove the head and do rings etc while its out. I'm in the process of respraying the vehicle and tidying up a few things. Story behind it all is I've just purchased the skyline and it was running when I got it, never drove it on the street though as I wanted to pull it down and do it all up again before registering it. the gentleman I purchased it from told me the motor has a forged bottom end and has a decent tune through it but I was going to pull the sump off anyway to see if it is a forged bottom end. that's why I thought id do a compression test beforehand. 
    • soviet_merlin
      Hypergear ATR45 SAT Turbo With addons (brand new - never used)

      By soviet_merlin · Posted

      Man, I'm kind of amazed that the price of the turbo has not changed in 7 years. Everything else is inflating beyond reason, but not this? Good on Tao / hypergear I guess? Anyways, good luck with the sale!
    • Danowner
      Hypergear ATR45 SAT Turbo With addons (brand new - never used)

      By Danowner · Posted

      I'm selling my brand new, in the box, never used Hypergear ATR45 - and I had some additions I paid for a few yrs back when I purchased it. Never ended up having the rest of the money to add all the mods at once, so I just ended up slowly selling each part. I originally had it internally gated, with the dump pipe, however I found it was incompatible with what I was going to use it for, so I contacted (I think Ken) from Hypergear, and he and I messaged back and forth & he got me to ship the turbo back, where they modified it & made it externally gated, and gave me the 5 bolt dump pipe attachment for custom welding. (Photos below) This turbo like I said has never touched the inside of an engine bay, it's completely brand new, never used, been sitting in the same box it arrived in, covered in plastic & all. Below are the photos of it: And while the guys at Hypergear were making it in-shop, they sent me some photos of the process: I'm looking at selling this just because I'm in need of the money right now, and don't have plans on modifying the 34 anytime soon - and from reviews & peformance sheets, this turbo had amazing results back when I was researching. The turbo was purchased in 2018 for $1.9k, with the mods I got added on. Looking at the website now, for the same turbo they sell (ATR45SAT), with the current addons it adds up to $1830 for the turbo Current addons included: - Bolted dump adaptor - Ball bearing CHRA - Braided oil feeding line So I'm looking to possibly sell it for around $1800, with shipping included in that 1.8k, It cost me around $120 to ship - so yeah thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone was interested in purchasing. Cheers!
×
×
  • Create New...