How To Lower A Car Suspension [6 Easy Methods] (2023)

FAQs

How do I lower my car suspension? ›

A set of lowering springs is the most common method for lowering the ride height on your car. With a shorter height than your vehicle's factory-equipped springs, lowering springs will drop the height of your vehicle. Most off-the-shelf springs will lower a car between 1 and 2.5 inches.

A Good Alternative: The Razor Lip

The Razor Lip is a cutting-edge RimBlades product that gives your vehicle that lowered look without costing an arm and a leg. It's basically a high-quality rubber protection strip. It mounts to your vehicle's front lower valance with extremely strong adhesive.

A good rule of thumb is that most cars can be lowered about 1.5 inches without complications. Beyond that, changes in a severely lowered car's suspension may negatively affect ride quality, tire wear and increase the risk of "bottoming."

Lowered vehicles are more aerodynamic. There's less air hitting the wheels and tires (that are not streamlined shapes). This makes these cars faster. Some owners of low-stance vehicles also notice improved gas mileage.

Another option to lower your vehicle's ride height is to replace the stock springs in the suspension with lowering springs. These are shorter springs that lower your car by one to three inches. Lowering spring kits go for anywhere between $100 and $700. A professional installation may cost an additional $200 to $800.

Lowering springs and kits are designed to replace OEM coil springs with a spring designed to lower the front or rear stance of the vehicle. Typical lowering springs lower between 0.5-3.0″ when installed on a vehicle.

On average most cars gain about -0.75 degrees of camber with every inch it is lowered, which adds up very quickly.

The term "stance" or "stanced" is often used to describe a car customization style. The term "stance" is often used in conjunction with "slammed" or "lowered". Key elements of the stance style are: lowered suspension (lowering springs, coilovers or air suspension), stretched tires and negative camber.

While lowering springs and coilovers will both serve to make your car lower, they achieve this in different ways and provide noticeably distinct handling characteristics. With Coilovers offering additional benefits.

What do coilovers do? ›

The purpose of coilover springs is to prevent the chassis from bottoming out, support each individual wheel on the vehicle, and mitigate or reduce body roll when taking turns and cornering, particularly at higher speeds. The springs also help to reduce squatting when accelerating and diving when decelerating.

Consider Selling the Car

By selling it, you can be in control of the process, and you may be able to get enough cash in the sale for a down payment on a less expensive car. Alternatively, you can visit a dealership and see if you can trade in your car to cover part of the purchase price for a cheaper vehicle.

A road car usually has a ride height around 16–17 cm (6.3–6.7 in), while an SUV usually lies around 19–22 cm (7.5–8.7 in). Two well-known extremes are the Ferrari F40 with a 12.5 cm (4.9 in) ride height and the Hummer H2 with a 25 cm (9.8 in) ride height.

Firstly, push the seat all the way back, then lower it as far as possible. Next, recline the back of the seat to about 30-40 degrees and move the steering wheel (if it adjusts) all the way up and in towards the dashboard. Adjust the seat height up until your hips are at least as high as your knees.

Yes, if you install lowering springs then you need new shocks.

Lowering a vehicle's suspension is one of the most common modifications done today, and doing so can not only add visual appeal, but may even have performance benefits, if done correctly. While lowering a vehicle is a pretty straightforward job, it may require the use of special tools.

Lowering the vehicle usually reduces aerodynamic drag, which increases fuel economy, and sometimes reduces high speed lift, this making the vehicle safer.

Lowering the suspension lowers the center of gravity and reduces the risk of a rollover. Enhanced comfort: This is somewhat subjective, but some drivers say that lowering the suspension simply makes their vehicle more comfortable and less prone to rattling around.

A safe place to start is by measuring how much you want to lower the vehicle. Then cut 1/2 that measurement off the length of the springs and reinstall them.

The process is not difficult, so anyone with garage access and a little know-how can accomplish this modification. Since lowering springs are designed to work with your existing factory suspension, they can simply replace your coil springs.

How do I lower my springs? ›

If your car is already highly modified, an improved braking system may reduce your premium as much as 10-15%. However, most cars are factory-fitted with suitable brakes already. If your car isn't modified, or only has a few modifications like alloy wheels or suspension, your premium is unlikely to be affected.

One popular method for lowering a car that most budget-minded enthusiasts opt for is using lowering springs with the car's OEM (stock) shock absorbers. While this is indeed a very cost-effective way of lowering the car's ride height, it doesn't help much in terms of the car's ride quality.

A softer suspension will offer more mechanical grip as it will do a better job of keeping the tires on the ground vs a stiff suspension when it comes to depressions, bumps, and surface irregularities in the road.

Pros of lowering a car

However, lowering a car does not make it faster as far as it's horsepower or torque output. Although, there are other benefits to modifying a car's suspension. For starters, a lowered car will typically handle better than it does when it's at stock ride height and lean less in the corners.

Lowering blocks work great, but you can run into problems if you're using them to lower the car more than a couple of inches. For example, if you're still employing the stock, soft leaf springs, your car will tend to bottom out on the bumpstops or the frame if the axle housing is raised too much.

There are two primary reasons. Some cars in, some driving conditions, will see better handling, higher speeds, or more stability with a low ride height. This is especially true with high performance exotics such as McLaren, Lamborghini, and Ferrari.

Your car payment won't go down if you pay extra, but you'll pay the loan off faster. Paying extra can also save you money on interest depending on how soon you pay the loan off and how high your interest rate is.

According to experts, a car payment is too high if the car payment is more than 30% of your total income. Remember, the car payment isn't your only car expense! Make sure to consider fuel and maintenance expenses. Make sure your car payment does not exceed 15%-20% of your total income.

When you lower the car, the camber will go out and you need a camber kit to fix it. However, I find it is not necessary to correct the camber in most cases. Most people think they need a camber kit because of a tire-wear concern. The reality is, TOE ANGLE kills tires WAY faster than camber ever will.

What will negative camber do? ›

Negative camber lets the drivers get a more fantastic grip on the road, minimize tire vibration, and enhance vehicle handling by keeping the car's tire perpendicular to the road as the vehicle goes along. Continue reading to learn about the benefits and drawbacks of having a negative chamber.

How Much Negative Camber Is Bad? Generally, anything over two degrees is not good for street use. Anything over one degree will result in handling issues for the average vehicle. Three degrees and higher can cause serious problems quickly.

Within the drift scene, we believe that stance has earned its place with the 'low style' community, where style is pretty much everything, with the ability to consistently drift your car, forming the icing on the cake.

Specifically, “donk” is the nickname for a customized 1971-76 Chevrolet Caprice or Impala. Many folks erroneously use it to describe any custom car with big wheels. To be clear, flashy wheels aren't required, but if you want a showstopper, they certainly help. No one is certain where the term came from.

What is hellaflush? Hellaflush involves: significantly lowering a vehicle's suspension. installing oversized and offset rims (offset is greater than that of the stock rims) installing tires that are too narrow for the rim (tire stretching)

A coilover suspension is installed when you want to lower your car and/or achieve sportier handling. In addition to flexible lowering, most coilover suspensions also have other adjustment options. In addition to the hardness, the driver can often also adjust the rebound or compression damping.

Coilovers often come together as a single assembly. That can make installation easier. Coil springs must be compressed prior to removal. Compressing the spring can be both difficult and dangerous, especially in a MacPherson strut-style suspension.

Your factory shocks' overall ride quality is tuned to be most effective at the stock ride height. Lowering springs are shorter in length (most of the time) compared to factory springs, your shocks will be riding lower in their travel than they were designed to be at while sitting at normal ride height.

Coilovers can affect a car's performance by lowering its center of gravity and stiffening up the suspension. This results in better performance, response, and handling of the car. However, while a good coilover design can improve the performance it can require a lot of time and money.

It's true, coil-overs can result in a rough ride. If not set up properly you too could have a rough ride.

What brings down the value of a car? ›

The condition of your car's exterior can be a major factor in its value — the overall appearance and presence of your car matters. Scratches, a worn out exterior, rust, cracked windows or dings will lower your car's resale value, according to AutoGuide.com.

Lowering Springs Installation

These are shorter springs that lower your car by one to three inches. Lowering spring kits go for anywhere between $100 and $700. A professional installation may cost an additional $200 to $800.

Leaf Springs and Shackles

This is a very budget friendly way to lower the rear of most trucks. Lowered leaf springs and shackles are a great way to shave a few inches off. Installation is pretty straight forward as you simply replace the old gear with new parts.

It is generally recommended that you change the shocks/struts when you use lowering springs. Your stock shocks and struts are designed to operate up and down in the range the stock springs provide.

While lowering springs rely on spring rate and height to alter your ride height, coilovers use the spring seat's location on the shock to raise or lower your vehicle. That means you could swap in a heavier or lighter spring and easily get back to your desired ride height.

Smaller tires can make your vehicle ride lower, causing the vehicle to scrape, collide with, or bottom out on items that it should otherwise clear — think speed bumps, entrances into parking lots, rough intersections, and roadway debris.

In each case, expect to pay about $100 or less. A reputable shop will discuss which option is best for you and the estimated cost.

An aftermarket set of coil springs is a great way to lower your truck's suspension as much as two inches. Some trucks use coils at the rear, so look for a complete kit from the same manufacturer. The best choice is to use progressive-rate springs made from high-quality steel, to avoid spring sag over time.

Can you cut stock springs to lower your car? ›

You can lower your car by cutting the coil springs that are compressed in the strut above the car's tires. A professional mechanic often carries out the process of cutting a car's coil springs and lowering the vehicle. With a few tools, such as a coil compressor and angle grinder, you can cut the coil springs yourself.

Springs can wear out and affect ride height.

Lowered springs are physically shorter than OEM springs when installed, so the ride height of the vehicle is lower. Now since spring rate is measured in Kg per mm, a spring that's shorter than stock will have a higher spring rate which means a firmer ride. For performance driving, this is considered a benefit.

Yes, if you install lowering springs then you need new shocks.

Lowering the suspension lowers the center of gravity and reduces the risk of a rollover. Enhanced comfort: This is somewhat subjective, but some drivers say that lowering the suspension simply makes their vehicle more comfortable and less prone to rattling around.

Lowering springs also change the geometry of your wheel/tire fitment. If it's not done right, you can expect both accelerated and uneven tire wear. Your car could also bottom out over speed bumps and be even tougher to get up inclines, like your driveway, without scraping your bumper.