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| Shugg |
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G'day lads,
Whats your views on lowering cars? My car is at the factory settings. Looks to high around the wheel arches. What are the pro's and con's of lowering a car? My understanding is that it will improve handling and performance, but the ride will be more uncomfortable and you will scrub out at every opportunity. There seems to be alot of talk about Kings Superlows this and that. Is it feasable to pay off comfort etc... for performance and handling? Would the pro's and con's ballance each other out? Shugg |
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| Happy |
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I like the height of the factory xr's, they look better than the stock but are not soo low as to look rediculous when one is trying to navigate a speed bump.
_________________ Owning 1 of 67612 EF GLi Sedans made
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| uglybob |
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Happy wrote: but are not soo low as to look rediculous when one is trying to navigate a speed bump.
 thats me! lol. i'm lowest of the superlows however... i wouldn't say you scrub out at every opportunity - sometimes you will, others not - depends on springs/shocks/driving style/car/people in the car etc - just because you have dropped it, doesn't mean its going to scrub every time...
_________________ R.I.P. Scotty |
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| v8fordman351 |
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Shugg wrote: G'day lads, check out the pics in my gallery both have superlow kings well the au springs are superlow for a std falcon but only about 30mm from xr spec i have no probs in the au with clearance ect it is a bit rougher riding but i also have 18" rims on it i blame them for most of the ride and the s**t kumho tyres
Whats your views on lowering cars? My car is at the factory settings. Looks to high around the wheel arches. What are the pro's and con's of lowering a car? My understanding is that it will improve handling and performance, but the ride will be more uncomfortable and you will scrub out at every opportunity. There seems to be alot of talk about Kings Superlows this and that. Is it feasable to pay off comfort etc... for performance and handling? Would the pro's and con's ballance each other out? Shugg |
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| Spork |
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You have to remember that looks, performance and comfot are three different things.
It is possible to have a suspension system that does all three very well but it is also very easy to have a system that does one well (looks) but is very poor in the other two. 1. Really hard suspension is not better - Imagine the car fixed in place while the road undulates under it, what keeps your wheels on the road is the suspension. You want springs/shocks/swaybars to keep the car as stable as possible while keeping the tyres pressed firmly to the road. -If your springs only have 2 inches of travel this isn't going to happen. 2. Lowering the center of gravity is generally good for stability aslong as it doesn't excessively compromise point 1. Or cause clearance issues or rub tyres. 3. Comfort is mostly determined by your shocks and stiction in your suspension (how easily it moves), and there response to high frequency compression or large velocities. More $$$ = better control = better handling and more comfort. At the end of the day you have to decide what you want from your suspension. Looks, comfort, performance. If you want all three then you have to spend more. you pretty much get what you pay for and in the end you have to make a compromise.
_________________ Manual EL Gli.
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| v8fordman351 |
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Spork wrote: You have to remember that looks, performance and comfot are three different things. very well said
It is possible to have a suspension system that does all three very well but it is also very easy to have a system that does one well (looks) but is very poor in the other two. 1. Really hard suspension is not better - Imagine the car fixed in place while the road undulates under it, what keeps your wheels on the road is the suspension. You want springs/shocks/swaybars to keep the car as stable as possible while keeping the tyres pressed firmly to the road. -If your springs only have 2 inches of travel this isn't going to happen. 2. Lowering the center of gravity is generally good for stability aslong as it doesn't excessively compromise point 1. Or cause clearance issues or rub tyres. 3. Comfort is mostly determined by your shocks and stiction in your suspension (how easily it moves), and there response to high frequency compression or large velocities. More $$$ = better control = better handling and more comfort. At the end of the day you have to decide what you want from your suspension. Looks, comfort, performance. If you want all three then you have to spend more. you pretty much get what you pay for and in the end you have to make a compromise. |
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| Shugg |
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Thanks spork,
It was very well said as v8fordman351 has stated above. Bravo. It has answered all my questions. Most people would not be able to brake it down that way. Shugg |
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| fairmont1998 |
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I helped a friend lower his AU XR6 VCT on Saturday. The easiest lowering job I've ever helped with! The IRS in the AU is a dream to pull the springs out of, and the front is just as easy as my EL was.
We fitted King superlows to his car and he hasn't really noticed any differance in the firmness of the suspension. Remember the Tickford set up in the XR6 is firmer already than the base model AUs. The car sits at a very nice height now, but is still easy to drive over the massive speed humps at our work.
_________________ 2008 WQ Fiesta XR4 |
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| tickford_6 |
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Posts: 6449 Joined: 11th Nov 2004 |
it mainly cos done to the quality of the job and the parts use or not used in some cases.
choped springs on monroe gas shocks will be s**t house at every thing. kings low with monroe gas are better. kings low with KYB or koni is good but not great bilstein shocks IMO should be the only shock considerd in a falcon. i also think that dobinson make a much nicer spring for falcons. my new boss has been a king springs guy for years and the other day while sitting in my car he commented out of the blue on how well me car drives for a lowered car and asked what i had done. the answer dobi sport springs one inch lower then EF XR6 hieght and bilstein shocks. we have also talk a few customers out of kings and on to dobi sport springs in 180SXs and they all come back to tell us how much better the ride is over there mates car with kings. that being said alot of kings and dobinson spring are the same as they are both very good spring makers. and both companies have there spring made by FULCRUM at the fulcrum factory. |
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| data_mine |
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Check out Whiteline, they do great kits, and they are fully engineered and tested, so they perform very well, and comfort is adjustable.
Scrubbing is more of a problem if you've gone superlow AND have wide rubber. I've gone superlow and run 235's, scrubbing happens, but generally only under extremes for me it's hard braking into a hard turn. It happens, I know about it, but it hasn't been a problem. Some passengers a picky about the comfort - I've got it set to medium stiffness, but I've gotten used to it, and find other cars to spongey. Feels like the work car is gonna roll over all the time. 
_________________ 1998 DL LTD in Sparkling Burgundy, daily, 302W, stereo, slow |
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| txrev6 |
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hi guys ,i just had some sus work on my EF XR6,i didnt like the ride of the xr,too soft and seemed to float in high speed cornering.so i added some koni reds and lovell sports lows allround ,(about 1/2 inch lower than the xr) rides heaps better ,but does scrub sometimes .
no one seems to rate the lovells ,i like them but what do you guys out there think? |
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| 1 SLY 97EL |
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Well I lowered my EL about 3 years ago and I reckon it is one of the best Mods I did to it. Because:
PROS * Heavily reduces Body roll going around corners. * Better road handling and stability * Better "Tough" look on the Road Cons * Tend to get underbody scraps on Certain angled driveways and Speed humps. * Tend to get your back teeth shaken out on bumpy roads etc. Especially more so if running 17" or larger Rims as well * Have to be lowered exactly to Insurance guidelines or Insurance Cancelled etc.
_________________ " In life their is never an Obligation just an Opportunity to..Own an awesome 1970 Ford Mach 1 Mustang! " |
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| EL XR8 |
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I was just wondering, but is there something with the XR guards in the EL series, cause i have never had a problem of scrubbing on the back of the XR, the front i did, but lipped the guards and have never had a problem again. Running 19's x9 inch at the front and 19 x 9.5's on the back with 245's on each, the back tyres are strectched to fit the rim. Super-super lows al round and shortened shocks as well. Apart from them hitting without lipped guards, i've never had a problem.
Are the XR guards any different, like within the wheel arch??? Cause no one i've known with 17's and 235 or 245's have had that problem either. (The 245's were on an XR as well) Thanks Dave |
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| Mako |
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yea i have an EL fairmont with 17x8,235s and king lows (koni yellows) and they scrub front and rear. only over a decent size dip but yea
have to get my guards rolled, but thats only going to cost me some rum. 
Though it does sit a fir bit lower than my mates car with lows??? will post a pic tonight/tomorrow when i give her a clean 
_________________ Regency Red EL Fairmont - PH4480 - 2.5" exhaust - High flow cat/muffler - K&N panel filter - Mandrel bent air intake - T series intake - wade 1604 cam - 98 EL XR6 ECU - Whiteline lows - 17" ROH RT's - Koni yellows - DBA Slotted's - Green Stuff pads
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| fairmont1998 |
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I haven't had any guard issues with my car, it's running superlows and 235/45-17 rubber without a hint of rubbing. Strange how different cars behave.
_________________ 2008 WQ Fiesta XR4 |
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