Lowering springs; are they really that bad?

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Dougboy

Dougboy

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dougboyy
Hey Folks,

So i have an 05 Acura TL as a daily driver. The ride height has really been bothering me lately and i was thinking of dropping it with lowering springs.
Now everybody tells me how lowering springs will prematurely wear out the stock shocks. Im mainly doing it for cosmetic purposes. Would prefer a little stiffer of a ride but its a daily driver and i rarely "drive enthusiastically" so performance benefits are not my main concern.

Nothing too dramatic, an 1 inch or so, maybe 2 inches at most. Im a poor student and i really cant justify spending $1000+ on a set of adjustable coilovers right now. :indiff:

Any comments or suggestions would greatly be appreciated :dopey:
 
Find floorjack...$0
Raise car.........$0
Pull springs......$0
Find torch/sawzall...$0
cut springs......$0
reinstall springs...$0

Total: $0

:D
 
haha like buick's idea... but if you really want to legitimately drop the ride height, drop the 1000 on lowering springs. they lower the center of gravity, look cooler, and improve handling. so enjoy.
 
cut springs...jobs a goodun :D tho its a modern car so itl be under a few plastic covers and bits of trim and warning stickers etc. :lol:

i doubt it would wear a noticeable amount really, might be a bit stiffer perhaps but as you say your not going to be wearing it out driving it like a maniac anyway
 
If you use your stock shocks with lowering springs you might notice your car bouncing around a bit more. It will feel stiffer, but also harsher, because the shocks arent tuned to damp the stiffer springs. It'll look good until you drive down a bumpy road with your front end bouncing up and down like it doesn't have any shocks at all.

The TL's shocks are already pretty sporty though so it might not have to much of an effect. But yeah, it'll look good!
 
buickgnx88
Find floorjack...$0
Raise car.........$0
Pull springs......$0
Find torch/sawzall...$0
cut springs......$0
reinstall springs...$0

Total: $0

:D
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Or like my list for getting my daily low:

Find floorjack...$0
Raise car.........$0
Pull springs......$0

Total: $0

:D
 
Oh man, don't cut your springs. The ride will be unbearable.

If i were you i'd leave the ride height and just go for huge wheels.
 
Giancarlo
Oh man, don't cut your springs. The ride will be unbearable.

If i were you i'd leave the ride height and just go for huge wheels.
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That'd be even more expensive!:lol:
 
Giancarlo
If i were you i'd leave the ride height and just go for huge wheels.
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Hahaha yea, 19's would be preferable but im not made of money :nervous: Maybe i should just get rid of the TL and buy a used ricebox :scared: (i jest of course)
 
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I've seen the "cut spring" approach done somewhat right, and I've also seen it done horribly wrong. If you're doing it at home, you're likely to do it horribly wrong.

If you don't have the top coil shaved down to sit level with the spring perch, it'll move around, clunk over bumps and eventually either come loose, wreck your bushings or drive you nuts. Usually all three.

If you have the cut coil shaved down (and sometimes, bent) to sit perfectly in the spring perch, you still have a spring with less travel than stock and less cushioning, too. It'll feel a bit harsher, bottom out more easily, and kill your stock shocks, eventually. How much sooner than stock springs will depend on how bad the roads around your place are... but then again, it could feel all right for a few months, and then the first time you go over a hump, it'll bottom out. You never can tell.

Lowering springs do the same thing. There are brands and models that give you a modest amount of lowering and less stiffening than others. These you can use with your stock shocks with no problems. The Mazda boards have a list of lowering springs and their actual spring rates... I'm pretty sure a Honda or Acura board will have something similar.

Personally, been there, done that, don't ever want to do it again. Save up. Buy a good set of sports shocks, adjustable or not, it's up to you... and then buy a mild set of lowering springs. Finis. Finito. Perfecto. Coil-overs are overkill for a daily driver... in fact, overkill even for an occassional track car... no matter what you do with coil-overs, there's absolutely no way to get them to ride even halfway comfortably... not unless they come with a second set of springs for street use.

A good set of shocks and springs will cost you way less than $1000. I got my spring and shock set in for around $600-$700... that's Tokico Illumina adjustables and some cheap H&R springs. The extra cost was only because I had to have them shipped from the US out to Asia.

Heck, you can get springs like this:
http://www.rsaperformance.com/tanofelospnf5.html

$200, no need to change your shocks, near stock spring rates. ;) And that was 30 seconds of googling.
 
1.5" is about as low as you'll really want go with the TL. Anymore so, such as 2" and the car's ride is pretty well changed. Never go any lower, though. 19"s also only work well with certain wheels as it makes the car appear to have 18".

If you want a cheap way, this is the best way to do it with the TL.
http://store.excelerateperformance.com/hr/hr_springs_sport_springs/50104/i-238960.aspx

H&R Sport Springs. They work well with the stock shocks, and are approved by the TL crowd for those who don't want to spend big bucks.


IMO, though, I would have to mimic mPWRD. A $1,000 for coilovers is steep, but they are worth it. They'll easily allow you to change your height and allow you to see what's comfortable and what isn't.
 
You're all wrong.

Just let some air out of your tyres, I reckon rolling around at say 3psi all around would drop your height about an inch.

That or put some concrete in the boot to lower the rear.
 
Or you could just drive your mom around.

avatar69146_7.gif
 
Thanks for all the info. I will definitely look into those links niky and Reventon.

I have an A-Spec kit comming in at the end of the week and i guess I will see how the "stance" is and how much of a drop I need
 
Bubble Bunny
Thanks for all the info. I will definitely look into those links niky and Reventon.

I have an A-Spec kit comming in at the end of the week and i guess I will see how the "stance" is and how much of a drop I need
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Is it the full A-Spec option, or just the suspension/bodykit?
 
Just the body kit for now. Ive considered the A-Spec suspensions, i can get my hands on a set for around $450 but it will only give me a 3/4" drop at most and a slightly stiffer ride.
I also looked into 18x8 A-Spec rims - $190 a piece, but i am only in second year university and im already spending way more than i should. :sick:

I spend too much time on acurazine, the more i browse, the more i want to dump hard earned money into a car
 
Bubble Bunny
Just the body kit for now. Ive considered the A-Spec suspensions, i can get my hands on a set for around $450 but it will only give me a 3/4" drop at most and a slightly stiffer ride.
I also looked into 18x8 A-Spec rims - $190 a piece, but i am only in second year university and im already spending way more than i should. :sick:

I spend too much time on acurazine, the more i browse, the more i want to dump hard earned money into a car
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I would go with an aftermarket suspension, then. The A-Spec is fine, but for those who want a lower drop, H&R, Neuspeed, or Tein seem to be the way to go.

And yes, Acurazine is addicting. In the last 4 months, I think the website has caused me to spend around $2K on this car. :ouch:
 
dont spend your cash on a-spec rims. save up and buy some of the cheaper o-z wheels. trust me. i'm in second year of university too, but i've worked with cars since i was 15. o-z wheels are by far the best, along with bbs. but bbs are expensive.
 
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OZ's on TL's though are rare, and don't really flow. Neither do BBS' unless you get the right color combo.

If BB is looking for wheels, RonJon, TSW, Work, & esp. Volks are popular choices. Axis, Momo, Koenig aren't too bad, either.
 
yeah... forgot about some of those... i mainly work with european cars, which look stunning with bbs or o-z... i'm not a big fan of ricers except the evo ix and subie sti.
 
Reventón;3343219
I would go with an aftermarket suspension, then. The A-Spec is fine, but for those who want a lower drop, H&R, Neuspeed, or Tein seem to be the way to go.

And yes, Acurazine is addicting. In the last 4 months, I think the website has caused me to spend around $2K on this car. :ouch:
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The internets are no place for a car guy. I don't even want to know what my current bill is. Mods are probably worth more than the car, by now. :lol:
 
niky
Coil-overs are overkill for a daily driver... in fact, overkill even for an occassional track car... no matter what you do with coil-overs, there's absolutely no way to get them to ride even halfway comfortably... not unless they come with a second set of springs for street use.
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I greatly disagree. In fact I'd say next to stock suspension, coilovers ride MUCH better than simple lowering springs, while being perfectly comfortable.


Basically, you get what you pay for. The End.
 
mPWRD
yeah... forgot about some of those... i mainly work with european cars, which look stunning with bbs or o-z... i'm not a big fan of ricers except the evo ix and subie sti.
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Ricers? I hope you're not referring to Japanese cars, of which, Bubble Bunny & mine aren't to begin with.
 
Reventón;3343445
Ricers? I hope you're not referring to Japanese cars, of which, Bubble Bunny & mine aren't to begin with.
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Japanese marque nonetheless, and in the views of some small-minded people that makes them crappy econoboxes or ricers by default.

EDIT: Well fine, Acura was originally North America only, but everyone knows they're "Japanese" and are really "just Hondas with different badges" (even though they're usually rather different to any Honda counterpart sold elsewheres or their own model. Hope this makes some sense).
 
Rotary Junkie
Japanese marque nonetheless, and in the views of some small-minded people that makes them crappy econoboxes or ricers by default.
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Considering that Acura's aren't sold in Japan (they were planned, but are not yet), I would say that no, the 3G TL isn't from a Japanese marque, either.
 
Reventón;3343451
Considering that Acura's aren't sold in Japan (they were planned, but are not yet), I would say that no, the 3G TL isn't from a Japanese marque, either.
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See edit in that post.

Although, would you consider the 2009+ North American Mazda6 a Japanese car, despite it being designed and built for and in the North American market?

Average person would. Just like they see the Ford Probe as American yet see the MX-6 as Japanese. Acura will forever be linked directly to Honda, it IS Honda's own company.
 
Rotary Junkie
See edit in that post.

Although, would you consider the 2009+ North American Mazda6 a Japanese car, despite it being designed and built for and in the North American market?

Average person would. Just like they see the Ford Probe as American yet see the MX-6 as Japanese. Acura will forever be linked directly to Honda, it IS Honda's own company.
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That's fine. However, the 3G TL itself is not Japanese and that's my concern with mPWRD's post about "ricers" like the Evo or STi. It was not sold anywhere but the US & China, thus I do not see how it can be a "ricer" like the Subaru or Mitsubishi.
 
When you lower your car, please don't forget to put it on up on the wheel alighment machine. Its quite painful for me to look at other lowered cars from SUVs to small cars have big time negative camber on all four wheels. Even if you get a spring that lowers it only by a very small margin like 1 inch, get that car aligned anyways.

You may even want to let the spring settle a bit before actually doing the alignment though. I already ran into that mistake when I lowered my Scion tC with the TRD springs and aligned right after installation. When I visited scionlife.com, I learned that the springs may need to "break in" and then needs to be aligned. When I put my tC back on the alignment rack about 1.5 months later, some of the measurements have moved slightly toward the yellow zone. I just re-aligned it again and everything was fine. Just something you might want to think about.
 

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