Need Advice on Lowering 98 Ex

FoSho

New Member
hey guys, so I'm new here and i need some advice... i read a lot of threads on lowering and everything. heres the thing: i want to lower my front by 1.5" and the back any where in the range of 1-1.5" i know i don't need camber kits but just get alignment. atm i have 205/50/16 on my car which i just got brand new tires on. now my question is do i need to mod the back with the washer trick in order to keep the rear camber within specs if I'm only lowering by 1-1.5"? and if so how many washers do i need to add? 1 or 2 behind each bolt? and I'm also gonna keep the stock struts/shocks since I'm not slamming the car. would all of this be ok? thank you to everyone who helps!
 

DeathLens

EM1 Crew
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1 or 2 is fine. then get an alignment
 


K-N-2-EK

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Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
Buy some reputable lowering springs, skunk2
Tein
Eibach
Nuespeed
Spoon sports


Or buy coilovers!
 

FoSho

New Member
ye.. I'm thinking of either Eiback or Tien or Skunk 2... but I'm sticking to springs since the drop is not very big and i can't afford coilovers
 

95coupeWI

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I hope you realize also that these springs aren't going to be much of a drop, you will eventually want to go lower.
 

Zedicous

New Member
hey guys, so I'm new here and i need some advice... i read a lot of threads on lowering and everything. heres the thing: i want to lower my front by 1.5" and the back any where in the range of 1-1.5" i know i don't need camber kits but just get alignment. atm i have 205/50/16 on my car which i just got brand new tires on. now my question is do i need to mod the back with the washer trick in order to keep the rear camber within specs if I'm only lowering by 1-1.5"? and if so how many washers do i need to add? 1 or 2 behind each bolt? and I'm also gonna keep the stock struts/shocks since I'm not slamming the car. would all of this be ok? thank you to everyone who helps!
I don't know what washer trick you are talking about. I do know with the EG chasis which is very much the same as an EK. You don't need anything for camber. with the oem setup and lowering it you will reduce the travel of the strut or shock, i would highly suggest you get something to work with a lowered spring so tha it doesn't affect your ride, i have used Eiback for years successfully. Pro's will lower 1.4 1.2 & Sportlines 1.6, i have Sportlines and they work quite well. If you are doing this yourself you can do the back together but with the front do them independantly one side at a time, jack just one side up leaving weight on the opposite and make sure not to move anything, if you do this successfully the car will drive the same as before being lowered and you don't need an alignment. I even have one eg that i lowered 2" i brought it back to oem and it still drove perfectly straight.
 

Zedicous

New Member
Don't forget the springs will settle over time and if you go lower than 1.6 don't wonder why your ball joints will wear quicker. If you want to see what sportlines look like go to cardomain and search for my name and look at my EJ1.
 

FoSho

New Member
thanks guys for your help so far... And zed what kind of springs do i buy so they don't go lower than n 1.6? because i still live with my grandparents and i don't want to lower the car too much... and also my dad drives my car occasionally.... so what springs do you recommend so they don't settle and keep lowering by themselves overtime?
 

civexspeedy

New Member
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
hey guys, so I'm new here and i need some advice... i read a lot of threads on lowering and everything. heres the thing: i want to lower my front by 1.5" and the back any where in the range of 1-1.5" i know i don't need camber kits but just get alignment. atm i have 205/50/16 on my car which i just got brand new tires on. now my question is do i need to mod the back with the washer trick in order to keep the rear camber within specs if I'm only lowering by 1-1.5"? and if so how many washers do i need to add? 1 or 2 behind each bolt? and I'm also gonna keep the stock struts/shocks since I'm not slamming the car. would all of this be ok? thank you to everyone who helps!
First, did you just get new tires, replacing the 205/50R16? Or do you mean your new tires ARE 205/50R16? Because that size is way off which will cause issues.

1 or 2 washers would be fine, and I'd recommend it for this car.

If you want to keep your original shocks, this limits how low you can go and your choice of springs. You can lower your car with SOME springs using stock shocks. But they need to be soft enough and not lower the car too much so your stock shocks will still perform ideally.


1 or 2 is fine. then get an alignment
Agreed,

ye.. I'm thinking of either Eiback or Tien or Skunk 2... but I'm sticking to springs since the drop is not very big and i can't afford coilovers
Eibach Pro-Kit would work well with stock shocks. I've seen this kit work well on stock shocks for a number of cars. Ride quality is great and performance is a tad better.

Tein S.Techs would also be OK on the stock shocks.

Skunk2 springs lower the car too much are are far too stiff for your stock shocks, I'd steer clear of them.

any other suggestions?
I'd highly recommend replacing your shocks if you can afford to, even if it is just OE replacement shocks with the mentioned springs above. Otherwise, inspect your current ones to make sure they are ok.

If you are doing this yourself you can do the back together but with the front do them independantly one side at a time, jack just one side up leaving weight on the opposite and make sure not to move anything, if you do this successfully the car will drive the same as before being lowered and you don't need an alignment. I even have one eg that i lowered 2" i brought it back to oem and it still drove perfectly straight.
This is completely wrong. HOW you install the suspension has very little affect on the alignment. The whole reason you need to get an alignment done after you LOWER your car is because when you lower your car, you change it's camber. Changes in CAMBER affects TOE and incorrect toe settings wear tires.

Also, just because the car tracks straight does not mean the alignment is ok.
 

FoSho

New Member
First, did you just get new tires, replacing the 205/50R16? Or do you mean your new tires ARE 205/50R16? Because that size is way off which will cause issues.

1 or 2 washers would be fine, and I'd recommend it for this car.

If you want to keep your original shocks, this limits how low you can go and your choice of springs. You can lower your car with SOME springs using stock shocks. But they need to be soft enough and not lower the car too much so your stock shocks will still perform ideally.




Agreed,



Eibach Pro-Kit would work well with stock shocks. I've seen this kit work well on stock shocks for a number of cars. Ride quality is great and performance is a tad better.

Tein S.Techs would also be OK on the stock shocks.

Skunk2 springs lower the car too much are are far too stiff for your stock shocks, I'd steer clear of them.



I'd highly recommend replacing your shocks if you can afford to, even if it is just OE replacement shocks with the mentioned springs above. Otherwise, inspect your current ones to make sure they are ok.



This is completely wrong. HOW you install the suspension has very little affect on the alignment. The whole reason you need to get an alignment done after you LOWER your car is because when you lower your car, you change it's camber. Changes in CAMBER affects TOE and incorrect toe settings wear tires.

Also, just because the car tracks straight does not mean the alignment is ok.




hey civ i will get back to you in a few hours.. gotta run for college ....last exam eeekk:(...
 

R3dline

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I'm lowered on Tein S. Tech springs and my camber is perfectly fine. No washer trick or anything.
thats cause you are barely lowered. tein is the weakest drop ever, i had them once and i was like :cry:
 

Sickk Nastyy.

New Member
thats cause you are barely lowered. tein is the weakest drop ever, i had them once and i was like :cry:
Lol yeah it is a weak drop, I'm satisfied with it though. The car isn't slammed of course, but there's no wheel gap either, so I'm cool with it. It sounded like that's what OP is going for.
 

FoSho

New Member
First, did you just get new tires, replacing the 205/50R16? Or do you mean your new tires ARE 205/50R16? Because that size is way off which will cause issues.

1 or 2 washers would be fine, and I'd recommend it for this car.

If you want to keep your original shocks, this limits how low you can go and your choice of springs. You can lower your car with SOME springs using stock shocks. But they need to be soft enough and not lower the car too much so your stock shocks will still perform ideally.




Agreed,



Eibach Pro-Kit would work well with stock shocks. I've seen this kit work well on stock shocks for a number of cars. Ride quality is great and performance is a tad better.

Tein S.Techs would also be OK on the stock shocks.

Skunk2 springs lower the car too much are are far too stiff for your stock shocks, I'd steer clear of them.



I'd highly recommend replacing your shocks if you can afford to, even if it is just OE replacement shocks with the mentioned springs above. Otherwise, inspect your current ones to make sure they are ok.



This is completely wrong. HOW you install the suspension has very little affect on the alignment. The whole reason you need to get an alignment done after you LOWER your car is because when you lower your car, you change it's camber. Changes in CAMBER affects TOE and incorrect toe settings wear tires.

Also, just because the car tracks straight does not mean the alignment is ok.
hey civ, ok so for your first question... i originally bought the rims and they came with 20/45/r16... and the ride on that was bumpy... so i just bought and replaced the old tires with 205/50/r16.... and what kind of issues will deal with if I'm only dropping 1.5" in the front? with the oem struts i have on atm... and the original mileage on the car is 160,000km... and they are fine atm.. like they don't have anything wrong with them....

for the second part i have decided that if i do lower it then it'll be the eibach pro kit cuz i don't want the car to settle later... as in drop more over a period of time....
and yes i know about the shocks.... hopefully if i can save up enough $$$ this year i will replace both shocks and springs, if not springs this year and shocks next... and if i do get enough $$$ saved up which would be decently priced but good quality shocks?

also I'm getting my crappy D16y7 motor swapped out for a B18b :D:D my first swap... i liv in a building and they don't allow to work on your car... or else i woulda done it on my own :(.... anyways... so yea those are my plans... what do u think??

and oh one more question... i know that with my oem shocks and springs atm... when i have 5 ppl in my car including me... mostly the rear suspension is under stress, like the front is too but not as much as the rear... so when i do upgrade my front springs to go down by 1.5" will the front wheels scrape the inside wheel well? or would i be ok... also i take my car for long journeys up to 5-6 hours of straight driving on highways and freeways... would everything be ok if the car has, say 4 passengers and a trunk full of stuff?....
cuz if n e thing i only want to drop the front, and not the back... cuz atm my car looks like a suv... higher from the front and lower in the back.. and more ppl sitting in the back don't help :P
 


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