Hello all,

Ive been thinking about possibly lowing my 91 RS with the eibach pro kit. Due to the fact that most of my suspension/steering components are worn right out, I figure that if im going to spend a bunch of money on new parts I might as well upgrade rather than just replace. I know that in order to lower the car properly I will need to change other things than just the springs. So my question is, does the lowered vehicle with the correct modifications actually drastically improve the handling? Or does it just correct whats been lost after lowering? Ive seen pictures of these cars with the pro-kit springs in, and it does make the car look alot better, but i wouldn't want to spend the extra money just for the look.

Heres the setup ive been considering: Bilstein Shocks and struts, Eibach springs, spohn bump steer kit, spohn idler arm, spohn center link, spohn inner tie rods, moog ball joints, Hotchkis adjustable panhard bar/BMR relocation brackets, BMR adjustable LCA/BMR relocation brackets and energy suspension bushings. Any comments on this setup?

Not sure exactly what to do about the sway bars I hear that the bushings are supposed to be modified? Is ground clearance a big issue with only the 1" drop? Will the bolt on relocation brackets only work on the stock rear?

Thanks and sorry for the long post.

 

my 2 cents...

More than likely, the eiback 1" drop springs will raise the ride height of your car. That is, assuming you have the original springs in it, they are probably sagging. Unless you have an exhaust clearance issue, I don't believe that there is any reason to use the BMR upper PHB relocation kit. There's no need to replace the upper PHB brace, really. I'm not sure what you're reffering to with modifying the sway bar bushings. Unless you are changing sway bar sizes, there's nothing that needs to be modified. Even then, you would need to get the proper bushing for your size sway bar. But, no modifying needed. You may want to consider purchasing a wonder bar to help brace the front of the car.

 

Thats a good point, although I dont think they are sagging quite that much as I can still tell the difference when looking at pics of other cars with the springs installed. I read somewhere on this site (i think) that special sway bar bushings should be used in order to compensate for the suspension drop, I dont know, I could just be going . I didnt think lowering the car had any effect on the PHB to begin with so ill probly just wait and see how it goes. and yes steering brace and SFC's i will do first. But I guess the biggest question is how much difference does the lowered car with all correct mods make vs. stock?

thanks

 

Are you asking about performance, ride quality, or what? Lowering the car will give some performance gains, but most of the gains will be made from the improved shocks, getting good tires, sizing the sway bars to your preference, replacing all the worn bushings on the car, wonder bar, SFCs, etc. You'll probably want LCA relocation brackets and adjustable LCAs and PHB. But I would go over the car and replace all worn bushings before you start modifying the car. On the other side of the coin, unless you have a lot of money to spend on lightening the unsprung weight of the car, lighter wheels, brakes, etc. you'll likely loose some ride quality when lowering/stiffening these platforms.

This is my car lowered on the Prokit, no spring isolators, and the mods in my signature. Mine seems to sit a little lower than other cars I've seen, so it might not be a good example.



Which Bilsteins are you planning to go with? I know one type is supposed to be for lowered cars, and another is not. I would go with KONIs over the Bilsteins as they are adjustable and have a lifetime warranty. You might want to look into the weight jacks so you can adjust the ride height to what you want once they're installed. I plan on installing a set when I do my motor swap (hopfully in about a year).