How Low ?

[JLister]

Sorry to hijack this thread lads but I'm a technophobe and can't get to grips with how to start my own thread.

I'm thinking about lowering my car and want to lower it as much as possible but still be able to get over speed bumps.

How low is safe without scraping (much) on Brit roads and do alloy wheel sizes/set ups make it look lower (I want a set of xxr 527's)

Many thanks
John

[Toms-MR2]

I've just recently had mine put on Yellow Bilsteins with Tein springs which lower the car;
37mm front and 38mm rear

Ride height is still ok for town driving with speed bumps etc and it handles very well too


Sent from my Death Star using Jedi Mind tricks

[JLister]

Ah Tom! Been a while. Will pm u

[Toms-MR2]

Haha yeah I forget about this place sometimes need to start socialising again lol


Sent from my Death Star using Jedi Mind tricks

[Pav677]

I'm on Tein SuperStreet coilovers with Lenso D1R's 8Jx17" 215/40 ET33 front and 9Jx17" 235/40 ET43 rear and have wound the suspension almost to their lowest setting. I've had no problem what so ever getting over bumps, never even slightly caught or had the wheels catch the arch with no spacers.

[sk8gom]

I also used to be on Tein super streets with 17 x 8 et 25 with 215/40s and 17 x 9.5 et 30 with 245/40. With them on the lowest setting (which is suposedly 45mm lower front and 50mm rear) i didn't have any trouble geting about and got over everything i met daily driving for 3 years.

I have however now changed to custom built BC coilovers which i guestimate has brought the car down 80 to 100mm and gone down to 16s on the front. Now all but the smallest speed bumps are a no go... changes in incline and even roads which slightly bow up even cause problems.. plenty of scraping.

before


Now



So depends what you want you want to achive really. 45 to 50mm should see you with few problems getting about. If you can go down the coilover route then you can adjust the height until don't encounter problems

As for wheel sizes, yes different sizes can give different effect to how low a car looks. This is a bit down to how you percieve things though. I personally think smaller wheels with higher profile tyres make a car look lower than a larger wheel with low profile and the same rolling diameter..... but i'm sure there are people that will disagree as the larger wheel's rim is closer to the arch. Do some research on other peoples set ups and decide what you personally like the best on that one

[Pav677]

Wow, that is stunning sk, I think I could deal with getting beached everywhere looking THAT good. I'm a massive fan of 'slammed'.

Fantastic looking 2 buddy.

[Craig-rev3]

I ran my Rev 3 with 16s & BC coilovers at around a 70mm drop (as low as possible on the front).

Handled great & looked awesome. Didn't encounter any issues with daily driving or round town.

[sk8gom]

Cherz Pav

[gavsdavs]

Why lower it? You'll only ruin the ride, the handling or both :-)

[Pav677]

Why lower it? You'll only ruin the ride, the handling or both :-)

Really? I've found the handling and ride improved (I like it bouncy)

[Craig-rev3]

Why lower it? You'll only ruin the ride, the handling or both :-)

I would argue that point. If you have a decent set of coilovers I.e BC's. Lowering your car won't affect the ride, no matter how low you set them. It's the dampers that determine the ride quality.

As for handling, I've noticed a great improvement with a decent amount of lowering with various set ups, whether its coilovers, lowering springs or with matching springs & campers (i.e. Koni's). The handling has always been improved.

[gavsdavs]

It was a trolling comment.

For a car as low as an MR2 I don't think it needs to be lower, and I suspect that most lowering is done for cosmetic reasons, as opposed to genuinely needed functional improvements, because the standard suspension, so long as it's not worn out (very common for cars this age) is just fine for road use.

Can you provide a quantitive measure about how much it's improved ? Measured braking improvement ? Demonstrated improved grip ? I suspect not.

If the car lives on a track, that's a different thing. No bumps and potholes there....

I'm only teasing

[Craig-rev3]

I'm assuming you haven't driven a well set up, lowered MR2 judging by that comment. It's a completely different car to the stock set up.