lowering kit.

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oktobrlabs said:
Found this, has some additional info regarding springs.

http://www.monte-list.nu/tech/springs.shtml

Do not know if this has been posted before.

Good site, "The 5662 will lower a stock g-body approximately none to 1/2 inches." That's what I was trying to explain earlier, it won't lower the car and it will give it a jolting ride.
 
jonnyslick said:
Those charts confuse me ... what if you want:

2 inch drop front/rear with 600 lb/in front and 300 lb/in rear?

It's the same idea for the front as the rear. Just know that if the front springs are very stiff and the rears are loose, then you're going to end up with a car that has high front roll stiffness. This makes your car understeer and is a particularly bad idea on a front heavy RWD car cuz it already understeers.

This could be a good combo with a larger rear sway bar and about a stock front sway bar. If you were going to do that I would get a slightly larger front sway bar, and fabricate or have a much larger diameter rear one made. If not, it would simply stiffen the suspension for a bit harder launches but your cornering force is going to hurt.
 
jonnyslick said:
^ So what would you suggest to get a 2" drop all around and handling for auto-x/road-race?

Thank you,

This is also what I'm looking for. Stiff and low. My cutty is a 75/25 track/street car.
 
There's so many options really. If you spend some money on a decent kit or think it through you can have an awesome handling car.

Whenever I get around to it, I'll be getting front springs give or take 500 lb/in and adjustable shocks. One which would drop it about an inch. That way if the ride height isn't what I expect after the spring settles, I can cut half a coil and reshape to drop it another half inch or inch. This would also increase spring rate slightly. It would be a good idea to stay away from springs above around 650 lb/in in this car, even for autocross.

Your car is already equipped with unequal length A-arms and 4 link rear suspension. This, along with the relative light weight and frame/body set up makes an awesome start for a corner carver.

I would get rear springs about 140 lb/in. Also some urethane bushings all around and make sure to install some zerk fittings to oil them regularly, every 3-6 months.

If you want to outperform some civics at an autocross, first you've gotta know your tires will feel the brunt of it. There's absolutely no way of getting around the tire life issue the way G body suspension is set up (if you want fast turns). For the front control arms - Set a negative camber angle of about 1-2 degrees (above 2 degrees will really waste your tires). I would set the toe out slightly (quarter inch) for a little bump oversteer - the car already has understeer. I would also have the caster set up 2.5 (degrees caster) - this means the upper control arm in the front is moved upward to prevent diving when your car is braking or under heavy cornering stress. I've taken my Honda to the local Firestone to perform settings in the past, I'm sure they'll do it for a small charge. You could do this yourself, but a tire shop has machines to make it perfect.

Another thing is tire wheel/tire size. To me it makes little difference, just get a reasonably sized tire in there, for autocross make it the same size tire all the way around, and get lightweight ones (aluminum). The wider the tire, the better - without any fitment issues or hitting on full lock of course.

If you've done all this the last step is to chose an anti-roll bar. I'm taking my car to a dyno shop or somewhere they can weigh it on all four wheels. If, after all modifications and driving it around, the car is very front heavy and has nasty understeer - get a bit larger rear sway bar and keep the front stock. If the car is closer to an equal ratio weight and feels like the front end could be tightened up, get a larger front sway bar and leave the back one stock. You can even buy a front and back one or different sizes of each and work the combos of each until you've found the perfect stiffness for turning. Some people add the roll bar first, but to me it doesn't make sense - this is sort of a guide if you'd like your car to handle well around turns. I can't say anything for it hooking up at a stop light though.
 
I have a 2 inch lowering kit on my 86 cutlass and not only does it look bad a$$ but i have yet to lose it in a turn (knock on wood) i dont no specific numbers but i drive way to fast and the car is still amazing me on what it can do and handle. the only problem i have ever had is once i put the car up on a lift i have to watch and make sure the rear springs do not fall out, i already learned that one the hard way. ill post some pictures when the sun comes up. Its a Hotchkis kit so it is top quality. I have the lowering kit and a chin spoiler and as long as you go slow over bumps and driveways youll be fine.
 
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