lowering shocks

[phatman3801]

hey im jst woundering bout lowering shocks...arnd wot price range are they and how much will they generally lower the car by if they have lowering srpings in the car already?

[TRDmod]

mmm
lower ing shocks, you might hvae to get whole new shocks for your car
spring is the lowering factor, if you want extremly low shocks you might have to get racing once....correct me if imw rong, but thats the impression i get

[badidas]

nah man they chuck em on a lathe and take a few mm off the top of the shock and then put spacers on the top side of the top hat under the nut

[wde_bdy]

nah man they chuck em on a lathe and take a few mm off the top of the shock and then put spacers on the top side of the top hat under the nut

Which is illegal unless certified.

Callum

[TRDmod]

also, not only that
it wouldnt perform well either
cos shocks are designed for the length that they are, so if you jsut shave a bit off the top, you not only have the shocks that arent hard enought o take the lowered springs but you will hvae more rubbing if not lots already

[TRDWGN]

A shock is designed in such a way that when it is sitting static in the car, taking into account the weight of the car and the strength of the spring,the piston (on the end of the shock shaft) will (very approximately be sitting half way between being fully compressed and fully released, by putting lowered springs in it it compromises this operating range, i.e instead of being roughly half way it may now sit 25% from fully compressed, hence by shortening the shock it puts the piston back nearer the 50/50 position so if you are going to use lowered springs then yes shortening the shocks is the best option IMO

[wde_bdy]

Or you just go a bit of research and try to find a shock that fits with less extension. Avoids certification then.
In some cases the strut housing may also need to be shortened, this will of course require certing as well.

Callum

[DOHMAN]

what is it with people and wanting the bottoms of there cars to drag along the ground.

[Dr-X]

there's no such thing as lowering shocks. No shocks will affect your ride height. In fact, dont even bother replacing the shocks unless you're having problems with the factory ones after lowering.

[MEX]

DOHMAN

ever seen a race car and how low they are, it might suprise you but it helps the handling lower center of gravity and all, not to mention all the upgraded parts you used to get there

they only reason you would shorten the insert of a strut/shock would be if the springs are not captive, if they are captive but the shock is hitting the ends of its travel then you need to redude the length of the insert and the body so it brings the static height back to a 50/50 posision(as N1-SPEC stated). this is great for on a track but on the road were there is random potholes and crap then you need more travel so how low you go is limited, but still can be worth it if you dont mind learning what streets to avoid in your city

but these are not lowering shocks the ride height comes from the spring, the shock just controls the bound and rebound of the spring

[Snoozin]

ever seen a race car and how low they are, it might suprise you but it helps the handling lower center of gravity and all, not to mention all the upgraded parts you used to get there

That is true.... but bear in mind that a race car also has everything else mounted very very low,(engine, drivers seat etc etc) lowering the center of gravity is one thing, but also the effect it has on the roll center of the car is also another factor.

Lowering a street car too much affects the roll center adversely, and as a result, you end up with a bad handling car.

[TRDmod]

DOHMAN

ever seen a race car and how low they are, it might suprise you but it helps the handling lower center of gravity and all, not to mention all the upgraded parts you used to get there

they only reason you would shorten the insert of a strut/shock would be if the springs are not captive, if they are captive but the shock is hitting the ends of its travel then you need to redude the length of the insert and the body so it brings the static height back to a 50/50 posision(as N1-SPEC stated). this is great for on a track but on the road were there is random potholes and crap then you need more travel so how low you go is limited, but still can be worth it if you dont mind learning what streets to avoid in your city

but these are not lowering shocks the ride height comes from the spring, the shock just controls the bound and rebound of the spring

True true, but jsut by lowering your car does NOT help handling, its not that simple, it all plays into parts, sway bars, stiff ness and movement of the shocks, most ppl who lower their cars would actually make handling worse, i went to a shock specialist, and i was recommended against, HIGH against jsut putting lowered springs on my st205, the springs and shocks standard in there are very good already by putting in lowered springs, thats not gonna help unless the whole car is specifically set up for that ride height, so no that answers your questions if it ever was, the race3 cars are low but they are not everday cars, race cars are low because they are heavily modified to take into account the severely lowered ride height, shcoks are much harder so theres not much movement there, basically the shocks are so short and hard that every single bump is taken in the shortest distance possible, like the ENZO and the ariel atom, they have push rod suspension system, that is designed to take the force on the shocks and springs as short a distance as possible, making it respond quicker compared to a corolla, so....by saying lowering your car will improve handling ..... WRONG you cnt jsut replace springs and ,make it better, it might make it better in one way but another make it worse in terms of handling

[badidas]

nah man they chuck em on a lathe and take a few mm off the top of the shock and then put spacers on the top side of the top hat under the nut

[/quote]


Which is illegal unless certified.

Callum[/quote]

is also illegal to have un captive springs and its not safe the vtnz had no problems with it this was about 5 years ago tho mabey the rules have changed

[Dr-X]

putting lowering springs in your car with have a significantly detrimental effect on your cars handling. For one thing, it will cause your wheels to toe-in, and often camber negatively, often beyond what a wheel alignment can help. It also completely screws up your steering geometry, and there's no easy way to correct it.

If you're after the lowered look, and arent too worried about handling, then new springs are fine, even though they will cause higher tyre wear. If you want improved handling, expect to pay big bucks for a whole new suspension set up.

[PumpN]

putting lowering springs in your car with have a significantly detrimental effect on your cars handling. For one thing, it will cause your wheels to toe-in, and often camber negatively, often beyond what a wheel alignment can help. It also completely screws up your steering geometry, and there's no easy way to correct it.

Yeah there is, its called a wheel alignment (my bad, still dont agree with the often part though)


There are a fair few uneducated opinions on this thread, to answer the original question, no, dont get your shocks machined, not unless your springs hang (like kingys by a couple of mill)
Springs set the cars height and its firmness, shocks control the springs.

[Dr-X]

putting lowering springs in your car with have a significantly detrimental effect on your cars handling. For one thing, it will cause your wheels to toe-in, and often camber negatively, often beyond what a wheel alignment can help. It also completely screws up your steering geometry, and there's no easy way to correct it.

Yeah there is, its called a wheel alignment

[PumpN]

race cars are low because they are heavily modified to take into account the severely lowered ride height

See what I mean?

Please people, its great that you have opinions but if you could word them (and maybe use some punctuation) so that others could actually understand the point you are trying to get across then you wont be wasting your time or mine having to scroll past your illegible banter.

Thank you.

[Dr-X]

lol

[Blkwinter]

race cars are low because they are heavily modified to take into account the severely lowered ride height

See what I mean?

Please people, its great that you have opinions but if you could word them (and maybe use some punctuation) so that others could actually understand the point you are trying to get across then you wont be wasting your time or mine having to scroll past your illegible banter.

Thank you.

haha harsh/true

[MEX]

TRDmod
yes as i said, you would use upgraded parts to get your car this low, i couldnt be bothered listening them all, but for example some of them might be sway bars, camber plates, modified axels and tie rods, moving guards to stop rubbing, etc i could go on.

and as for wheel alignments, they can always be setup to do whatever you want, its just a matter of buying the right parts for the job, i lowered my HQ premier 4"s and got it aligned and all they had to fix was a couple of degrees camber, left it with 2degrees negative to improve handling, along with a whole new set of nothelene(sp?) bushes, handled great

SnoozinEuro
and if you lower your car you will find the engine and driver and anything in the car will also head closer to the ground taking the roll center down too, and i dont know about you but ive always mounted my seats and engines as low as possible when ever ive been putting new ones in