Project S-10: Lowering spring installation
I took Tuesday off to head towards SJF for the lowering spring installation. Steve is the most experienced S2000 suspension expert in NJ.
There are two lowering springs choices for me, one is the Swift Spec R and the other is Eibach Pro-kit. Since the Swift springs work perfectly with CR shocks and could be an overkill for my OEM ap1 shocks, I pick the Eibach ones, which are said to be also one of the best, and have the most OEM driving and handling of the car.
I don't have much picture for the process of the installation but with the spring compressor it is not a hard one. Here are the photos I take before, showing the heights of each side:
With OEM springs there are plenty of gap between the wheel and the fender. My intention is to lower it 1~1.25 inches.
Eibach is said to give me 1 inches drop all around.
Installation steps:
1. Jack up car (Use hoist for quicker installation), get the wheels off.
2. Take off the OEM shocks:
- For the rear, open the trunk, access the top joint of the shock and loosen all the bolts related. Use a pry bar or a long bar to push the control arms downwards so that you could get to the shock and get it off. (The side of the gas tank could be hard, so either take off the tank or use some tools to help yourself.)
- For the front, pop up the hood and similarly loosen the bolts on top of the front shocks. For the front since the setup is different you need to unlink the upper control arm and then get the shock off.
3. Use the compressor to uninstall the original spring. Put the new spring on. NOTE: use markers to make sure the new springs are installed to the same direction and tell the front/rear ones. Don't mistake one for the other.
4. Install the shock back to the car and tighten all the bolts.
5. Test drive and let it settle.
When I got them installed, I didn't see much of a drop on both sides. I took the car out for a drive, for 10 mins. There came the drop, but not that much. I could tell clearly that the passenger side was lower than the driver side. The driver side seemed to have not changed at all. So I plan on driving it for another 200 miles and do the alignment afterwards. Hope it would settle, after 200 miles!
11/29/16
**************
Update, 12/03/16:
I drive the car quite a lot, both on highway and locally for like 140 miles. The passenger side, both the front and rear are lowered a lot. However, it didn't seem right for the driver side. The difference is so significant. So I reschedule the alignment with Steve to next Sat. Maybe it needs some more time or something else. We will see!!
**************
Update, 12/06/16:
There are two lowering springs choices for me, one is the Swift Spec R and the other is Eibach Pro-kit. Since the Swift springs work perfectly with CR shocks and could be an overkill for my OEM ap1 shocks, I pick the Eibach ones, which are said to be also one of the best, and have the most OEM driving and handling of the car.
I don't have much picture for the process of the installation but with the spring compressor it is not a hard one. Here are the photos I take before, showing the heights of each side:
 |
| OEM Springs ride height |
 |
| DF |
 |
| DR |
 |
| PF |
 |
| PR |
With OEM springs there are plenty of gap between the wheel and the fender. My intention is to lower it 1~1.25 inches.
Eibach is said to give me 1 inches drop all around.
Installation steps:
1. Jack up car (Use hoist for quicker installation), get the wheels off.
2. Take off the OEM shocks:
- For the rear, open the trunk, access the top joint of the shock and loosen all the bolts related. Use a pry bar or a long bar to push the control arms downwards so that you could get to the shock and get it off. (The side of the gas tank could be hard, so either take off the tank or use some tools to help yourself.)
- For the front, pop up the hood and similarly loosen the bolts on top of the front shocks. For the front since the setup is different you need to unlink the upper control arm and then get the shock off.
3. Use the compressor to uninstall the original spring. Put the new spring on. NOTE: use markers to make sure the new springs are installed to the same direction and tell the front/rear ones. Don't mistake one for the other.
4. Install the shock back to the car and tighten all the bolts.
5. Test drive and let it settle.
When I got them installed, I didn't see much of a drop on both sides. I took the car out for a drive, for 10 mins. There came the drop, but not that much. I could tell clearly that the passenger side was lower than the driver side. The driver side seemed to have not changed at all. So I plan on driving it for another 200 miles and do the alignment afterwards. Hope it would settle, after 200 miles!
11/29/16
**************
Update, 12/03/16:
I drive the car quite a lot, both on highway and locally for like 140 miles. The passenger side, both the front and rear are lowered a lot. However, it didn't seem right for the driver side. The difference is so significant. So I reschedule the alignment with Steve to next Sat. Maybe it needs some more time or something else. We will see!!
**************
Update, 12/06/16:
Went to SJF this Tuesday mid week for some check. He did loosen all suspension part and tighten them. It helped, but only a bit. The driver side is still much higher than the passenger side.
**************
Update, 12/10/16:
Update, 12/10/16:
I put another 100 miles on the car before Sat appointment with Steve. Finally I get it aligned and there must be something off. Will check it out with soul coughing or Billman I think.
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