• Protip: Profile posts are public! Use Conversations to message other members privately. Everyone can see the content of a profile post.

A few reflections on lowering

Joined
4 September 2000
Messages
213
As a member of the "don't mess with what Mother Honda created" crowd, I thought fellow members of this elite group might like to hear my thoughts after performing my first modification -- as some may remember, I installed a set of Eibachs.

First, my car looks incredible now -- I am stunned at how much wider, lower and more exotic it looks than before. Every once in a while I drive it to work, and sometimes I go out to the parking garage just to look at it -- makes a dull day just a little more bearable.

Second, I have noticed a pronounced improvement in handling feel from the lower cg, with no noticable difference in ride quality.

Third, it may just be my imagination, but the car feels lower and wider from the inside, too. The view over the hood seems all the more exotic and video gamesque.

It occurs to me that this is the way the car should have been from the beginning. The elves at Honda probably had the car at the ride height I have it at now, and then some bean counter/liability hag/warranty lawyer told them to raise it so that the random secretary who buys an NSX because its "cute" wouldn't tear the nose off bounding into the Safeway parking lot.

So now, I have a new view on modifications --to the extent the you are correcting the
corporate-think-dumb-it-down-to-the-lowest common-denominator shortcomings of the NSX, you should proceed with vigor. Now, for that supercharger I've been thinking about...
 
Originally posted by DeHaldaswerth:
The elves at Honda probably had the car at the ride height I have it at now, and then some bean counter/liability hag/warranty lawyer told them to raise it so that the random secretary who buys an NSX because its "cute" wouldn't tear the nose off bounding into the Safeway parking lot.

My car is at the stock ride height and I sure wouldn't want it any lower. The air dam scrapes enough as it is. In fact, I'm about to replace the struts, so I have the opportunity to lower the car, but I'm not going to do so.

I guess I must be a "random secretary" who bought it because it's cute, huh?

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 21 March 2002).]
 
I agree, while the look can often be impressive lowered, I can't see getting around during the day any lower than my car currently is (stock).

I too am apparently a secretary drawn by the cuteness
wink.gif
 
how is the ride in your opinion as compared to the stock ride? is it noticably stiffer? does the car bounc down the street? can you feel each crack inthe road now? did you ahve to adjust the alignment or camber?

can you post a photo of your car with the new springs?

lots of questions huh?
smile.gif



thanks!
ERic
 
The roads here aren't particularly great, but I rarely have problems despite running H&Rs which are even lower than Eibachs. My only concern is getting high centered on an extra large speed bump. As for dragging the front skirt in driveways etc., who cares? It's expendable and easily replaced, and I don't worry about it looking scuffed up on the corners until I wear large holes clear through it. It seems and extremely small price to pay.
 
Ah, c'mon guys -- I laugh in the face of spoiler scrapes. Acutally, I've driven the car quite a bit since it was lowered, and havn't scraped once. Maybe that's one of the benefits of living in Arizona. BTW, I scraped more times in my C5 Corvette than I can count.

All things considered, the improvements which are derived from a modest lowering far outweigh the occasional spoiler scuff.

ERic, the ride is unchanged, except I perceive less body roll than before. Also, there have been some very accurate before and after Eibach pics posted to NSXPrime. I have many pics, but am to much of a moron to figure out how to post them.
 
Originally posted by DeHaldaswerth:
First, my car looks incredible now -- I am stunned at how much wider, lower and more exotic it looks than before. Every once in a while I drive it to work, and sometimes I go out to the parking garage just to look at it -- makes a dull day just a little more bearable.

Glad to hear it! I'm getting my Eibachs installed in about a week and I'm looking forward to reducing the gap between my sidewalls and the fenders.

Are you running the stock size wheels and tires? I have 215/40/17 & 255/35/18.


------------------
'91 Black/Black
 
I was looking at some pics of my car recently in it's stock ride height setup, and I just couldn't realize how much of a difference 3/4 of an inch drop can do for the posture of my NSX. WOW!!! I couldn't believe how high the car used to look.

------------------
1995 NSX-T
1999 3.2TL
2001 Odyssey
1992 SC400
 
I lowered mine with Bilsteins. I love it. Looks like it should, still rides comfortable on the street, feels better in the corners, but oh yeah, I also went with stiffer anti-sway bars & new toe-links, so I can't say the lowering is the only reason it handles better. I have only found one steep driveway into a gas station where I hit now and I didn't used to. So now I use their other driveway that isn't so steep.

Fritz
 
Michigan NSX--

I have the stock tires and wheels. I'm sure that yours will look all the better with increased wheel size. I'd love to go with 17/18s but I still havn't decided which wheels will acutally look better than the factory wheels. (I was just about to pull the trigger and buy Advan 7s, but got cold feet at the last minute). Anyway, I'm sure that you will be shocked at how great your car looks when the springs are installed (pun intended
smile.gif
)


[This message has been edited by DeHaldaswerth (edited 21 March 2002).]
 
Originally posted by DeHaldaswerth:
I'd love to go with 17/18s but I still havn't decided which wheels will acutally look better than the factory wheels. (I was just about to pull the trigger and buy Advan 7s, but got cold feet at the last minute).

Why don't you get the Bridgestone GC-07c's from ScienceofSpeed. They look EXACTLY like the OEM 16/17 7-spoke wheels!
http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/exterior_performance_products/NSX/wheels/Bridgestone_GC-07C/default_sub.asp
 
DeHaldaswerth,

I know exactly how you feel, because last month I had the same experience, but not with Eibachs.

I did my first two mods at the same time: a Tubi exhaust and Dali street anti-sway bars. Now the car sounds like the way Acura should have made it sound, and it corners with minimum sway, like the way Acura should have made it. These are such easy things to do, and neither mod creates any new problem (performance compromise). The 2002 edition finally does have thicker anti-sway bars, so we're right in thinking that the factory is slow to catch on, or act.

There is no question that lowering makes the car look way better, but there is a cost: you have to be very careful where you drive, so you don't destroy the air dam and things underneath. I remain open to this lowering mod, but I'll need more convincing before I try it.

------------------
NSXY
95 NSX-T, 5 sp, Red/Tan, Tubi exhaust, Dali street anti-sway bars, Dunlop SP9000s
 
NSXY --

You are exactly right about the trade off of lowering -- in essence, when you lower the car, you realign the factory imposed "compromise equation". In other words, you make less of an allowance for driveways and speed bumps, and it return, you get a car that looks lower, meaner, and more purposeful. However, if you are willing to be careful and approach driveways at an angle, you won't have any more trouble with scraping than you do now when you don't pay attention to such things.

As for the whole compromise issue, one of the things I find so facinating about Formula 1 is that the engineering is uncompromised and focused on the purpose at hand -- getting around the track in as little time as possible. Race cars in general look cool for exactly this reason, and the street moders try to mimic that look. The problem with cars that are sold to the average consumer is that they are dumbed down to avoid warranty and liability issues. Bottom line is, if a person wants to be one of the herd, buy a minivan,turn the brain off, and wait for your next edition of Consumer Reports to come in the mail. As I see it, there are some really interesting ways to readjust the NSX's compromise equation more to the personal preference of the owner. I had really never looked at them until now.

BTW, I just received a set of Dali street bars, and I can't wait to put them on. I'd also love to participate in the next Tubi buy.

[This message has been edited by DeHaldaswerth (edited 22 March 2002).]
 
Originally posted by DeHaldaswerth:
if you are willing to be careful and approach driveways at an angle, you won't have any more trouble with scraping than you do now when you don't pay attention to such things.

I have plenty of trouble with scraping even though I ALREADY pay attention to such things and approach driveways at an angle.

Oh yeah, I'm a "random secretary" so I guess I don't know how to drive.

rolleyes.gif
 
It depends where you live. In AZ it might be no problem to run around with the car dropped 1-2 inches. In other parts of the country you will hardly be able to drive it anywhere if you lower it regardless of how you approach the inclines.
 
Lud makes a good point. If you live in a newer suburban area with generally level roads, where they have plenty of space when they're building, the driveways may be wide with gradual inclines. In big cities, there is more congestion. Downtown parking garages often contain entrance and exit ramps that were squeezed into limited space, where the inclines are steep and the width narrow.

I think the notion that Honda should have built the car lower to begin with ignores the fact that many owners may be driving the car in environments that are different from yours. I think their engineers knew exactly what they were doing. And I'm grateful.
 
Hi Mike,
Glad to hear you like the looks and handling of your NSX so much. You must also gain more satisfaction that you did the job yourself. A lowered NSX looks so much sleeker than a stock one. Just wondering whether you ever got the alignment specs close to stock or are they just a bet off. Calvin.

------------------
'00 NSX-T, silverstone/blk, #252
 
Hi Calvin --

Nice to hear from you. The alignment specs after the lowering were basically in range, except for the rear camber, which maxed out at -2.1 on one side and -2.4 on the other. Now that I have done the lowering, I feel like I can live with the alignment specs in return for the handling and appearance benefits.

As to the region of the country having an effect on scraping, I can imagine that it would indeed be difficult to negotiate some urban areas with any sports car, let alone one that had been lowered. Here in Arizona, I have not had any trouble. This morning, I found a few speed bumps to do a little testing, and there was no problem, even approaching from head on.
 
Once lowered I always was afraid of that terrible sound coming from the front lip scraping the ground (yes, I always try to drive obstacles at an angle but it does not always work...
frown.gif
)... now I ignore it. The car is still perfect (I would never accept otherwise) and the only unperfect part is the lip's lower part, and I know I can change it for 100$. So why care? You have to consider it a maintenance item, like brake pads or gas...
biggrin.gif
 
i don't mind scraping the scraper... that's what it's there for... i DO mind scraping the scraper when the mask is installed (ouch). but i'm going to install the bilsteins anyway.

i found a cure for the white "mask of death"... (produced after you scrape your pristine mask and all the white fuzzy stuff shows through...) get an automobile upholstery repair shop to cover the bottom part of the mask (where it scrapes) with black convertable top material... it's black all the way through and it's a lot tougher than the thin vinyl mask material.

it worked great on my '95...

------------------
Kaye & Trish
1998 NSX-T #176
Red/Tan
No mods...
NSXCA #108
 
Originally posted by Number 6:
i don't mind scraping the scraper... that's what it's there for... i DO mind scraping the scraper when the mask is installed (ouch). but i'm going to install the bilsteins anyway.

i found a cure for the white "mask of death"... (produced after you scrape your pristine mask and all the white fuzzy stuff shows through...) get an automobile upholstery repair shop to cover the bottom part of the mask (where it scrapes) with black convertable top material... it's black all the way through and it's a lot tougher than the thin vinyl mask material.

it worked great on my '95...



Another and yet cheaper option is to use an 8" long 2" black tape on the two corners. It works great, and every time you scrape it, you put a new piece.
 
DeHaldaswerth, any chance you could email me some of those pics of yours? My wife and I were talking about how much lowering can alter the look of the car (we've seen so many lowered C5's) and were wondering how the NSX would look (really, really good I get the feeling).
 
SPOOKYP --

I will be happy to in the next couple of days -- stay tuned.
 
I consider myself a 'purist' as well and totally agree with the lowering advantages for all the same reasons as originally mentioned. My thoughts and opinions exactly. Had H&R's on my black 91 and Comptech's on my yellow 01. Love 'em both. Gave both cars a much more aggressive/exotic look. The NSX begs to be lowered.....and I can't believe that I feel this way.
 
Back
Top