Lowering springs question

[Tbreezy]

I have a question about lowering springs, I'm looking for a 1 or 1.5in drop. My friend says it makes the car perform worse, wouldn't it increase the center of gravity and increase handling? Would the car ride just as smooth as oem springs? I have bilsteins with oem springs and I like this ride. If I were to get the Eibach pro kit lowering springs would the ride be just as smooth? Would the spring rates make the shocks go out faster? Also my friends told me get just 18s and 19s without Lowering the car. I think it would raise the body height and make it look like a monster truck. What do you guys think?

 

[Honcho]

You need to stop listening to your friends.

Lowering springs will generally improve handling because they lower the center of gravity of the car. However, lowering springs also increase the ride harshness of the car because of dynamic spring rate change over the length of the spring. Therefore, lowering springs will ride worse than taller springs at the same rate, all else being equal, but your car will handle slightly better.

The Eibach springs you reference are progressive, meaning they have a soft initial spring rate that stiffens up as the spring compresses. This is not optimal for handling, but will mitigate some of the harshness gained from lowering the car. Because the Eibach lowers about the same amount as the Bilstein lower perch and is about the same spring rate as OEM, you probably won't notice much difference from your current setup, other than a lighter wallet. The Eibachs will not hurt your shocks because they are about the same rate as the OEM springs.

Adding 18 or 19 inch wheels to your NSX would be about the worst thing you could do for performance. Those wheels are very heavy compared to the forged 15,16, and 17 inch OEM wheels. Your NSX will accelerate slower, brake longer and not turn as sharply with these big "bling" wheels. Because wheels are unsprung weight, the bad effect on performance is amplified even more. Therefore, the only reason to go with these big rims is because you like the way it looks. In that case, it doesn't matter if your NSX is slower. If you like the look but don't want to give up performance, you can find some lightweight forged 18" wheels, but they are very expensive.

 

[Tbreezy]

You need to stop listening to your friends.

Lowering springs will generally improve handling because they lower the center of gravity of the car. However, lowering springs also increase the ride harshness of the car because of dynamic spring rate change over the length of the spring. Therefore, lowering springs will ride worse than taller springs at the same rate, all else being equal, but your car will handle slightly better.

The Eibach springs you reference are progressive, meaning they have a soft initial spring rate that stiffens up as the spring compresses. This is not optimal for handling, but will mitigate some of the harshness gained from lowering the car. Because the Eibach lowers about the same amount as the Bilstein lower perch and is about the same spring rate as OEM, you probably won't notice much difference from your current setup, other than a lighter wallet. The Eibachs will not hurt your shocks because they are about the same rate as the OEM springs.

Adding 18 or 19 inch wheels to your NSX would be about the worst thing you could do for performance. Those wheels are very heavy compared to the forged 15,16, and 17 inch OEM wheels. Your NSX will accelerate slower, brake longer and not turn as sharply with these big "bling" wheels. Because wheels are unsprung weight, the bad effect on performance is amplified even more. Therefore, the only reason to go with these big rims is because you like the way it looks. In that case, it doesn't matter if your NSX is slower. If you like the look but don't want to give up performance, you can find some lightweight forged 18" wheels, but they are very expensive.

Okay thanks, I knew my friend was being dumb. I'll probably keep the same rims I have on currently. My friend also says that coil overs give up ride quality too, which didn't really make any sense to me since the coils I was thinking getting were getting Megan racing coil overs and they come with adjustable ride height and dampering. I thought that coil overs gave the same ride quality and lower ride height if you adjusted it to your liking. Can you shine some light on this? :redface:

 

[jaffaz32]

I recently bought lowering springs so thought i would share my research.

On oem Shocks you can lower the car too much and will keep blowing shocks (apparently)

Tein didn't drop the car enough and different amount from front to rear.
Eibach discontinued i believe
Swift discontinued (perfect setup in my opinion)
H&R drop 1.5" and was too much for me but they are meant to be a great spring.
Tanabe drop 1.3" this is what i went for, stiffer spring rates than the rest and are meant to be a great spring.


then you also have progressive and linear springs which one will compress the same regardless how you turn the other the initial turn in will be soft for comfort and then stiffer as you turn in hard.

Advantages for both but comfort vs performance, surely for performance you want a consistent compression?

In other words, don't just base the purchase on the amount of drop, look at the type of spring and spring rates.

 

[tof]

Re coilovers: Spring and shock design and construction can vary widely in terms of cost, quality, ride, handling, and durability. Suspension performance design is always a compromise. As an example, a lowered firmer suspension may perform better on smooth surfaces but may lack the compliance to work well on rougher roads.

Most coilovers will come with higher spring rates (stiffer) and the ride will be firmer. If you spend less than a couple grand on coilovers the build quality of the shocks may not be up to NSX oem standards. You could end up with a rougher ride and poorer handling. But at least you will look good. ;-) At the high end you can find aftermarket coilovers that provide ride and handling characteristics that are actually both better than OEM. Expect to pay $3-5K though.

Think of aftermarket suspension components this way: There will always be a trade-off between cost, ride, and handling. If you want the best in one area you will have to be prepared to give up something in one or both of the others.

One final bit of advice...before you spend money, think about what you use your car for, what driving conditions you encounter, and what you like in a car's ride. You also might want to check out Dali Racing's articles on suspension "upgrades" here and other Internet resources. Not everything on the Internet is true (shock!) but there is more knowledge to be gained there than from a friend, unless the friend in question happens to be a suspension engineer.