Springs

[Craig]

What aftermarket spring will lower my X the least? I do not want to go too low as I dont want to scrape all over the place.

I've noticed that most springs lower about 1.5" do you guys have a problem with this around town? Which manufacturer(s) will lower the car only 1" or even 1.25"?

My car is not a daily driver but I do use it around town occasionally.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Craig,

You have two choices:

Eibach Pro-Kit (I have these, 1" lower)

The other choice is bilstien shocks that have an adjustable lower spring perch from CGI Motorsports. I hear these are really nice, not as firm as Koni's. Talk to Phil Mirenda at CGI.
http://www.cgimotorsports.com/

HTH,
LarryB

 

[Chris W]

What aftermarket spring will lower my X the least?

With the exception of Comptech, most aftermarket springs are designed to lower the car at least 1 inch. I would suggest going with the Eibach's. I just installed them on my X two days ago and I can't believe how great these springs are. They lowered my car about 1 1/4" and it looks awesome. I purchased them strictly for aesthetics but I feel I got more than my money's worth because I personally think they ride smoother than the stock set-up. As for scraping, I have not had a problem going in/out of driveways yet. I practiced the method of approaching bumps/curbs at an angle even before I lowered it so it's second nature for me to use caution with such obstacles. I bought them from Dali Racing delivered to my door for $300 on sale. For now I'm using the OEM shocks and am very satisfied.

Larry mentioned the lower spring perch on the Bilstein shocks. I think the lower perch will give you about a 3/4" drop with OEM springs. This combo would be my second choice. If you are lowering it for LOOKS then you may not notice much of a difference with this set up. Let us know what you decide to do.

 

[Craig]

Thanks for the great advice, Just what I was looking for.

 

[dswartz]

Chris W, is yours a coupe or -T and what year? I'm about to put the Eibach's on my 98 coupe.

 

[Chris W]

Mine is a '93 coupe.

 

[nel]

Originally posted by Chris W:
What aftermarket spring will lower my X the least?

With the exception of Comptech, most aftermarket springs are designed to lower the car at least 1 inch. I would suggest going with the Eibach's. I just installed them on my X two days ago and I can't believe how great these springs are. They lowered my car about 1 1/4" and it looks awesome. I purchased them strictly for aesthetics but I feel I got more than my money's worth because I personally think they ride smoother than the stock set-up. As for scraping, I have not had a problem going in/out of driveways yet. I practiced the method of approaching bumps/curbs at an angle even before I lowered it so it's second nature for me to use caution with such obstacles. I bought them from Dali Racing delivered to my door for $300 on sale. For now I'm using the OEM shocks and am very satisfied.

Larry mentioned the lower spring perch on the Bilstein shocks. I think the lower perch will give you about a 3/4" drop with OEM springs. This combo would be my second choice. If you are lowering it for LOOKS then you may not notice much of a difference with this set up. Let us know what you decide to do.

Chris,
Hate to bring an old subject back, but do you think the Eibach springs are lighter than stock? Is the spring's weight considered unsprung?

Right now I'm waiting for the Bilstein shocks, but I may cancel the back-order and go with Eibach springs if they're significantly lighter than stocks. Your advice?

Thanks, Chris.

 

[Ken YZ F1]

Chris,
I'm sure you put on your own springs. How hard is it? I changed springs on an old VW Scirocco many years ago, but would like your opinion on the amount of dificulty. I do have a spring compressor.
Ken

 

[Lud]

Originally posted by Chris W:
Larry mentioned the lower spring perch on the Bilstein shocks. I think the lower perch will give you about a 3/4" drop with OEM springs.

The lower setting on the Bilsteins w/ stock springs gives 7/8" drop.

 

[Chris W]

nel,
The beauty of Eibach springs are that they are slightly lighter that OEM and are a progressive rate springs which means as the turns get tighter the springs get stiffer. There are things you can do to reduce unsprung weight even more.ie;(lighter wheels/tires or brakes). Heavy aftermarket 17/18" wheels will add to the unsprung weight thus making it much harder to dampen the vehicle and puts more stress on OEM shocks. Thus, shock selection is much more critical.

The first thing that happened after I installed my springs was I noticed that I developed a leak in my rear shock. IMO the OEM shock/Eibach spring combo is a good choice but I feel the OEM shocks are working much harder to dampen the vehicle and it probably won't take too long to wear the OEM shocks out; especially if your NSX is older and still have the original shocks. If this is the case I would still order the Bilsteins and replace them when you do the spring install at the same time. Take it from me. I ended up having to install my springs TWICE in one week after my OEM shocks failed immediately after the first install. I say spend the extra cash and do it the right way the first time. My $.02.

Ken YZ F1,
You are correct. I did do the spring install myself. It would have been easier with two people but I managed with basic tools and skills. This was the first suspension job I've ever done so it took me longer since I wanted to be careful and not make stupid mistakes. Since you've done one before you shouldn't have any problems.

You WILL need your spring compressor to compress the OEM springs in order to remove them safely from the damper assembly. It may add 5-10 minutes per corner but it will take longer for an ambulance to get you to the nearest hospital if something goes wrong without the use of them.

As far as difficulty, the hardest part is removing the OEM damper assemblies from the vehicle because you really need to press down hard on the rotor assemblies far enough to allow the shocks to clear the lower a-arms and drop out. Contrary to some people, you DO NOT have to remove the bolts from the lower a-arm to remove the damper assemblies. You will create a lot of unnecessary work and headaches for yourself if you do.
TIP: Leave one of the nuts attached at the top of the damper assembly to prevent it from falling to the ground once it is free. Having a second person to hold the assembly will prevent needing to leave the nut attached. I did the install BY MYSELF so it was a big help for me to do this.

You won't need the spring compressors to reinstall the new Eibachs since they are shorter. All you need to do is push down on the top plate of the dampter assembly enough to put the nut on and them simply tighten with your wrench the rest of the way.

Plan on a good 1 to 1/12 hours per corner to do the install by yourself with basic shop tools and with no complications.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[nel]

Originally posted by Chris W:
...I would still order the Bilsteins and replace them when you do the spring install at the same time....

Advice taken. Thanks, Chris.
-Nick

 

[weiku]

Does anyone need a set of Eibach springs? I have my set for sale, but it will be 2 weeks or so until I can send them out because I have to fix my brake hoses first so I can drive to the dealer to swap springs.

Andie