Suspension & Ground Clearance

[Electro]

I Have a few questions about suspension and ground clearance:

1. - For those of you who have lowered your car, have you had any problems with ground clearance? I ask this b/c i want to drop my car, but only enough to give it the look i want...and keep it from scraping all over the place...

2. - For those of you who have lowered your car and have ground FX - is it even drivable? I mean looking at the marga hills kit for example - its been dropped and has some pretty low ground fx... it doesnt look like it is even capable of going out on the city streets without ripping those beautiful pieces apart! what do u think?

3. - Anti-sway bars - In comparison of the Dali Titanium sway bars and the Dali Aluminum bars... other than the price difference, would you be able to feel a considerable difference in handling? I'm leaning more towards the Titanium bars just because they're titanium... and it sounds stronger...


Thanks guys! -Electro

 

[TES]

1. I have H&R springs and Bilstein shocks...the look is great, however ground clearance can definitely be a problem. You just have to be careful and think ahead...take everything at an angle, and go slow over speed bumps.

2. With this set-up the RM spoiler didn't last long...scrapped on everything...then finally gave away when it caught a flaw in the asphalt and tore a hole in it. (going into a bank entrance) I've been driving without the lower front lip for about 6 months now....ugly, but no scrapping issues. I'm waiting for my Wings West lip to show up...hopefully it'll last, and it appears it will provide a quite a bit more clearance than the RM.

3. Anti-sway bars...I have the Dali street version and I really like them...keeps the car even flatter...they're steel. I believe your talking about the titanium or aluminum strut bar in the engine compartment...that's purely for looks.

 

[94NSXGUY]

I lowered my car 1.3 inches (LOOK AT PICS 94NSXGUY) I have had ZERO problems. If you crank your wheel all the way to the right it rubs a little. I also have 18 inch wheels in the front and 19s in the rear.

Be prepairde to replace the chin scoop every 3K miles with your oil changes.....

[This message has been edited by 94NSXGUY (edited 01 December 2000).]

 

[Electro]

Also, when you put lowering springs on the NSX is it neccessary to do the shocks also? Or can you use the stock ones? How does lowering it with the stock shocks affect ride quality? (i live in a downtown area - many potholes and man hole covers to watch out for!) Thanks -E

 

[Nsxotic]

It is perfectly fine to lower the car and keep the original shocks...... The only handling improvements you will get by lowering a car is at very high speed.(120+) By lowering the car, you decrease the area between the tire and the wheel well, thus keeping air from swirling and lifting the car at high speeds... The only 'need' to lower is if you put larger than stock wheels on the car, increasing the gap, and if you drive at high speeds... the rest is purely cosmetic.

------------------

Todd Arnold
http://www.geocities.com/nsxcessive/index.html

 

[Electro]

Well obviously there's also a handling improvment in cornering at any speed b/c you are lowering the car's center of gravity...

 

[TES]

94NSXGUY,

I'm confused...if you've had "ZERO problems" with ground clearance then why would you suggest to "be prepared to replace the chin scoop every 3K miles with your oil changes"?

 

[TampaBayNSX-R]

I lowered my car with Eibach springs and run Bilstein shocks and Dali track swaybars. I also have the WingsWest kit on my car. My car sits about 1.3" lower than stock which was enough for the cosmetic effect of eliminating most of the wheel well gap. As for drivability, it's fine. Yes, you need to be aware of sharp changes in road pitch such as going into or out of parking lots. I simply take it slow and come in at an angle. I have exactly 4.5" of clearance at the center of the front air dam. Hope this helps.

 

[PUREVIL]

Hey Electro,

I've lowered mine 1.5 inches and I have the wings west air dam, and I haven't rubbed it on anything! But thats because I've had lots of experience driving and riding in low rider trucks and cars. Your going to have to take every drive way and approach at a angle, wide angles on some! Also at full cornering loads my wheels dont rub, lock to lock. I suggest getting coilovers so you can tailor the ride height to where you live and drive. I'm getting them because I wannt lower my car even more. I can get away with another 1 inch in front and .5 in back. I also suggest getting coilovers that have the treaded shock bodies, not the what I call "add a coilover" where they give you treaded collars that go over your stock shocks. In my experience the stock shocks will blow out if you drive with it slammed. But if you drop the NSX 1.5 its safe, I think anything more than 2 inches you may wanna replace the shocks with some aftermarket ones. When I get coilovers I want to get sway bars too. I mean why tear apart the car twice, right? You may want to consider those too. My 2 cents.

[This message has been edited by PUREVIL (edited 01 December 2000).]

 

[Electro]

So what are the different types of coilovers? What are they exactly? Isnt it an adjustable shock with a spring around it? Not too familiar with that...

If it allows me to adjust ride height, cost effectively, then i'll get some!

 

[PUREVIL]

Electro,

That is a picture of what I call "add on coilovers". Those are ground controls. They use the stock shocks.

These are coilovers with treaded shock bodies.

You can adjust both 0-3 inches. You can adjust the spring height which in turn raises or lowers the car. On some of the more expensive setups you can adjust the shock valving for firmness. The ground controls are around 300 and the comptechs are around 1300 to 4300.

 

[Electro]

How do you adjust the ground control coil overs? What kind of tools do you need to do the adjustments and is it a pain? is it something that can be done in a few minutes? I would assume so...

Thanks -E

 

[PUREVIL]

Electro,

Based on obeserving my friends experience with them they have mixed opinions. Some like em some don't. Sometimes if you go with the add on type your stock shocks will blow out if you drive the car really low, then it will bounce around like crazy! SO I suggest, if you plan on driving it lowered beyond 2 inches to get shocks too. In my opinion hey aren't hard to coil up or down, but again some of my friends think it is. Its not a quick 5 minute job either you can expect to spend at least a half hour maybe even more coiling the car. Ground Control uses a special wrench, which is supplied to turn the collar to raise or lower the car. Its not easy but its not hard. They say if you spray off the threads before turning the collar makes it much easier. I guess little sand and dirt particles get in there and make it hard to turn. You have to jack the car up to raise or lower. Some can do it with the wheels on some cant. I don't know why that is. Hope that helps more.


[This message has been edited by PUREVIL (edited 04 December 2000).]

 

[94NSXGUY]

I really don't call that a "PROBLEM" It gets scratch up a bit, thats all... Problem is bottoming out, tires rubing on u turns etc...