I'm playing with the idea of lowering my C4S. I don't plan to ever track my car so coilovers seem to be overkill so I was thinking of other options. Has anyone lowered their car with other options (i.e. lowering springs, different suspension components, etc) and what was your experience? Also, how low can you go and still drive without too much scraping? I know that even at stock height I scrap at times, so I know some scrapping is inevitable. Thanks...

 

How low is something only you can answer. It will depend on where and how you drive and if you need to clear any ramps to get into your driveway, for example. Something that is sometimes missed, I feel, is that there is something to be said for having a properly matched spring rates to your shocks. It really goes a long way in maintaining a good blend of ride quality and performance. Personally, I feel like adding in just springs will get you lower but you have zero control from there. It be what it be. Coilovers will most often come with springs that have been chosen for the shocks and how they have been set up. Furthermore, they will give you an opportunity to dial in your ride height to where you want it. With springs, if you're too low, well too bad. Try different springs. I find it a huge value add for any coilover system that features an independent ride height adjustment from spring preload. This allows you to set up your ride height to where you want it without affecting the shock travel length, which is hugely important. That's one of the reasons why I chose Ohlins R&T. They're pricy but worth it. If cost was a real issue I probably would have given Fortune Auto or Feal a shot as they both seem to have a great product that checked my boxes.

 

I lowered my 4s with H&r lowering springs. I had to get adjustable toe arms too.

After

Before I believe. Dropped an inch. I haven’t scrapped yet but I’m pretty careful.

 

Stock ride height 4 lyfe.

 

Before me

This RAISED 1.25 inches from previous owner Absolutely perfect now but the slammed look was nice just not in NYC JIC/Cross suspension on 19” HRE 540R

 

Mine on H&R lowering springs

 

NY: Agree, your height now is spot on.

I noticed with mine, it made the rear 18x11’s look smaller so I added 15mm spacers to counter. Not shown above, see below.

H&r, bilstein b8’s and 15mm spacers all around. As mentioned, adjustable toe arms needed. Cost to install was roughly 1700 all in with alignment. I didn’t have the stomach to do it alone.

 

Most coilovers will allow you to go lower than any of the "lowering springs" do. With my PSS10's I was able to get to GT3 height, that was a little low for me so I raised it to GT2 height. Which is 118mm front, 138mm rear. That's 40mm lower in front from stock and 30mm in the rear. I had the car aligned to GT2 specs with the stock rear toe arms, all came in perfect. In the future if I want to go up or down I can, I like that aspect. My vote go coilovers, also the ride quality is night and day better than it was.

Only picture I have so far

 

I did Bilstein B8s and H+R Lowering spring on mine. Happy with stance, but also had to buy adjustable toe arms and rear upper control arms to get my specs into something that was tolerable for the street and didn’t absolutely destroy tires. So, be prepared and go in with you eyes open. Coilovers would be nice , as you could maybe raise ride height just a little to get past any alignment issues.

 

Bilstein B8’s with H&R lowering springs are a good combo as they’re designed to be used together. Koni/Eibach also make some combo packages but they seem to be few and far between for the all wheel drive cars. All this being said, where I found the B8/H&R combo to be lacking was in ride quality - it was pretty harsh. Granted, it was much better than the worn out stock setup my car came with but compared to the coil overs I’m on now, it was very harsh. Handling was fine and the look was great...Obviously, price is the big difference - the B8’s got me a few years til I was able to find a sweet deal on some super coil overs, and I was also able to sell the B8’s with the H&R sport springs...

 

c210rg Thanks for the info. What wheels are you running. My C4S is also Seal Grey so I think seeing what different wheels look like on the actual car. I also see you swapped out the door handles. Was that a PITA or not a big deal and did you have to get them painted to match the car or did they come painted?

 

Bilstein B8's and H&R for me as well. It is low, but not terribly so. Ride is insanely good. No crashing etc.

 

Hey, the wheels are Victor Stabils, Rear 18x10.5 ET-55 Front 18x8.5 ET-45. The original owner who I bought the car from had ordered them in gun metal to try and match the seal grey paint, see picture. The door handles are stock as far as I know. Hope this helps. Here is a link to wheels. https://www.victorequipmentwheels.co...ims-stabil.php

 

Lowered on Feal coilovers, Tarrett rear adjustable toe links, Powergrid drop links, Eibach sway bars, and rear 996 GT3 LCAs.

 

@rino924 get a load of this guy on Feals