Want to lower the front of my '95

[ykobayashi]

Guys,

After 17 years of owning my SVX I have come to the conclusion that the front wheel well has more "dead cat space" than I can tolerate. I would like to lower the front, but the back seems to be fine. Ultimately I would like to lower the car then install some larger aftermarket rims as I am growing bored of the OE rims and adds to the dated look of my baby.

I have done some research on our boards and am not finding any clear advice on which springs to use. It seems that Motorsports Warehouse makes progressive springs but I was reading that the rear springs tend to be on the lower side and causes rubbing in some cases. I would think that would be exacerbated by adding in aftermarket rims and tires. Would it be possible to just replace the front springs and leave the back ones stock?

Also I was reading that there are Koni's but those are now out of production. The Ground Controls seem too harsh and require a custom build of a specific Koni strut and GC spring combo.

Not sure what to do, love to hear your feedback! Thanks!

Yoshi

[svxfiles]

If you just want to lower the front end for looks, feel free to just replace the front springs with Dayles springs.
The spring rates of Dayles are not incompatable with the soft stock springs.

[smc]

http://reno.craigslist.org/pts/3317279568.html

[92 SVX]

You could get the custom coil overs that are now being made and just get spring rates that are more in line with what you want. I would imagine you can get them as soft as stock if you wanted.
Custom Coilovers would give you the ability to lower the car any way you want, or even raise the rear and lower the front.

[icingdeath88]

^ I disagree. If you are going lower, you ought to go at least a little stiffer, to prevent rubbing, while turning or on bumps.

Originally Posted by smc

http://reno.craigslist.org/pts/3317279568.html

Those are Dayle's, and that is a very good deal. Good find.

And, yes, you can definitely change just the front springs to those if you want to.

[92 SVX]

Originally Posted by icingdeath88

^ I disagree. If you are going lower, you ought to go at least a little stiffer, to prevent rubbing, while turning or on bumps.



Those are Dayle's, and that is a very good deal. Good find.

And, yes, you can definitely change just the front springs to those if you want to.

I agree with this, I think 200 front would be the min spring rate I would ever go with, I personally went lots more for better handling.

[ykobayashi]

Excellent feedback guys! SMC, I contacted that gentleman on Craigslist, thank you! If I get these springs, do you know what the drop is on these? Would it be worth just getting all four done?

Secondly, if I were to buy aftermarket rims (which is the final plan) would I expect rubbing to occur as Icing Death has suggested if I used them?

Thanks again for all the great feedback!

Yoshi

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by ykobayashi

Excellent feedback guys! SMC, I contacted that gentleman on Craigslist, thank you! If I get these springs, do you know what the drop is on these? Would it be worth just getting all four done?

These are the same springs as are advertised here: http://svx-motorsport-accessories.st...opsprings.html

So they are the ones that are often reputed to be too low in the back. If I were you, I'd do the fronts first and see how you like it, and then if you want the back lower too, you can always do that later. My first SVX (white one in my photo album if you want to see) had the front springs cut by one coil, to drop them before I got the car. That's the "wrong way" to lower the car, obviously, and it was definitely too much of a drop - used to scrape on speedbumps and stuff, and since the back wasn't lowered at all, it sometimes felt, just slightly, that the car was leaned forward. The motorsport warehouse springs don't drop enough that I think you will feel that, and if you do just the front ones, then you shouldn't rub on anything.

Originally Posted by ykobayashi

Secondly, if I were to buy aftermarket rims (which is the final plan) would I expect rubbing to occur as Icing Death has suggested if I used them?

Depends on how crazy big of rims you get. The PO of my white car that I mentioned before, also had 19"s on it, and it rubbed through the fender liners in the front. But that's an extreme case. I think as long as you don't go too wide or too big, and get appropriately sized tires, you'll be fine. Did you have any particular set of wheels in mind?

[ykobayashi]

yeah so I went into "radio silence" there for a few months, Holidays and the new year, job changes, etc.

Now that spring is approaching I am focusing back onto bringing the SVX out of storage and doing some of the things that I wanted to do to it last year.

I contacted Motorsport Warehouse and spoke with Dayle. I asked him about just replacing the fronts and he insists that I should do all four as they are progressive and the handling characteristics will be out of whack if I only do the fronts. I expressed that some folks had said that the back springs were a bit low but he said that they were not and sent me pictures of his car.
I am on the verge of getting these springs from Motorsport Warehouse though they seem to be a bit steep at $375 I figure that any mods for the SVX will not be cheap since its truly a cottage industry that is sustained by SVX enthusiasts like ourselves.

IcingDeath, appreciate the feedback about the rims! With my mods, I am focusing in on 1) Reversible 2) Subtle, factory like. Therefore I am probably looking at something fairly conservative like 225/45 R 18s or something close to that, that would be the max. I would even be willing to pull back further if it risked rubbing.

I know that the SVX stockies have a deep offset like +52 or something like that so I know going any larger than that can potentially cause rubbing issues and what not. The offset, exacerbated by lowered springs and larger wheels can result in a not too happy situation. Which I do not want. So I would be willing to go more conservative with the wheels than more radical.

So here are my questions I am hoping you guys can help me with:

1) Would you guys recommend that I change out the struts since the struts are OE and therefore 17 years old, the same time I swap out the springs?
2) Anybody have any other ideas or recommendations before I jump into getting the springs from Motorsport Warehouse?
3) What is the right rim/tire size that will keep me clear of rubbing if I were to get new rims and tires based on lowering with the Motorsports Warehouse?

Thanks!

Yoshi

[bishop]

1) A lot of member have replaced with stock struts but they have also reported that they go bad fairly quickly, though for the price id say they are worth the chance. I've only ever heard good things about Koni/GC except from people here but if/when i do my suspension thats what i plan on doing.

3) i really think 17" is the perfect size wheel for these cars and there is a great selection of them, not to mention less chance of rubbing and leaving the wheels looking more full with the brakes.

[ykobayashi]

Okay so other than Bishop (by the way, Bishop, thanks for the advice! Good point on the 17s, I think I may go with them and avoid any potential rubbing issues, also I have heard that the ride gets pretty harsh with the 18s) can I take you guy's silence for "go ahead with the Motorsport Warehouse springs"? One last thing I was thinking about, if I was on limited funds (which I am) should I change out tires and rims first or just bite the bullet and put on the new springs?

Thanks guys for any feedback!

Yoshi

[92 SVX]

I like the way 18's look, though the tire size you would want is the more common 225/40/18. Much less tire side wall to potentially rub. Though that could also bring more of the "harsh" ride that you hear reported.
rim size needs to be at minimum +48 offset or you can introduce rubbing just because of how far out the rim placement is. I think a 18x8 rim is just about the right size. I have seen 18x8.5 rims that work but then you get into potential rubbing because of width.
17's (such as the sti bbs's) can fit very well and look good, the slight difference between 17 and 18's is more of a personal choice.
I have 18x8 +48 offset with 225/40/18's with custom coil overs and before that dayles motorsport springs I will put a couple of pics up to show.


and with coil overs



let me say that was first putting the coil overs on, the car is not still that low, but still quite a bit lower then when on dayles springs.
as a comparison here is one pic of 18's, dont know the offset or width as I sold those rims long time ago, just stock springs.

[ykobayashi]

WOW! That looks so tight and clean! Thank you SO much for posting those pics! Pretty much confirms that doing this is the right thing for the SVX. Your car in that configuration looks, as someone put it "10 years newer"!

So just for clarification, the first two pics are with Dayle's springs and the second two are with coil overs? So my question is, why did you switch from Dayle's springs to coil overs?

Thanks again for the info!!!

Yoshi

[92 SVX]

Originally Posted by ykobayashi

WOW! That looks so tight and clean! Thank you SO much for posting those pics! Pretty much confirms that doing this is the right thing for the SVX. Your car in that configuration looks, as someone put it "10 years newer"!

So just for clarification, the first two pics are with Dayle's springs and the second two are with coil overs? So my question is, why did you switch from Dayle's springs to coil overs?

Thanks again for the info!!!

Yoshi

yes the first 2 pics were with dayles springs, the second 2 on custom coil overs.
I mainly switched because as you can see in the first 2 pics the rear seems to sit lower then the front. I had some rubbing issues before these current rims the rims were +34 offset 18x8.5 and even with these rims if I had baggage in the trunk hard turns could cause rubbing. I also wanted stiffer springs, I dont care for the comfort of the ride as much as I like the handling.
So with these I have very stiff springs, the body rarely has any roll but for most people these would be too harsh for a daily driver.
But the nice thing about the custom part of the set up you can order springs with any stiffness you like, soft as stock (or dayles) or firmer but not harsh, or fully race ready.

[INVADR]

Hmm, as if I wasn't already sold on Dayle's springs, your photos did it. I think the drop looks awesome. And if the rear sits too low, for me, I'll have some of those strut-top spacers made to raise the rear a smidge. I should be able to get away with the 17x9 +45 wheels I'm looking at.

I'm sure coilovers will happen for me, when the (now, new) oem struts crap out, but for the time being, the springs will do the trick.