Few questions before lowering car

**NeubJ** · 05-12-2003, 11:47 AM

I was debating on if I should lower my car or not-
Until I got some Neuspeed springs for damn cheap-
So now I am wondering if I can do this or that to save some money for the time being-

My back struts are now shot-so much so that it looks like the car is lowered in the back- (the wheel gap in the back with the bad struts is just what I am looking for--LOL) Everytime I look at the front I cringe. (I had the front struts replaced not too long ago)

Now I want to know if I could lower the front only for the time being with the Neuspeeds and konis-and replace the back struts with OEM type struts keeping the OEM springs in the back . Since I dont have the money right now for all four konis.(to me the front wheel gap has always been higher than the back-with brand new struts)
So it might not look to bad or end up looking like ..........

Would this cause major problems??
Does anyone have pics of their car if they have done this?

If I decide to wait for about 3 weeks -without replacing the shot struts-will I be causing damage to the back suspension (since I drive my car alot more than the average driver)? Or should I replace them and just wait awhile longer to lower?
I know it will cost more money to do this but I am worried if waiting till I have enough for all 4 konis will mess up the back end.

***AZmike*** · 05-12-2003, 01:23 PM

Having bad struts in the back will not make the car sit lower. The springs support all of the car's weight; all the struts do is dampening the oscillations produced when the car (supported the springs) hits a bump.

If you only install the front springs and struts your car will tend to understeer more, but nothing especially bad will happen. If you install all of you new springs, but leave the old struts in the rear your rear will just bounce more than it does now (again, nothing terrible will happen, just a poorly handling car). Spending money on OEM struts for the back would be a waste of money since they won't work well or last long.

Is there a reason that you're not waiting until you can afford adequate dampers before trying to install your springs?

**NeubJ** · 05-12-2003, 03:19 PM

Awhile back I needed to replace one of the front struts (waiting too long to replace them -the left one broke in half causing my front spring to bend and making the car undrivable)
So you can see my concern in waiting for the konis --

After I replaced the front two the car sits alot higher now then it did before-( I noticed the wheel gap difference right away) So I assumed the back has really bad struts now-(and taking it to a mechanic a few days ago I am told they are bad)
The back end was fine at that time I replaced the front -after some time the back end is sagging alot more now (and no I ddint add any extra weight in the trunk or such)

If its not the struts causing the car to sag then what is?

I would install neuspeed and konis in the front and keep the OEM spring and strut in the back-not install the neuspeeds on OEM struts in the back-Sorry for the wording above-(changed it)

***AZmike*** · 05-12-2003, 11:26 PM

The only reason your ride height might change with different struts is if they put the spring perches on the strut body at a different height than stock. Did the new ones look the same as the old ones when you installed them or did you not compare them very closely?

**NeubJ** · 05-14-2003, 11:00 AM

I can not answer that for you since I did not replace them I just bought the new struts and some bushings and took them over to a mechanic he did the rest -

As you can tell I am no car mechanic
So what is the spring perch?
(upper lower spring seats?)

**Jims 86LXI HB** · 05-14-2003, 11:22 AM

Originally posted by NeubJ
I was debating on if I should lower my car or not-
Until I got some Neuspeed springs for damn cheap-
So now I am wondering if I can do this or that to save some money for the time being-

My back struts are now shot-so much so that it looks like the car is lowered in the back- (the wheel gap in the back with the bad struts is just what I am looking for--LOL) Everytime I look at the front I cringe. (I had the front struts replaced not too long ago)

Now I want to know if I could lower the front only for the time being with the Neuspeeds and konis-and replace the back struts with OEM type struts keeping the OEM springs in the back . Since I dont have the money right now for all four konis.(to me the front wheel gap has always been higher than the back-with brand new struts)
So it might not look to bad or end up looking like ..........

Would this cause major problems??
Does anyone have pics of their car if they have done this?

If I decide to wait for about 3 weeks -without replacing the shot struts-will I be causing damage to the back suspension (since I drive my car alot more than the average driver)? Or should I replace them and just wait awhile longer to lower?
I know it will cost more money to do this but I am worried if waiting till I have enough for all 4 konis will mess up the back end.

Yes you can install the koni's on the front and only the front set of neuspeed lowering springs. And install new oem type (KYB GR-2's) struts in the rear with your stock springs. Keep in mind that your car will understeer more until you install the rear neuspeeds (with rear koni's I assume). But, if it was me, I'd wait the 3 weeks to do it right the first time around. Unless your bottoming out the rear right now that is. I dunno, seams like a waste of money to buy oem rears and only use them for such a short time, I think you should wait.