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I want to lower my car by 1" (I'm a pretty conservative guy), but I'll need handholding because I don't have a clue what to do or what to buy.

Which of these shops would be best to help me do this? Which shop is friendly to the clueless?

Is a drop a one day thing (including allignment)?

Does the shop order the parts or do I have to supply my own? (I assume I could do either one but just checking)

I would like to do a saturday thing at drivers image if they are open on saturday because they are close to my house, but It is possible I could drop it off on a weekday at one6 since I work near golf and algonquin and I think they aren't too far from that.

Anyone have the answers to these questions?

 
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1" isnt that much go with some H&Rs or something...

forget drivers image...one6 maybe they did rheins...youd have to ask him...Suja did mine...no shop is friendly to the clueless heh...

it CAN be a one day thing...(i dropped my car and then headed over to just tires right away...)

either or, you will probably save money by buying the parts yourself and then bringing it in...dont forget to get a camber kit...(i recommend spc)

just setup an appointment ahead of time and you wont have to worry about not getting your car done when you want it...

 
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Do any of the people from those shops ever show up here? It would be great if I could have a nice long dialog with them

 
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just call them...

 
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don't you have a hybrid?
is it ok to lower a hybrid and not affecting the gas mileage that kind of thing?

 
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Yes, if anything lowering it will increase FE.

The only consideration is the extra 200lbs in the back. I'm thinking of getting a full coilover setup and I'm hoping that will work out okay.

 
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ha yea you need to lighten up the rear or its gonna sag bad. goto garage kwai, one6 the people arent't very nice. and yea you can just have the shop order the springs. just make sure you get the right ones...most of them sag on sedans. i think goldline actually has a separate part for sedans.

 
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Whats the difference between coilovers and springs? I thought coilovers included springs?

 
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spring is only spring, coilover is both but you need good ones like tein basic

 
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Okay forget my last question. I went to kawi and went with a set of Tein SS's and spc front and rear camber kits. Not sure what my drop is going to be. I guess I'll let them decide what looks good with stock tires.

Thanks everyone for your help.

 
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holy crap you got best of the best. nice choice tho they are awesome. and they can adjust each one to whatever so its all even. dont forget alignment not sure if they can do it.

 
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They recommended ntb for the allignment.

 
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wow.. tein ss.s deng.. very nice choice.. kwai is good.. just get the alignment right awya.. i suggest not to wait for the car like what i did

 
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I think the guy I talked to was "Ben" He said the job would take about 4 hours.

I was going to probably drop it off in the morning and pick it up at lunch then maybe get an allignment on my way home after work. I assume you can pretty much walk in and get an allignment.

 
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no.. i suggest make an appointment.. i would suggest just tires.. coz i think they really know stuff bout lowered cars ya know

 
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NTB is fine too.. it's closer to kwai as well
just tell them your car is lowered with camber kit...
it's probably a good idea to buy the 1-year unlimited alignment since you might want to raise your car up for winter...

or you can talk to mike (deception2k1 something like that) to do the alignment in just tires.. its' by norridge though

 
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How far is norridge from arlington heights or chicago. I basicly take oakton to get home and if it is within 5 or so miles I'd like to have someone from here do the allignment just because he would know before hand what I want.

Btw, if mike reads this and remembers the franklin park just tires picking up a dunlop sp20 fe for a customer at their store that customer was me

 
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hmm that must have been a while ago. but ya if you wanna come see me for the alignment ill take car of ya.

 
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mike is ur car still sitting outside the shop

 
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I may just take you up on that. It looks like your shop isn't too far out of the way. Looks like it will only be an extra 7 miles to my drive.

 
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ya have deception do it.

 
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tein ss are not the best sorry they are only a few hundred more than the basics...if anything Flex's are decent but true Tein **** like the HA/RA stuff is badass...


and Mike you are teh alignment man!! :tu:

 
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Oh sure, burst my bubble. I bet you go to orphanages and tell the kids there is no santa clause too.

Heh. Just kidding there. I mostly just want a little drop and be able to adjust the firmness of the ride a little. That's why I went with the SS vs the basics vs the flex.

 
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if you want just a little drop, dont even get full coilovers...

 
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The reason for the coilovers is because my hybrid has ALOT of weight in the back and I will get a lot of sagging by using just springs. The colilovers will allow adjustment to more easily be able to level the car out.

I know its a lot of money for very little gain, but I'd rather do it right then have my car look realy bad.

BTW, has anyone here seen a drop on stock 14" alluminum wheels? I might have to end up getting 17s if the stock wheels look realy dumb.

 
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Another question. Originaly I was thinking 1" drop because I might be able to get away with not having to do an allignment. Since I decided on getting camber kits I'm thinking I might go lower. I don't want to tuck the tires. I just want it dropped enough to get rid of a lot of the gap to make the car look a little better.

I've seen drops from 1.5 to 2.5 inches, but Its realy hard to tell what would be good on my sedan.

I'm leaning toward 1.75 front 1.5 back. Any comments? Since I got coilovers that should give me the flexability to make my car look decent shouldn't it. That is decent for a hybrid

I plan on using my stock wheels for now in case that makes a difference. I'm not looking to win car shows just to have a car that people look at and think looks nice.

This is what my car looks like now. Sorry it's not a great picture but I hope you can get an idea in your head what kind of drop would work on it.

 
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Do you need a camber kit if you get a drop? Im looking to just springs and go with a 2.0 or so drop on 15's.

Would that require alignment?

Is this all a DIY kinda thing (install of camber kit and springs)?

 
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In my limited research I would say yes and yes. There is some good information over on the suspension forum. Definately a good place to do some reading if you want authorative answers.