djr777 Premium Member join:2005-01-25 Pacific Grove, CA |
djr777
Premium Member
2009-Oct-19 10:54 am
Coil/spring boosters to raise a car. Is it a good option? something like this |
My son is looking at a car he wants. The car has been lowered by a shop. It has 17 rims with low profile tires. He has a nicer set of tires on 16 Newer Rims but the tires are not as low profile as the ones on the car. They put his 16 rims and tires on to try them out. He likes the way they look but because his tires are not as low profile as the 17 tires the tires will rub if he hits a bump. Back in my day of lowered front ends with 70s tires and jacked up backs with 60s or 50s we would use air shocks or coil spacers/spring spacers to elevate them. Ohhh the good ole days! My question is do you think using spring spacers is a good idea to raise the car a little bit? It has been a while since I have had to mess with the suspension of a car and I cant remember if there are any draw backs from using coil/spring spacers Thanks |
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ct_mike Premium Member join:2006-09-29 Hamden, CT
1 recommendation |
ct_mike
Premium Member
2009-Oct-19 3:06 pm
If the car has been lowered by a shop, it means that it originally had a higher resting height. I would look to see what the original springs were first, before I went with spacers. Spacers can be done, but it would be better to get the proper springs.
ct_mike |
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best bet would be getting the correct springs. The spacers are mainly a bandaid fix for sagging springs. They would make for a harsh ride. What kind of car is this BTW? |
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Doctor OldsI Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me. Premium Member join:2001-04-19 1970 442 W30
1 recommendation |
to djr777
I used a set of those once (instead of replacing worn out rear coils) and half of them fell out on a speed bump a week later. Made by Mr Gasket. It can't hurt to try them based on their cost, but depending on where they are placed the ride may become harsh (aka go cart-ish). 720-1282 - Mr. Gasket COIL SPRING TWIST-INS [increases spring height 1'' - 4/pkg] » www.jegs.com/i/Mr.+Gaske ··· 10002/-1
720-1283 - Mr. Gasket Coil Spring Boosters [increases spring height 1-3/4'' - 4/pkg] » www.jegs.com/i/Mr.+Gaske ··· 10002/-1
There are these types also that are other options you can look at. 60830 - JEGS 1" Coil Spring Spacers [U channel design] » www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/ ··· 10002/-1
60831 - JEGS 1" Coil Spring Spacers [H channel design] » www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/ ··· 10002/-1
1281 - Mr. Gasket Rubber Coil Spring Spacers [1-1/2'' Tall, 4/pkg] » www.jegs.com/i/Mr.+Gaske ··· 10002/-1
1284 - Mr. Gasket Rubber Coil Spring Spacers [2-1/4'' Tall, 2/pkg] » www.jegs.com/i/Mr.+Gaske ··· 10002/-1
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1 recommendation |
I've also heard that the twist-ins may occasionally make a quick escape .... I've had spacers, they worked fine and were reliable, though occasionally they can make alignment tricky. I've also had those rubber inserts -- they usually got torn appart fairly quickly. (the car was a '72 Ford LTD with tired front springs) Anyhow, my suggestions to the OP would be: a) put back the OEM springs b) use spacers The rest is simply not worth it. |
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HarryH3 Premium Member join:2005-02-21
1 recommendation |
to djr777
You really need to find out more about how the car was lowered in the first place, and by how much. Radically lowering a car can require different A-arms, spindles, or other parts of the suspension system so that the front end can be properly aligned after it is lowered. Just swapping in taller springs may cause alignment issues that can't be adjusted out without replacing some expensive parts. If it was lowered by just using a lowered spindle kit, then you would need to reinstall a stock set of spindles to get it back up out of the weeds. |
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Lurch77 Premium Member join:2001-11-22 Green Bay, WI
1 recommendation |
to djr777
A lowered car can be a handful. Unless this is something he really, really wants, I would look elsewhere. Lowering a car properly usually requires quite a bit of work. Raising it back up would require the same. Improperly lowering a car can cause a lot of problems. Raising it back up can be an even bigger pain.
This is coming from a guy that lowered and later raised a vehicle back to stock. I did it right, and it involved more than just swapping in springs. I would not allow my child to drive a car with a band aid fix such as spring spacers. Just my two cents. |
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BonezXBasement Dweller Premium Member join:2004-04-13 Canada |
to HarryH3
said by HarryH3:You really need to find out more about how the car was lowered in the first place, and by how much. Radically lowering a car can require different A-arms, spindles, or other parts of the suspension system so that the front end can be properly aligned after it is lowered. Just swapping in taller springs may cause alignment issues that can't be adjusted out without replacing some expensive parts. If it was lowered by just using a lowered spindle kit, then you would need to reinstall a stock set of spindles to get it back up out of the weeds. most "lowering" spindles are usually adjustable and if it was lowered by a garage see if the suspension has adjustable ride height. |
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Doctor OldsI Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me. Premium Member join:2001-04-19 1970 442 W30 |
to Lurch77
said by Lurch77:A lowered car can be a handful. Unless this is something he really, really wants, I would look elsewhere. Lowering a car properly usually requires quite a bit of work. Raising it back up would require the same. Improperly lowering a car can cause a lot of problems. Raising it back up can be an even bigger pain. Depends greatly on it being FWD or RWD and what exactly was done. Most often it is a set of springs that have been installed that drop the ride anywhere from 1" to 2" to 3" inches (anywhere between those ranges). I just love finding out it was done the "South of the Border" way meaning that the OE springs have been torched/heated to make the ride drop as that is the worse thing you can do. |
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Doctor Olds |
to BonezX
said by BonezX:most "lowering" spindles are usually adjustable and if it was lowered by a garage see if the suspension has adjustable ride height. Adjustable spindles? I don't think so. Single and Double Adjustable Coilover Shocks, Yes. Fixed Dropped Spindles, Yes. Adjustable Control Arms, Yes. Adjustable Shock Dampening Rate, Yes. Adjustable Dropped Spindles? No. Dropped Spindle - Not Adjustable
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djr777 Premium Member join:2005-01-25 Pacific Grove, CA |
djr777
Premium Member
2009-Oct-19 9:59 pm
Thanks for taking the time to reply everyone. I appreciate the help!
Adjustable sounds like a possibility. If the spindles are not adjustable then the a camber kit that is installed might be adjustable from what I have gathered off the net. They will have to take a better look at it tomorrow.
Has anyone used a camber kit to lower a car?
Thanks again. |
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PrntRhd Premium Member join:2004-11-03 Fairfield, CA |
PrntRhd
Premium Member
2009-Oct-19 10:01 pm
said by djr777:Thanks for taking the time to reply everyone. I appreciate the help! Adjustable sounds like a possibility. If the spindles are not adjustable then the a camber kit that is installed might be adjustable from what I have gathered off the net. They will have to take a better look at it tomorrow. Has anyone used a camber kit to lower a car? Thanks again. No, the camber kit is used to try to align the already lowered vehicle. |
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BonezXBasement Dweller Premium Member join:2004-04-13 Canada 1 edit |
to Doctor Olds
said by Doctor Olds:said by BonezX:most "lowering" spindles are usually adjustable and if it was lowered by a garage see if the suspension has adjustable ride height. Adjustable spindles? I don't think so. Single and Double Adjustable Coilover Shocks, Yes. Fixed Dropped Spindles, Yes. Adjustable Control Arms, Yes. Adjustable Shock Dampening Rate, Yes. Adjustable Dropped Spindles? No. [att=1] i'm talking the ones with slide grooves on the mounting points. with some effort you could duplicate the original suspension within reason. |
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Doctor OldsI Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me. Premium Member join:2001-04-19 1970 442 W30 |
said by BonezX:i'm talking the ones with slide grooves on the mounting points. You have an example of that? |
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BonezXBasement Dweller Premium Member join:2004-04-13 Canada |
BonezX
Premium Member
2009-Oct-19 11:14 pm
said by Doctor Olds:said by BonezX:i'm talking the ones with slide grooves on the mounting points. You have an example of that? the ones i saw might have been custom made, they were on a rally car. |
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Doctor OldsI Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me. Premium Member join:2001-04-19 1970 442 W30 |
to djr777
said by djr777:Thanks for taking the time to reply everyone. I appreciate the help! Tell us the Year, Make And Model of the car in question. It will make for much more accurate suggestions and answers. |
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Marcer Premium Member join:2007-07-08 Hamilton, ON |
to Doctor Olds
said by Doctor Olds:said by BonezX:i'm talking the ones with slide grooves on the mounting points. You have an example of that? I believe he is referring to adjustable camber plates, such as this: |
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Doctor OldsI Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me. Premium Member join:2001-04-19 1970 442 W30 |
said by Marcer:said by Doctor Olds:said by BonezX:i'm talking the ones with slide grooves on the mounting points. You have an example of that? I believe he is referring to adjustable camber plates, If that is the case then he doesn't understand that camber does not change the ride height and only a lowered spindle or shorter springs can perform that function. |
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BonezXBasement Dweller Premium Member join:2004-04-13 Canada 1 edit |
BonezX
Premium Member
2009-Oct-20 9:18 pm
said by Doctor Olds:If that is the case then he doesn't understand that camber does not change the ride height and only a lowered spindle or shorter springs can perform that function. it's not a camber plate, trust me, wrong side of the suspension system. it allows changes in the mounting points to adjust the roll center without changing to a different spindle. which you could probally duplicate with a less complicated but more likely to break system. as i said, i've only really seen them on a rally car before. but in the end this could be completely irrelevant if it was left with stock spindles and just had springs changed out. |
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