Living the Low Life...
 

So I was parked next to a late model Altima today and noticed that it is about the same roofline height as my AMG- well that was disappointing because anyone that has ever seen a Porsche or Ferrari knows lower is better for Performance and BTW there was a 2009 Ferrari parked in front of me as well, and it had about a 4" drop on the roofline from my car. This got me to thinking about installing some lowering springs in my ride, I see that Renntech just came out with some that look pretty good.

In the past I thought lowering springs were just for looks but now I am thinking they do other things for performance and handling, can someone please explain the benefits of lowering the car? Is there any law of diminishing returns such as harsh ride or bottom of car scrapping? I have been in a few spots where I felt my mufflers hit the road over bumps.

Thanks for any advice!

No, I find it rides pretty much the same lowered.

first, yes, you are lowering so all height clearances are reduced. the angle of driveways will now haunt you, speed bumps, potholes, etc. your front tire to fender clearance will be reduced thus if you live in an area with less than perfect roads, any imperfection you roll over while turning will cause the tire to scrape off the paint of fender eventually causing it to rust or corrode. our fenders are alum i think so wont be as bad as the rust. consider a loaded car with 4 people and luggage if you are a family man. if you are a single guy never carry people or much luggage, excellent roads, lowering may be good for you. if this is your only car and a daily and you use the vehicle for its intended purpose, lowering may become a hassle.

you also need to consider different shock/strut, as the oem units are generally not designed for car to be riding 1-2" lower. but it depends on how much you lower. if its under 1" the stock units may be fine. but if its much lower, id consider getting aftermarket struts as well to be designed to perform at that height. a coil over system is truly ideal but will cost much more.

anytime you change suspension geometry, you are changing handling characteristics of the car whether the general forum population can perceive it or not is one thing. But it is being changed for better or for worse. only the driver can make that judgement.

if you get a proper suspension setup (coil overs preferred, springs/aftermarket shocks second), lowering is always beneficial from a performance standpoint as you are lowering the center of gravity of the car as well as reducing body roll. this increases corner speed and g, thus making you faster around a track and daily driving. in addition to performance you get the "slammed" look. I'm not a fan of slammed. i had it on my w202. it was ok for a while, but the daily drive ability in Michigan was poor. I am a fan of even gap all around wheel . so the stock gap between the sides of tire and fender arch i try to match above the wheel with ride height. i find it to be a good compromise between lowered and looking cool, as well as performance and drive ability.


everyone has their own taste though!! a good entry to lowering is the H&R adjustable spring. you can adjust ride height to your preference. i think its VTF or something like that is name of product. it was posted on here a while ago when they came out. stick to Koni, bilstein, H&R for suspension parts for the mercedes. they make some of the best stuff.

Thanks Star, this definately clears things up for me. Lots of great information in your post above :wootrock:

Also remember that lot more goes into suspension performance than roofline height -- don't think for a second that the Altima can achieve anywhere near the cornering speeds your C43 can.

yes that is a great point!