Recommended Lowering Springs

[charged 10]

Hi all, 

I am not far off buying a car now and already thinking about what to do to it.. Wheels, suspension and rear spoiler being my primary concerns. 

I may go for coilovers later on down the line but for now I am looking at Lowering Spring options, there are lots on ebay and I see Tuning Developments have an option.   The lower the better, does anyone have any recommendations?

The ride height in the article below from the V-Maxx springs looks good to me:

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-japanesecars/toyota-gt86-heritage-edition-driven/33093

Thanks

Ollie

 

[will300 812]

I wouldn't bother with lowering spring, not when you can get Meister-R with 20% off. 

p.s. They normally do 0% finance. 

Edited November 9, 2015 by will300

[Church 209]

I wouldn't concern with any of mentioned upgrades, at least for first year , or wouldn't call it as concern/worry ..

- spoiler may work a bit at higher speeds, but it's not that you will often corner on >120-150kmh in daily driving to notice difference

- stock enkey wheels are not too heavy .. only if you hate look of them that much .. generic advise to choose/go lighter. Usual bits apply of not worth going for staggered setup, and that in most cases you may not need going for very wide tyres if you stay at stock NA power levels but wish more grip then stock Primacies provide, tyres of better compound will provide that, even of stock sizes. Burn through stock primacies, familiarise with car, think of upgrades after that.

- same with stock suspension. Not making wonders but surprisingly capable for stock. As for being lower .. better be reasonable with that. "Better"? Better for what? Define "better". Will car be track day only car or you will daily drive it too? What is your budget, what is that you wish to change from stock handling/dampening wise? - Familiarise yourself with car as is, don't blindly throw upgrades on it if in some cases they may turn out not what you really wished, or that may require other upgrades to fix issues changing these may bring.

[Lauren 2259]

TEIN or Litchfield lowering springs I would say, though I've no direct experience of either. 

[Deacon 1357]

I found my AST springs to be excellent and would happily recommend them.

[Kodename47 446]

Sounds like lower rather than better are the order of the day here....

Eibachs Speedline would be the "sensible" choice, 35mm lower all round, go cheaper if you couldn't care about a loss in handling. Go too low and the shocks will have a much shorter life. None of the better handling kits drop any more than 25mm and most are around 20mm.

[Guest]

I found my AST springs to be excellent and would happily recommend them.

And I will sell you these AST lowering springs for £100 plus postage.

[Mike@TD.co.uk 467]

http://www.gt86.org.uk/forums/topic/3142-hr-lowering-spring-kit-gt86-brz/   

 

You stipulated lower the better however, so personally I think you wouldn't be happy with the drop given from springs, and coilovers would probably be the choice for you to get the ride height you desire  

[charged 10]

Coilovers, I know I know, always the better option but I want to keep the 86 fairly sensible for the time being. I have BC coilovers on my AW11 and they are pretty firm, not what I want for my commute through the country lanes of Hertfordshire. 

What level drop are the AST springs? I may be interested in purchasing through the forum but not until I have a car to put them on  Any pictures of them fitted on car so I can get a better idea?

I will have a look at the Eibach Speedlines as well, thanks for that. 

 

[charged 10]

I wouldn't concern with any of mentioned upgrades, at least for first year , or wouldn't call it as concern/worry ..

 

 Mainly for aesthetics I'm afraid.. No offence to anyone but I am not at all keen on the standard wheels or spoiler. The suspension would be lowered for handling and aesthetics. 

[Deacon 1357]

The ast's give a 30 mm drop but are rated as 25mm.

 

Here is mine with them fitted:-

Stock wheels:-

 

Others:-

 

On coilovers for comparison:-

 

[charged 10]

Many thanks Deacon, very helpful post indeed and your car looks great, visually exactly what I am looking for.  Can I ask where the spoiler is from and how £much it was? Were there any fitting issues?

[Deacon 1357]

The spoiler is a leg motorsport club sport duckbill in carbon. Price was around £450 and I got it direct from Japan. No fitting issues at all.

[charged 10]

It looks amazing..  is there anything similar sold in the UK do you know? 

[Deacon 1357]

The easiest available duckbill is the trd ones. Tarmac sell a copy for about £130 which is a pretty popular choice. 

[Lauren 2259]

Something to consider is that coilovers don't necessarily mean a worse ride. In all honesty having gone in Jeff's car with his spring setup on stock dampers, it felt somewhat mismatched on spring to damper rates giving a bit of a fidgety ride. 

I have coilovers which okay are a bespoke setup with all the EDFC Active Pro stuff, but my car is better than it was before. Also I go everywhere in my car including country lanes and the like and it's just fine, it's way more capable than standard. The ride isn't overly firm either. So you may want to consider that coilovers don't necessarily mean a ride that is too stiff. Plenty have gone this option and are pleased with the results, Jeff included as I'm sure he'd agree.