Whazza22 Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Hi all, How much difference do people find it makes to the appearance and drive of a zed by lowering? I have standard nissan alloy wheels at the moment Thinking about taking up Tarmac's Ksport lowering spring offer which I believe lowers by 25mm all round. I find the drive quite firm as it is and don't fancy it being firmer especially with all the potholes in the road etc. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyBoy Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Surely you've answered your own question there? If you don't want it to be firmer then don't lower it, especially by fitting shorter springs. Lowering springs can't magically provide the same spring rate with 25mm less travel, so they have to be slightly firmer to compensate or they'd bottom out all the time. Fully adjustable true coilovers could probably be tweaked to give a lower stance with almost OEM ride quality, but your into the thousands for those. DB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 I think the Zed is just right as it is height wise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1 HNK Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 I have eibachs and find the ride very good. They look so much better though and make the car look much more agressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Mine is lowered on eibachs and runs 40 profile tyres so it sits low but it looks awesome. Scrapes of anysort of speed bump though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buster Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 mines lowered on tein super street adjustable coilovers......i ve never looked back since fitting and run it pretty low Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 I think the Zed is just right as it is height wise Plooos wan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Personally think they should all be lowered and have wheels that fit properly, much prefer mine to look at and to drive since I sorted it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veilside z Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 lowered and stance all the way for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjt Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I had eibach springs on mine, went back to stock cause the exhaust was scraping over EVERY speed bump. Actually blame them for wrecking my exhaust and having to get a new system (nothing to do with Japspeeds build quality obvs ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I still can't make my mind up but have been eyeing up Meister's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Lowered is best Must be true I found this on the internet - There are two reasons why owners lower their cars. First to enhance performance of the vehicle. This happens because, by lowering the car you also lower the center of gravity, which according to the laws of physics reduces weight transfer when turning. "Lowering springs", which are used to achieve this are usually stiffer, meaning that the spring is harder to compress. This also reduces weight transfer when turning and thus improves handling of the vehicle. The second reason why people would do such a thing, is for plain aesthetics. Many people feel that a lowered car looks better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 My concern for a road car would be how does the car react to bumps at speed, particularly during cornering - the roads in Surrey are seriously bad. Suspension is a real art - Lotus get it - they manage to get cars with a low centre of gravity, which react well to cornering forces but which are still compliant - that is not an easy thing to achieve - the combination of springs, arbs, dampers, bushes, geometry, tyres, pressures, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I still can't make my mind up but have been eyeing up Meister's So am I since Octet stuck them on and a good price:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I still can't make my mind up but have been eyeing up Meister's So am I since Octet stuck them on and a good price:) If I were you I'd be trying to decide exactly what's not quite right with your car's set up before you do anything else to it imho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I still can't make my mind up but have been eyeing up Meister's So am I since Octet stuck them on and a good price:) If I were you I'd be trying to decide exactly what's not quite right with your car's set up before you do anything else to it imho I said eyeing not buying lol Nothing wrong with my car its my imaginary friend who has the problem:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I still can't make my mind up but have been eyeing up Meister's So am I since Octet stuck them on and a good price:) If I were you I'd be trying to decide exactly what's not quite right with your car's set up before you do anything else to it imho I said eyeing not buying lol Nothing wrong with my car its my imaginary friend who has the problem:) You're never alone with schizophrenia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Not seen my wheels for over 2 weeks now. Think Taras has gone off in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeisterR Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 I personally like the look of a lowered Zed. If you are looking for just springs, Eibach Pro-Kit would be my choice. They are high quality, and also know how to wound progressive rate springs very well. The problem with lowering springs is "what you see is what you get", there are no control over where the car sit. And also, you are reusing the standard dampers (which can be 10 years old now in some cases), so they may not provide optimum performance. If you are looking for coilovers, then coilovers like the MeisterR Zeta-S would be a good choice. They replace the suspension with adjustable mono-tube dampers and linear rate springs. This make weight transfer much smoother, meaning great driver confidence. The mono-tube dampers provide better damping sensitivity and better steering response. And the adjustments allows you to control the ride quality and bias of the suspension. Unlike lowering springs, the ride height is adjustable so you can set the suspension to where you like it. You might not want to too low if you have loads of speed bumps around where you life... or you want it lower for the looks. What that mean is you have total control over the ride height and ride quality, along with the added benefit of controlling your desired ride height. One thing I do need to bring up is that after installing coilovers (or any suspension component), you should have your alignment check and setup. Because the best suspension in the world will drive rubbish if the wheels aren't pointing to the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4RE Leather Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Excellent information:) I may be ready for my exam sooner than I thought:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 One thing I do need to bring up is that after installing coilovers (or any suspension component), you should have your alignment check and setup. Because the best suspension in the world will drive rubbish if the wheels aren't pointing to the right direction. Damn I knew I did something wrong, I only installed coilovers as I needed an alignment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeisterR Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) Damn I knew I did something wrong, I only installed coilovers as I needed an alignment! Get it done, always should be done after suspension change. Sometime you can get away with it... but most time than not, the alignment will be out. And the further the alignment is out, the bigger the performance difference when you get the alignment corrected. Are you sure Abbey didn't do an alignment? I thought they have a 4 wheel laser tracker in house? Edited October 17, 2012 by MeisterR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Get it done, always should be done after suspension change. Sometime you can get away with it... but most time than not, the alignment will be out. And the further the alignment is out, the bigger the performance difference when you get the alignment corrected. Are you sure Abbey didn't do an alignment? I thought they have a 4 wheel laser tracker in house? Yes it did have an alignment... I meant that instead of your comment above saying "get an alignment done if you get coilovers fitted", I did it the wrong way around and "got coilovers fitted just because I needed an alignment". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianphampton Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I think mine looks better lowered - but I wouldn't do it again as she bottoms out on road humps and even sometimes on catseyes (especially in Northern Ireland) unless you have the coilovers wound up to hard (at one time I only used the top 25% of the coilover settings for spirited driving or track - but in Norn Iron had to do something to compensate for the road surface after bottoming several times!) If I had my time again I'd leave her standard height to cope with the rubbish roads and road humps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patch Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I'm having this dilemma right now,lower and fit BMW wheels or leave as it is and fit spacers to the rays wheels............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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