Lowering Springs

When a spring set makes sense

When you want the car lower and the handling firmer, but the dampers are still good and you would rather not replace the lot. It is the cheapest way into performance suspension and it fits relatively quickly, with no work on the shell.

What to know first

• A shorter, stiffer spring asks more of the damper. On a tired one the car skips and the spring feels harsh without keeping the wheel on the road.
• The quoted drop is an average. On a car with a heavy engine over the front axle, the front usually drops less than the figure says.
• After lowering, the alignment is out. Book the rig, and if you dropped the car a long way, budget for camber correction too.

The alternatives

If the dampers are tired anyway, a complete assembly is the better buy: see fixed sport suspension for a set height, or coilovers if you want to set the height yourself.