I done messed up...

Photonfanatic · Sep 23, 2012

I think I may have made a mistake leaving the isolators in when I changed the springs to lower my car. Or did I? Its especially frustrating since I paid someone else to do it. Well live and learn I guess. Oh and I used the SVE springs from LMRS that claim to lower your car 2". So anyway I have a couple questions now.

1. Is it really a good idea to ditch the iso's? I know plenty of people will tell you its fine, but it seems like metal on metal isn't such a good idea. Quite a bad idea, in fact. So then people tell you sure, that's a bad idea. So what you need to do, is wrap them in some kind of high grade electrical tape. Well how long is that really going to stand up to the forces, until it finally wears out and you're back to metal on metal? Who here has taken lowering springs back out after years of use and seen that the electrical tape is still in perfect shape and hasn't rubbed through to the bare metal?

2. Ok so to offset my problem of the car not being lowered enough, (for my taste) I think I may be able to use new lower profile tires. My car does need new tires so this part could work out to my advantage. The tires that are on it now are too tall. They're 225-55-R17's. The stock tire is of course 245/45/R17. Which IIRC, is about half an inch, to one inch shorter. Do you think getting shorter tires could possibly help? Or should I go even shorter and get shorter tires than the factory tire size? In an effort to get the car even lower. I did a little searching and it turns out that I can get 254/40/R17's. That would come out to being 12mm shorter than stock, or about half an inch.

rz5.0 · Sep 23, 2012

Have you given the springs time to settle?? Smaller tire might make the gap look bigger..

188slo50 · Sep 23, 2012

The SVE springs will lower up to 2" but cars very, it may settle more once you put some miles on it and yes you can run no ISO's with out problems. Your correct the metal to metal isnt good and In a way you kind of have to give up one to accomplish the other so its a judgment call really. As for the tires a lower profile will just give you a bigger fenderwell gap really compared the the actual amount it ges lowered.

Photonfanatic · Sep 23, 2012

On the corral they were telling me that springs will NEVER settle. That they well never get any shorter. I kinda thought that they might, but who knows. I'd be willing to go the elecrical tape route, but has anyone here ever seen a spring that still had the electrical tape on after years of use? That method is so common, surely someone knows if the tape can stand the test of time. And not wear through to bare metal.

Cpotts13 · Sep 23, 2012

Trust me... the 1/4th of an inch the isolators add are well worth it. I actually just put the isolators back on the rear of my car today. I finally got sick of the crappy ride and HORRIBLE squeaking. Trust me keep the isos. I had the rear wrapped in electrical tape, lasted about 3 months.. glad i put them back on.

02GT · Sep 24, 2012

You need the ISOs if its a DD. I havent lowered mine yet but from all the things I have read and heard, you have really bad ride quality without the ISOs and they will squeak definitely. Just keep them in and yes they will settle just give them some time.

Nightmare · Sep 24, 2012

Keep the iso's......as for your tire question, do your self a favor and get the right size tires for your car. If you have any questions on the right size for the car, go to American Muscle and see what options you have......Right now you have too narrow of a tire and are trying to make up for it with too tall of a tire. Did you do this for cost reasons? At the very least, it will improve the handeling and stability, because you arnt stretching the tire.

Side note, stretching the tire on a rim is for the ricers with their fwd junk.

Photonfanatic · Sep 24, 2012

Yeah when I first got the car I was on a tight budget. So tight, that the car was given to me for free lol. By my father in-law. I do have to pay him $1000 back once I graduate from college, in like 2.5 years lol.

But anyway, yeah I was on a tight budget and the shop freakin lied to me about the size. I drove out there with belts showing, throwing the odd spark here and there. That's how bad the tires were. Well when I got there... Oops, they had made a mistake. They only had 225/55/17's. And I was throwing tread off the tires just to get there lol. So I pretty much had to take them. And they were only $60 for all 4 tires. So eh, it was kind of a trade off.