Lowering springs, what needed!!!

[Mistersix]

Lowering springs, whats needed!!!

I wanna get rid of the ugly wheel gap before i go putting on a nice new set of shoes. question is, aside from springs what else is needed.

What of the camber? I've done lowering springs on my other cars in the past and always need some sort of camber correction, whether threw adjustable linkage or cam bolts. though no one seems to mention this in they're threads when discussing springs.

Any advice on the install would be appreciated. Is it easy or a pita? any special tools required? Is there a how-to any where i might have missed.

Thanks in advance, i'm new to the community and turbo cars. i'm looking forward to learning from this site and sharing what i know. I've recently made a simple contribution to the site in the form of a amplifier mounting baffle how-to. check it out if your about to put a amp in. its really simple and looks great.

 

[Qwik6]

I know on my car it was dropped with tein springs. Almost a 3" drop. Even with this drop a camber kit wasnt neccessary and alignment was still put in spec. Cant help on the install though since the guy before me installed them.

 

[Mistersix]

i'm lookin to go with a modest drop. just to even out the space around the wheel. not really tryin to tuck. i was thinkin H&R or even the rpm street or sport.

just wanna make i get everything i need at once. before install.

 

[lazybusinessman]

you need the springs. thats it for now. put them on, see how the car sits, and you may need to get an alignment afterwards.

oh yeah you will need a spring compressor to get the old springs off the struts, also air tools/power tools are WAY easier then hand tools for this job. im not sure about the speed 6, but i know its set up similar to the regular 6. the fronts take a long longer then the backs. mainly since you have to compress the springs and take them off the struts thats really the hardest part. the backs for my car (regular 6) were just a few bolts and pulling out the old one, popping in the new ones.

 

[gen1pro]

I definitely recommend air tools and a spring compressor for the front. The back is so easy that you could literally get it done in about 15-20 minutes per side. Maybe less.

I dropped mine with the Eibach sport lines and I didn't need a camber kit just an alignment. Look at my sig to see how it looks.

I'm selling my sport lines, if your interested then PM me. I had someone that wanted them but I haven't heard from him in a week so I'm giving him one more day.

 

[djpatm]

How much could I drop my car with 18's on it and avoid rubbing completly? An inch? Thats what I was thinking... any pics of a drop like that?

Also I definetly would NOT be doing it myself so should I just go to a shop and talk to a guy, or get advice from people and order the springs myself and go in to a shop for an install?

This all just curiousity cause theres things I wanna do before I even think about that. Intake, Exhaust, Re-Flash/Tune...etc. But yeah, just wondering.

 

[Mistersix]

thanks to everybody for their info. very helpful. so no camber adjustment should be neccesary. cool, thats one less thing to buy.
yeah spring compressors and air tools are a must. makes it way easier.
another question though, i take it like most cars you dont have to remove the wheel hub and brake, just things connected to it(steering likage, camber arm....) and the whole assembly can fall forward, unbolt the shock from the top and bottom. then push down on the control arm/brake/hub assembly and just pull the strut out.
sound about right? just wondering if there's anything out of the ordinary to worry about. again thanks for the info.

 

[Vicspeed6_AZ]

I say H&R Springs ... Spring compressor is a must, but air tools are not .. I did my spring install by myself without air tools, although it would have made it easier.

 

[SEN]

I say H&R Springs ... Spring compressor is a must, but air tools are not .. I did my spring install by myself without air tools, although it would have made it easier.

Looks nice! Is it necessary to get a heavy weight floor jack and jack stands? Do u have to lift the whole front (both tires) place on stands then lift the whole back(both tires) place on stands?

My friends r a little leary about helpin' me cuz they say that compressing the springs is dangerous s***...Is it?

I'm obviously a little unclear w/ the DIY and that's after looking at the mazdatech writeup on spring/coilover replacement. But I don't want to pay what- $200-$300 for someone else to do it when I know I can.

 

[Vicspeed6_AZ]

You can do one side at a time, that is what I did ... so jack up the one side, put a jack stand underneathe and go for it...

Its not dangerous as long as you compress the springs really well ... Too bad you were not here in AZ, I'd help you get these done

 

[Rutedown]

Is to necessary to have an extra pair of hands? I changed struts/springs on a lot of different cars and haven't had to use another pair of hands.

Sen,
Just rent the spring compressor from Autozone and you should be OK. I'm guessing your friends don't work on cars much.

 

[Vicspeed6_AZ]

I did the whole install myself, so no you don't need an extra set of hands .. and I rented my spring compressor from Autozone as well ...

 

[SEN]

Thanks guys-I'll b sure to let u know how it turns out!

Rutedown- Actually 2 of my friends have VW's! They're all about VW club and both of their cars r dropped! Hmmm...Maybe a lil' biased(uhm)

 

[SEN]

another question guys...
What about this talk of cutting the bumper stops? Is that necessary?

 

[NigHtHaWk219]

You can do one side at a time, that is what I did ... so jack up the one side, put a jack stand underneathe and go for it...

Its not dangerous as long as you compress the springs really well ... Too bad you were not here in AZ, I'd help you get these done

Car looks sick bro. what spring and how much is it lowered??

 

[Mistersix]

vicspeed car looks good man. dig the black emblems.

i'm thinkin full coilover, in particular the tein set up. question is does any one know if the EDFC will work in a speed 6. looks kinda tight under the hood. thinkin the motors might hit underneath the hood.
controlling dampening from the cock pit would be tits

 

[Vicspeed6_AZ]

Car is lowered on H&R springs and there was no bump stop cutting at all

 

[SEN]

I installed Megan Racing springs on my 2006 v6 Grand Touring this weekend and I have to say after learning thru the first one it did get easier and go faster. Unfortunately, I did run into a problem. Here's the deal... I installed the front's, not as low a drop as I thought it was going to b. But definitely removed the horrible gap. Then I did the rears and when I pulled the car off the jack stands the rear fenders sat right on the tires! Whether I rolled them or not didn't matter 'cause the drop was sooo un-proportionate that I could NOT leave it like that. So I left the Megan's on in the front and re-installed the stock oem springs in the back. A huge pain-in-the-ass(LITERALLY!) Unbelievably, the gap in the front and back are completely even(2 fingers) now. Who would've thought?
Anyway, now the problem is I had 2 people in the back seat yesterday and the left rear was freakin' rubbing on the fender. WTF is that about? Again, the rears are the stock one's that my car came with. Keep in mind that I've seen other 6's as well as speed6's and my rear was always lower than the others. Now I'm not sure if the GT's have a different suspension set up(maybe u guys can chime in here), but originally they did not rub- AT ALL...NEVER...EVER. I also don't have a damn thing in the trunk, mayb 20lbs. of car wash stuff. LOL!
Please, any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

[MS64MEE]

another question guys...
What about this talk of cutting the bumper stops? Is that necessary?/QUOTE]
When you hit the bump stops, your spring goes up non-linearly. This can upset the car if this happens mid turn. Cutting bump stops just gives you a little more travel on springs only so car will handle more predictably. I think most folks are taking off one ring.

I did the whole install myself, so no you don't need an extra set of hands .. and I rented my spring compressor from Autozone as well ...

+1 This can definitely be done solo.

Also as an alternative to air tools, you can pick up an electric impact wrench from places like Harbor Freight for $30-$40. It does come in handy with some of the larger suspension bolts which can be pretty stubborn. Also makes tire rotation a snap.

 

[tunersteve]

Vic, your car looks great with the H&R kit. I'll be purchasing those shortly.

As for the install, but I did my set on the Protege I owned. You will need a spring compressor and an alignment is a very worthwhile precautionary investment. You may think the car is back to spec, but it might not be. Usually it doesn't hurt to have it done.

From what I understand, the 6/MS6 are actually one of the easier cars to install springs on. I don't plan on doing a major drop, just one to clean up the slop of the OEM wheel gap. There are a few options (Eibach, H&R, Tanabe, Tein, etc.) but its more a matter of personal preference. Read up and see which ones seem to fit your style, and go from there.