i2ice

iTrader: (2)

I lowered my car and was running into issues with the upper control arms bottoming out on the shock towers over bumps and dips. I also wanted to get the fronts lower when aired out. I used another members pictures as a guide when I cut my shock towers and wanted to make a diy and help the next guy.

I started by removing the three 10mm bolts to move the fuse box out of the way.




on the driver side there's 2 electrical units that need to be moved, again 3 10mm bolts.




this is the hole saw I used, it was 2 1/8 inch but I would recommend going 2 1/4 or even 2 1/2. the important thing here is to make sure you get a hole saw that can cut through metal, so look at the labels carefully, usually the cheaper ones can only cut pvc & wood.




using the bolt hole as a guide ,I moved towards the fender approximately 1/4 inch and started drilling there.




The hole saw cuts fairly easy just keep your hand steady, and apply even pressure.




I used this grinding bit to clean up the rough edges slightly




and here is every thing back together, you can see now that the ball joint can protrude through the hole slightly instead of banging on the shock tower. you can also see where I relocated one of the electrical units.





after a test drive I confirmed that the bottoming out is now gone, and the car can also sit 1/4" - 1/2" lower aired out.

MCBob

This might sound dumb. But could the right and left hand side be switched and run upside down?So the balljoint is more horizontal and resets the alignment to almost factory? I cant see it not working unless it rubs the hub mount..

i2ice

iTrader: (2)

I see whats your saying but 2 things, the hole where the ball joint goes into the knuckle is tapered so it only fits one way. and the knuckle would be in the way of the ball joint so it would cause binding, I dont think there is even enough clearence for the balljoint to line up to the knuckle.

Sevenevez

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for this. I know a lot of people in the forum wanted a DIY. I had a picture of an LS that did it. But i need to handle this. Thanks man

puff

iTrader: (4)

Funny I saw your thread today and I was planning to do this on my day off tomorrow. The only advice I would give is to drill from the bottom since there are marks where the ball joints hit. I feel like you're playing a guessing game on the exact spot to drill when doing it from the top.

Revive

iTrader: (1)

I wish I could put my car down for long enough to do a full on seam/stitch weld and mini tubs on my GS. Cutting holes just seems like the short solution to me. lol

i2ice

iTrader: (2)

I agree, but you also have to consider that from underneath you have the upper control arm and knuckle in the way. unless you take all your suspension components out, there wouldn't be enough room for a drill to go in there. and the 1/4" measure went worked out quite well for me, and worst come to worst you can grind down additional metal in whatever direction you need.

It is definitely a short solution, in the long run I want to remove more material and weld sheet metal back in to reform the shock tower.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

is this DIY only for people on air? I'm lowered also and have never ran into this problem before?

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

It's for people that are super slammed. If you're only lowered like 2-3 in from stock then it won't make any difference. It's the people that go like 3-4+ inches lower than stock that will have these problems lol.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

thats what i figured .. thanks Jeff...

Revive

iTrader: (1)

If you are running that low you are going to run into more than just ball joint banging on the upper shock tower. Another very likely spot is at the front of the wheel well nearby the abs sensor wiring.

I have Nagisa Auto UCA's and they are angled to rectify misalignment on a lowered car (to an extent), and they don't really seem to bang much up top. I do however have a tremendous amount of wheel scrub in the location I described. I was attributing that to having a set of 20's, but looking back I mangled the crap out of the fender liners in the same area long ago with just stock rims...

I'll have to take a picture and show you what I mean. FWIW also I tend to run stupid low. It's a Florida thing haha :P

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

revive, I'm on coils and just went a little lower (3 turns) all around and also bought new front tires at 245 35 20.. now i'm rubbing the upper fender liner only when i hit dips in the road.. I personally think i went to big of a tire in the front.. I wanted a little more side wall but my older 245 30 20 fit and looked better..

Looks like i night have to tighten up the dampening some

Sevenevez

iTrader: (2)

hmm, my dampening is one click from full stiff
i run 225/35's up front.
my front lip is 3in from the ground
i have NO fender liners though. they came out the day i dropped her as they were rubbing.
^ not sure if any of those fun facts help.
she still rides pretty nice considering how low i am. and i have had 4 heavy people in my car along with prissy women and no one ever complained or understood how low my car is.
( its funny how some people dont even know a car is customized by looking at it. )
but, when i roll with others i drive even slower and more cautious of course.
im not sure without seeing it in person, but the 245 Tire could be your biggest issue.
my rears are 245's and i had to shave the rears to fit em

any pics of the new height?

hey, i2ice --> thanks for this DIY. i did mine today and your walkthrough definitely gave me the confidence to drill blindly into the right area!

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Pete are u on 20's or 19's? yup your right I should have went with 235 or maybe 225 but never thought of that because everyone uses the same 245 setup. so a 225 would be thinner? I always get confused on the numbers .

rear tire is 275 30 20 .

I'll try and get picks this week. don't have access to the car at the moment.

Sent from my iPhone using IB AutoGroup

i2ice

iTrader: (2)

I am also haveing issues now with the tire rubbing the wheel well. So im going to be taking a look at that and grinding/ hammering whatever area is contacting. I also want to knotch/grind down the areas where the UCA is bottoming out on the car, I hope to get it a little lower, I will be posting more pictures when I get this done.