brendanlim

I'm eventually going to get wheels, no later than this summer. Brother promised to spot me when I go down to California again. Problem is that right now I CANNOT stand the look of my car. It's just so damn high. I'm on the stock 16's and want to do a 1" drop via Eibach pro-kit but just don't know if I should right now. One situation which would be a problem would be me getting new wheels, slapping them on without a drop and looking like a 4x4.

I'm on a college boy budget and it would take me another month or so after I get wheels to get a drop. Would it be alright, in your opinion, for me to do a 1" drop on my 16's or would that be ricey?

I really value your guys opinions so please tell it to me straight

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

I think it'll look fine. I did the drop with factory 17's and it looked much better. I imagine it'll be the same for the 16s.

bluelex

well doesn't the prokit actaully drop a little more than an inch?i know it says 1 inch but i remember someone saying that it goes a tad bit lower, anyhow i think thats good idea. u will have the car look lower now and when u get the wheels it will not b too much 4x4ish with a 1inch drop..u can ride around with that intil u get the exact drop suspension u want....

D2-AUTOSPORT

Go for it man, the Prokit will not be a ridiculous belly scraping height with the 16s. Maybe someone will 'loan' you some 17s to roll on until you get ya wheels? you never know

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I agree with Dave, lowering will improve the look of your car with 16's. Now if you dropped it 2" or more it might look a bit lame, but the pro kit drop should look good. But be patient young jedi about the rims. If possible make sure you know someone who has the SAME setup you're thinking of getting preferably someone you can actually visit in person. Ask lots of questions.

brendanlim

It's so hard saving up right now with my income for wheels. When I decide to save I end up buying something else for my car or end up spending all my money on emergency situations. Fixing my front bumper ... buying new fogs All comes with owning a car but it's hard on me in my financial situation

Birthday's coming up and I'll be asking my folks to at least pay for half -- they hate me doing anything to my car. Also, believe you me, I'll be asking so many questions. Have no idea about anything with offsets, etc. You guys will get very annoyed with me

Thank you guys btw

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Buying aftermarket rims is like buying a house - it's just the beginning of the expenses I'm afraid...

Tires, alignments, special balancing, it all adds up.

NoRyceGS4

nice comparison

pvmike1

"Desparately in need...of dropping my car"

Brendan,

Don't waste your money dropping your car now. Save it - you'll need it later when you get wheels. If you are only going to get 18's, then fine, buy some springs and shocks now and continue to use them later. But since you say you will have offset questions, I assume you want 19's or 20's. If you do want larger wheels, factor in additional costs:

19" or 20" wheels and tires - thanks mom and pop for half, other half - $1000 - 2000 (that's already a large amount for parents who don't want you to fix up your car)
coilovers - $800 - $1300
coilover install - $150 - 250
corner balance and alignment - $250 or so.

Later on down the line:
alignment once a year, maybe more - let's say $100
new tires every year or two - $850 - 1100
and possibly camber kit and install (if you're wearing through tires too quickly) - $200 or so.

Also possible:
New tire from unfixable flat - $250 or so
Repolish lip from letting girl drive your car - $100 per wheel

And don't forget, you will be either washing your car yourself or taking it to a 100% handwash - no tracks.

edit: I forgot to mention fixing bends if you get cheapie wheels, but I'm sure being here as long as you have you would not make that mistake.

PHML

iTrader: (33)

I'd drop it now with the stockers on...there have been some great deals on s/s sets in the Classified section....so that's gonna help your wallet.

Btw...what ever happened to your wheel fund...not enuff donations? Maybe you should start charging for creating sigs...LOL!!

Pete

D-MAN63

ANY kind of drop on ANY size wheels will look MUCH better than stock height. If I were you, don't do the drop now, wait till u get the wheels. You don't want to sacrifice money now and get the "2nd favorite" wheel later on because u don't have enough money to afford the wheels u really do like.

Neo

iTrader: (3)

That's going to be one generous gift.

Unless you are set on the Prokit, I'd say wait. You never know what wheels you will end up with so if you are going shocks/springs, they should be planned together since they both affect handling and ride quality.

If you cannot stand to wait (like most of us), I'd go for a used but good condition set to tie you over until you get your "final" setup. All the pros about doing it now are already stated above

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Brendan, there's some good advice here. Waiting's probably the best route because if you get a drop and decide once you get the wheels that you don't like it, or the ride or whatever, you're gonna take a bath removing it, selling it, getting another setup, reinstalling, re-aligning, etc. ...

Probably best to find the look/setup you want and save until you can get it. And along the way you might get lucky and find someone selling some or all of what you want for less than you were expecting to pay (like happened with me and the rims).

johnee78

iTrader: (4)

I have to agree!It would be better to just wait for what you want.If coilovers is something that your leaning towards then getting springs now would be a waste of money, Wouldn't it? So, maybe ask yourself what exactly you would like for your car and start either saving for that or if it's within your budget, get it! It's always a better feeling when you look at your car knowing that you got what you wanted and your not saying to yourself "I wish I would did this or I wish I did that". I know there are some members on the CL that have gone through this including myself.Many of us who made these decisions and me too, did not know about CL so you already have the advantage.Good luck

Richie

Just lower it as soon as you can.