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Coilover and lowering the car??

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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 03:52 AM
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Default Coilover and lowering the car??

Hi guys i have BC coilovers installed on my 2006 Lexus is350, i have set all 4 coilovers over max stiffness, but my car is not lowered ( kept at original height). When compared to my friend's bimmer 335i, my car still feels very soft. I am just wondering if lowering my car by 1 inch would help with the bodyroll, handling?

What else can i do to improve my handing? i already have the rear sway bar installed.

also, does it matter if i get a camber kit?
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 04:14 AM
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lower center of gravity will help it handle better.

From what I understand camber will help it handle better but you will lose straight line traction and have uneven wear.
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 06:06 AM
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The camber is allowing the ability to re align the wheels back to oem specs or close to it. That gives you an even wear. negative or too much positive camber will make the tires wear unevenly. The camber kit gives you the ability to align properly.

It's going to be difficult to match the performance handling of the bmw. They are built and designed for this.
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 06:19 AM
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Originally Posted by MorphiuGS
lower center of gravity will help it handle better.

.
To a point, yes.... there is such a thing as too low though.


To the OP, adding the front sway bar would help a bit. Other than that if it's still too soft you'd probably be looking to replace the coilovers you have with higher spring rate ones.
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 08:46 AM
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Upgrading both sway bars to the F-sport ones will help tremendously.
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 11:01 AM
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Default stiffen suspenision

ebach has a sway bar "sport" set with adjustable rear sways(80-140 stiffness) with progressive springs included,they lower front1.4" and .8 rear.I have heard they really increase sport performance.You will need your old shocks or buy the f-sport made by bilstein for700$ or buy tokico blues(500$) which will even be stiffer than the f-sport.I myself have never been happy with coilovers.
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 11:17 AM
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Originally Posted by micel
ebach has a sway bar "sport" set with adjustable rear sways(80-140 stiffness)
Which is still less stiff than the F-sport bar

Originally Posted by micel
with progressive springs included,they lower front1.4" and .8 rear.I have heard they really increase sport performance.You will need your old shocks or buy the f-sport made by bilstein for700$ or buy tokico blues(500$) which will even be stiffer than the f-sport.I myself have never been happy with coilovers.

I can't imagine anyone with good coilovers switching to inferior progressive springs and thinking the car handles better.

progressive springs are a compromise meant to offer a more comfortable ride than stiffer linear springs, but the trade-off are it's impossible to correctly match a shock to them and your overall handling is significantly less predictable since the spring rate is constantly changing. They're absolutely a step backward from good coilovers in terms of pure handling characteristics.
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 08:18 PM
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Lower it and play with the dampening settings. Maxing out the settings doesn't mean you'll have the best cornering ability.
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Old Dec 7, 2011 | 09:27 PM
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Stiffer in what way? Turning, braking, general ride quality?

Swaybars will help a lot with roll control.
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Old Dec 8, 2011 | 04:15 AM
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just bodyroll when corner in general... sorry let me rephrase my question, will lowering my car help with body roll on BC coiliver? I already have the F sport sway bar in the rear.

Just curious does all the people who have coilovers get camber kit? Should i get camber kit for my car?
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Old Dec 8, 2011 | 04:54 PM
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Camber kit only if your alignment is out of spec.
Try upping your spring rates. Did you get the standard rates of 10k/8k? I increased my spring rates to 12k/10k because I had to set my damping so high to not rub. Now I can set the damping softer and it rides firm, yet is much smoother. Rides more like how a luxury car should.
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Old Dec 10, 2011 | 04:14 AM
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so... technically we don't even need camber kit due to you can just have your alignment readjusted after installed coilover at any shop.

well i am using stock 18" wheels so rubbing is not an issue for me, so setting the dampening lower? which is the same as lowering the car right? so it will reduce bodyroll?
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Old Dec 11, 2011 | 06:58 AM
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1. Stiffer spring will help reduce body roll (because of higher suspension compression resistance of stiffer spring)

2. Lower ride height will help reduct body roll (because of lower Center of Gravity/Roll Center)

3. Bigger/Stiffer Stabilizer Bar will help reduce body roll (because of higher rolling resistance between the left and right wheel of the samel axle)

Now, you can choose 1 or 2 or 3 or the combination of triple.
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Old Dec 15, 2011 | 07:57 PM
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Okay, two quick questions. I am looking at the F Sport lowering springs for my '06 IS350. I have looked at the download instructions, and notice that they say only to change to the F Sport springs when converting to the F Sport shocks. Is this necessary, due to a difference in the extended and collapsed length difference of the lowered F Sport shocks compared to the standard IS shocks? Also, is it necessary to buy a camber kit for this car after installing the lowering springs, in order to get the alignment set correctly. I know that 1" in the front and 3/4" in the rear doesn't sound like much, but it is a lot in regards to the geometry of the alignment. Thanks in advance for any advice.
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