What exactly will I need to lower my s13?

[Two Fowty]

Don't instantly flame me saying to look, because I have, and I'm confused.

Ive read that I can just replace the springs with different ones and it will lower my car, but I've also read that I can replace the coilovers, but then there is always someone saying stuff about rucas on the back, and a plate on the front.

Could someone just kindly explain the process and required things to lower a car, front and back.

There is tons of info here but alot of it is different, I just want a direct answer.

And what is the cheapest route to lower a car. Don't say cut the springs, I know this is very bad.

[Two Fowty]

I'm wanting to lower my car so it will look pretty good, and then maybe throw a lip/body kit on it. It is a daily driver, and I'm just wanting a smooth ride and a good look.

I've did some reading and I read that getting kyb agx struts and ten s tech springs would do the job, is this correct, or am I going to need more parts as well as these?
Modified by Two Fowty at 8:15 PM 2/23/2009

[mRodiek]

Get coilovers! You can adjust height as your please, Ive never replaced them myself but it seems relatively straight forward

[Fr0zEn]

I got Lowering Springs, Not installed yet but will be this saturday. Cheap is Maganracing.com, Will let you know if they are good or not but I like the way they look!

[ashibah83]

ok,.....if your wanting to SLAM the car the your best bet is coilovers, if you go with coilovers and SLAM the car, you will need pillowball front mounts that allow for camber adjustment, sold by tein or if you get a decent set of coilovers they will be included and Rear Upper Control(or Camber) Arms, or RUCA's, which will allow you to adjust rear camber, but if plan on going really low you will also need rear toe arms and possibly traction arms, entire sets of arms are avaiable from many different manufacturers, SPL, Megan Racing, Battle Version, Peak Performance, Circuit Sports

for what you are wanting according to you previous post, i would discourage coilovers as they will ride MUCH more harsh, and you may not be tracking your car, look for a good reputable set of springs and struts, something like Tein S techs, or RSR springs, or Eibach's couple them with a good set of struts such as KYB AGX's, which if you want allow for a little dampening adjustmet if you ever do want to track it, oh and STOCK REPLACEMENT STRUTS ARENT MEANT TO BE USED WITH LOWERING SPRINGS, the spring rates and less travel caused by and lower than stock ride height could cause the struts to fail

if you go the spring strut route look for a cam bolt type camber adjuster(your alignment shop sould be able to get you some if you dont know what you need) and i would still recomend Rucas for the rear, if your rear camber cannot be adjuted to within factory specs with the factory arms

all that being said, get what you want to achieve the look and ride you want, then have it aligned properly

after reading your post, yes Tein S techs nd KYB AGX's would be good, you shouldnt need anything else

[Two Fowty]

alright that sounds good but i heard that kyb's will crap out fast for dd, is this true? should i go with koni yellows and s tech?

if you go the spring strut route look for a cam bolt type camber adjuster(your alignment shop sould be able to get you some if you dont know what you need) and i would still recomend Rucas for the rear, if your rear camber cannot be adjuted to within factory specs with the factory arms

and what did you mean here? i'm not fully clear on what rucas are, and how do i know if they cant be adjusted ? and if they cant, what rucas do i need to get? and what is the cam bolt type camber adjuster for?

sorry about all the questions, im just really wanting a defined answer so i know exactly what to do so it isnt all crapped out.

[SERUM]

Yes the cheapest route would be to go with springs, shock/strut combo. I seriously suggest you search for pics of all combos (whether megan, tein, eibach, rsr, hypercoils, swift...) so you dont be upset with the your newly acquired height. Once you price it out, assuming you're buying everything new, you will probably hold off and buy coilovers or go the koni/groundcontrol route.

and what did you mean here? i'm not fully clear on what rucas are, and how do i know if they cant be adjusted ? and if they cant, what rucas do i need to get? and what is the cam bolt type camber adjuster for?

ruca's (rear upper control arms) will be used to adjust your rear camber if need be (when you lower your car your wheels tend to / \). The only other way to do it with your stock stuff would be to use eccentric bolts (eccentric bolt part isnt biblical).

[phanatikz32]

sounds like a shock spring set up would be good for you since you dont seem to be concerned about performance. look into tokico's they are inexpensive and good. you can get a set of 4 blue's for about 400 bucks i think. also you should look into the tanabe gf210 lowering springs, they are i think 20% or 30% stiffer than stock and they sell up to a 2' drop so they would be good for lowing your car noticably and still giving a bit of performance in the corners. also eibach makes what is called the GROUND CONTROLL system, which basically is the upper part of the coilover which has a spring the seat and the upper mount so they are adjustable, you can slide it over your shock and make your own coilover. i dont know how cops are where you live but out here if you're lowered you will get a ticket at some point. so its good to have the adjustablility of a coilover. for what you want to do you dont need any links, links are for people who want their car to perform or be slammed, you just want your car to look good and ride comfortable, which it wont if you slam it.

[Fr0zEn]

Do yourself a favor. Check you bolts and make sure they are not stripped or covered in 10lbs of rust before you start.

I just changed my springs today, unheated Garage, 9deg, cold tools, stuck bolts, and broken knuckles... It was worth it all afterward. Had to use a torch to turn my 2 bolts at bottom cherry red, then had to use a ratchet, metal pipe, vice grips, long screwdriver in order to get the bots and nuts to break free. Felt like giving up after i busted my knuckle off the lugnut bolts. But it your bolts look simple to take off its a very fun DIY. Goodluck with whatever you do.