Clever Idiot Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Hey folks, Looking at getting my suspension pieces. For a long time I've been planning on a 2" drop springs in the front, 1" drop springs in the rear. Stock front spindles, but I'm getting new upper and lower control arms from BMR with the tall ball joint. I can't remember if those tall ball joints will lower the front at all; I'll have to look back through my emails. I've always pictured a slight rake to the stance, but now I'm wondering if I might like it better with both front and rear lowered evenly. The tires I'm planning on have a 0.8" difference in diameter according to their website (Nitto NT450, 255/50R17 front, 275/50R17 rear, 17x8 wheels all around), so less than half an inch difference in ride height. I'm starting to wonder if it might be more rake than I want with the 1" difference between springs and we'll call it 1/2" difference between tires, plus the tall ball joint might add more difference. Anybody have any pictures of setups with different front/rear heights, and what those height differences are? I'd rather not buy more than I need to, and it'll be a while before the car's fully loaded down on the suspension to see what my results are so I wouldn't imagine the spring place would let me do an even swap if I didn't like the look. Also, just give me some opinions on what y'all think of raked vs flat stance. Flat seems to be more modern pro-touring, which I like. But raked gives it a classic muscle intimidation sometimes. I'm totally on the fence. Hell, I might just end up buying both sets of rear springs. It's really a drop in the bucket compared to everything else going in! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 DJ I will have to post some pictures when I get home as we have one car with a 3" drop in the front and 1" in the rear, then there is my Monte with a 1" drop front and back and sits level. The Monte uses the same height tire 26" front and back. Coil covers might be a good option to give you both the level look and the rake look you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 DJ here are those pictures the Monte uses Hotchkis lowering springs. And here is our 70 El Camino which has 2" drop spindles and 1" drop Hotchkis springs total 3" in the front with the rear having 1" drop Hotchkis springs, but a set of air shocks. The Monte has 255/50/16 all the way around it where the El Camino has has 26x10 rear tire and the front I believe is a 26x7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clever Idiot Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Coil-overs are out of my price range. I'm aiming to get this beast on the road in a little over a year. Plus I think their capabilities are beyond what I need out of the car. Truthfully I'm not sure what advantages coil-overs have. I just know that I see them on cars that see way more track time than I plan on, and they're far more expensive. Judging by the El Camino, I think I'll stick with my original plan of 2" drop front springs, 1" drop rear springs. That's a heck of a suspension difference on the El C, and it doesn't look drastic in reality to me. The lower wheel well lip in the rear almost makes the MC seem like it sits lower in back (even though it's actually level), at least to my eyes. Not judging by that picture, but others I've seen that I know are level, with the pic taken more from the side. Pro-Touring '72 on the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 The Monte does sit level and getting out of it you can touch the ground with your hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 You're pretty much locked in with your front setup (however that turns out), so the adjustment is going to be in the back. I am running 1" lowering springs all around, and it seems to me that the rear sits a little low for my liking (but it rides nice). I simply added some helper air bags in the rear and I can raise it some if I want. The bags aren't designed to add lift like air shocks, but instead are designed to carry weight...still you will get about 3 or 4 inches to play with. With too much air they tend to be kinda harsh in the ride department, but if you plumb them with seperate fillers instead of using their included Tee fitting, they will help with roll control and you can preload one side if you want for better traction. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/air-60844 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 From the wheel trim to the ground my car measures 25.5" on all four corners. My front tires measure 26.8" and my rear tires measure 28". I have a coil over front suspension and where it sits I could go several inches up or down. I can't exactly remember how much of a drop my rear springs are, it's either 1" or 2" but I have an adjustable spacer that sits under the spring. Where it sits now I could go up 3" or down 1.5". What ever route you choose you can't beat an adjustable suspension to get it exactly where you want it. I've seen so many people buy springs and have to settle with how it sits or shell out more money and try it again. With that being said it usually is not in ones budget to spend a fortune on their suspension. I will admit I cut my stock front springs twice and finally ended up too low... Eventually I just threw a bunch of money at the suspension and never looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clever Idiot Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 Bill, I don't see myself doing coil-overs. At least not at first. Maybe if I've got everything else done and I still want to tweak the stance a little more. I like the way yours sits, though. That's kind of what I was thinking, like the El Camino and yours: opening up the rear wheel well and showing the wheel a little more than stock. For spacers, you mean something like this? Those airbags are less expensive than I thought they would be. I kinda like that idea for if I'm hauling a bunch of stuff in the trunk; looks like I could just pump them up and keep the butt off the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 What ever route you choose you can't beat an adjustable suspension to get it exactly where you want it. I've seen so many people buy springs and have to settle with how it sits or shell out more money and try it again. With that being said it usually is not in ones budget to spend a fortune on their suspension. I will admit I cut my stock front springs twice and finally ended up too low... Eventually I just threw a bunch of money at the suspension and never looked back. Bill, I'm curious how much of the coil did you cut & how much of a drop did that give you. Did you cut one full ring or a half or ????? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 For spacers, you mean something like this? No, actually these are the ones I have... They can be found HERE They are kinda expensive but are super heavy duty. You can adjust them with a ratchet wrench by sticking it up through the bottom of the spring perch and you can adjust them very quickly with the full weight of the car on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Bill, I'm curious how much of the coil did you cut & how much of a drop did that give you. Did you cut one full ring or a half or ????? Thanks. Been so long ago I could not give you an accurate answer...but if I was to guess I think it was a half coil the first time and then knowing me probably a full coil the second time... I actually liked the look but my header flange was scraping on speed bumps with passengers in the car and even scraped when I hit a hard dip in the road. After one time making my ex-girlfriend get out of the car and walk along side of it while I drove through the parking lot was the final straw to fix it right... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clever Idiot Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 Awesome! Thanks, Bill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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