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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Best Springs For 2" Drop?


Paul Laing

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Originally posted by Paul Laing

Talking to a guy in the US, he has 19s and has Tein Coilovers on his car which drop the car 2.5", and he says it handles great, he's tried lots of different combo's aswell....

 

Paul

 

This is america as in LOTS OF REALLY STRAIGHT ROADS ???;)

 

Dude:flame Dev

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Originally posted by Paul Laing

True......but i thought the lower the better for handling? The lower the car is to the road should make it handle much better or is this not the case with the Supra?

 

Paul

 

Absolutely NOT!! No! You must read up on this, you are going to totally bugger up the handling. Lower does NOT equal better. The correct way to lower a car is to move ALL the inner suspension pick up points and the steering rack UP in the chassis. This is totally impractical of course, although can be done on some cars (Lotus chassis will allow this if you blag an unfinished one from the likes of Spyder). All the geometry changes as you lower a car, and i don't just mean toe and camber angles. the whole kinematics of the suspension change, and on the Supra they change for the worse. A modest lowering is accepatble, but not 2 inches. If you are purely into a show car then lower away and fit 19 inch rims, but expect tramlining, dire handling and sweaty palms as you try to keep up with a well driven milk float :eek:

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I currently have what are believed to be TRD springs on mine and the drop is quite considerable, the ride is also quite harsh. On the run from Berko to Aylesbury after the Berko meet I had the traction control light come on at about 80 after I hit a bump, on rough roads you will find hard suspension destroys the handling of the car, but almost anything should be better than the stock UK spec suspension.

 

JB

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Originally posted by Chris Wilson

Absolutely NOT!! No! You must read up on this, you are going to totally bugger up the handling. Lower does NOT equal better. The correct way to lower a car is to move ALL the inner suspension pick up points and the steering rack UP in the chassis. This is totally impractical of course, although can be done on some cars (Lotus chassis will allow this if you blag an unfinished one from the likes of Spyder). All the geometry changes as you lower a car, and i don't just mean toe and camber angles. the whole kinematics of the suspension change, and on the Supra they change for the worse. A modest lowering is accepatble, but not 2 inches. If you are purely into a show car then lower away and fit 19 inch rims, but expect tramlining, dire handling and sweaty palms as you try to keep up with a well driven milk float :eek:

 

Its a UK , surely it allready struggles to keep up with a milk float ???

 

Dude:flame Dev

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Originally posted by Branners

oh no, stop it, my sides have split again.

 

JB

 

Big chinese again John ?????? never mind slip on the old loafers and go for a gentle stroll (you should be used to that now ) .

 

Paul ,CW is right you really dont want to drop it by 2" its miles too much , aside from handling you'll be very restricted as to where you can actually drive the car !!! :thumbs:

 

Dude:flame Dev

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Originally posted by dude

Big chinese again John ?????? never mind slip on the old loafers and go for a gentle stroll (you should be used to that now ) .

 

Paul ,CW is right you really dont want to drop it by 2" its miles too much , aside from handling you'll be very restricted as to where you can actually drive the car !!! :thumbs:

 

Dude:flame Dev

 

I agree, my car has the stock suspension. I went in a multi storey car park yesterday for the first time and the side skirts and/or exhaust touched the ground on one of the ramps!!

 

I was quite suprised as the car looks quite high!

 

Paul.

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Originally posted by Paul Laing

So how do you stop bodyroll then? Sway bars? Iv'e saw a few cars lowered quite a bit, and also been in them and the handling is good. Is it just the Supra where the handling actually suffers if lowered alot?

 

Paul

 

Don't confuse 'reacts really quickly and sharply to steering inputs' with 'handles well'. I've been in lowered cars which you'd have thought handled much better than mine, with very sharp, direct steering. Then I go round a sweeping corner 20mph faster than them because they start skipping and jumping over bumps being transmitted throughout the whole car whereas my setup just soaks them up at the wheel.

 

Listen to Chris - he knoweth his shit. Huge wheels and massive drops are inimical to handling. The best way to stop bodyroll is have a lighter car.

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The best money I've spent on the car has been Chris Wilson's suspension kit consisting of shocks, springs and a full geometry setup. The handling and ride are *superb* and it lowers it just enough to be aesthetically pleasing without causing problems when trying to negotiate speed humps. With 18's and good tires grip is vastly improved too, further helped by the suspension.

 

You can keep your rock hard lowered springs and in car adjustable shite, I can't recommend this kit enough. I know others have different views and that's what this BBS is all about, make your choice and pay your money :)

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Originally posted by Billy

my cars is up with chris now having his full set up fitted chris showed me how it works Progressively wound springs make a lot of sense but as chris said the bit that takes the time is setting it all up

 

Especially when the adjusters have seized... Don't worry, nothing the gas axe won't fix :innocent:

 

Seriously though, 3 adjusters seized, 1 freed off, 2 will ned serious attack. I love sparks and flames...

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