Proper way to lower? and fears about body sag

Swollin_74

I wanted to lower my el camino a little bit. Just to give it an aggressive stance.. please do not interpret what I said as wanting a low rider.

Anyway I was wondering, is there a "Proper" way to lower it? I've seen the springs that will lower it 1"-2", and then there are the drop spindles that lower it 2". Now if I use the drop spindles on the front, I would still have to buy lowering springs for the rear correct?

is there any advantage from using drop spindles to shorter springs?

Also I'm really worried about a bit of sag on my drivers side. It was initially a slow onset, but got pretty bad. I recently replaced all my shocks and found that my front drivers side shock had completely blown it's seal. So I'm wondering if the body sag is because the spring was overly stressed for so long because of the blown shock and having to brunt the full force of all the motion and it became perm compressed more or if maybe there is something else I should look into. I've never been in a bad accident in the el camino. And if it had some sagging before it was never noticable.

And sadly I don't really have the money to take apart the car and pull the body off to measure the frame.

I'm going to measure the difference in height tomorrow to see just how bad it is.

Steve81OR · Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 4:04 am Post subject:

Using shorter springs on the front will change the alignment and will cause the tires to wear unevenly. You'll need to have the front-end realigned to get the wheel geometry correct. I am not an alignment expert, so I don't know if realigning it with a 2" drop is possible. Probably, but some shops may not be willing to warranty the work. You may also see issues with tire clearence depending on what size tires you have.

Drop spindles would be a better option for the front since they retain the alignment but raise the position of the wheel on the spindle (thus lowering the front end).

But using shorter springs on the rear shouldn't cause you any problems unless you are trying to run larger tires. Your tires may rub on the fender wells if they are too wide since the body will sit lower to the frame.

I had the same issue with one side sagging lower than the other, my sag was on the passenger side. New front and rear springs and shocks evened everything out nicely. But I didn't lower the car since my side pipes were scrapping the ground already. I was actually looking to raise the car a bit and new stock height springs with gas shocks did the trick.

I would say your assesment of the springs is probably pretty close. 20+ year old springs that weren't getting any support from the shocks may very well have caused the springs to collapse faster.
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1981 Chevy El Camino
1991 Chevy S10
"The only thing collecting dust in my garage... is my broom"

elcam84 · Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 7:43 pm Post subject:

The preferred method is to use a stiffer spring then cut the spring.

Drop spindles have their issues which I won't go into.
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Robert Adams
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Swollin_74 · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:48 am Post subject:

I was looking at the eibach lowering springs.

Would there be any better route?

toms84ss · Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 5:26 pm Post subject:

A couple problems when cutting springs. First, you change the spring rate. If you buy a stiffer spring, then start cutting it, it becomes stiffer. second, its a guessing game as to how much to cut. The spring must be installed to see where the change in ride height is at. If you cut too much you just wasted a spring. If you didn't cut enough, you get to take the spring out and start over.
Gettign a matched set of springs like Eibach is one of the easiest ways to go. As long as you can live with the end result as far as ride height goes. They are a bit spendy. But you wont be messing with them for a long time after you install them.

elcam84 · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:23 am Post subject:

The Eibach stuff is fine if it gives you the drop you want. It is however very expensive for what thee are.

If you go with lowering spindles you need to stiffen the spring because the spindle puts the tire up higher into the wheel well. You loose effective suspension travel because of this and you have to run the stiffer spring to make up for it.

Using a stiffer spring and then cutting it works well and is the best method overall. There are a few exceptions though.

Cutting a spring does not make it stiffer. It shortens it's installed height.

Moog 5662s are a good choice to start with. They are from the third gen F-body and can be had for ~$50 a pair new.

See Jeff's page for spring comparisons. http://jeffd.50megs.com/Moog_Spring_Page.htm
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Robert Adams
http://gparts.freeyellow.com
84 Conquista

greywolf · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:36 pm Post subject:

I got a set of Suspension Technology front and rear springs from Performance Suspension. They lowered the car a little more than an inch. It resulted in the front lower A-arms being just about horizontal, which is a good thing according to my mechanic who also races late model (G body).
And yes, after lowering the car it needs to have the alignment redone. But I have my own ideas on alignment anyway and wanted to set things my way -- camber to the low end of its spec range and caster to the high end of its spec range.
Car corners better and gives me even tire wear. I'm happy with the setup.

Swollin_74 · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 2:33 am Post subject:

greywolf · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:59 am Post subject:

Swollin_74 · Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:10 am Post subject:

I did a generalized search for g-bodies and people have been recomending the moog 5658 springs, saying that it will give you approx 1.5 drop with a v8. Others also recommended the 5413's for the rear.

Anybody tried these? or are the 5662's a safer bet. and as for cutting the spring I don't have any kind of way to cut it.