You hate the sight of your car looking like a monster truck? All your mates constantly givin you sh*t for not being fully slammed? It’s alright, after this read you will know exactly what to go out and get for your ride, all the way from cheap slammed to pull up n air out flex!
1. Lowering Springs
This would probably be the cheapest option to lowering your car. A set of lowering springs will set you back at most $300-$400 for a reputable brand such as Eibach or King Springs. Usually, they will lower the car between 1-2 inches depending on which type of springs you get. If you do get king springs there will most likely be a super low option which will lower the car more than the normal lowering springs. However, the downfall to lowering springs is the fact there is no adjustability whatsoever (unless you cut your springs but we really do not recommend that..). So whatever the car gets lowered by you are stuck with, whether it be too low (unlikely) or too high (more likely). Another aspect to consider are your struts. Once you install lowering springs the overall strut will be under more tension since it was not designed to be accompanied by a lowering spring. Most lowering spring manufacturers combat this with increasing the spring rate of the lowering spring, however, if longevity is on your mind then it is recommended to upgrade your struts as well to suit the lowering spring. A good brand for struts would be Bilstein. In most cases just doing lowering springs will fair alright and will not ruin the struts too much, but it is always best to do your own research to see whether your particular strut is nearly on its way out.
2. Coilovers
This is the most common way to lower your car and the most recommended. Coilovers can range in price, from ebay spec (pls don’t your back is begging you not to) to Dual cylinder KW’s. But for most people an entry level coilover which provides the best bang for your buck would be the BC racing range. Brand new is around 1.3-1.5k, but if you are lucky and look all over the internet you can probably find a second hand set for nearly half the price. If you are getting a second hand set look out for how many kms it has done and whether there are any knocks or leaks on the strut itself. The reason coilovers are the most common option by all car lovers is due to its adjustability. You can choose the height you want from slammed to monster truck, whatever you feel like. In addition to height, camber, dampening, rebound are common adjustments that are available on most base model coil overs. All this adjustability allows the user to perfectly dial in their settings to ensure superior handling cruising down the mountains. Overall, we would recommend going after a set of coilovers for their adjustability and features while being cost effective too.
3. Air Suspension
One thing that everyone loves to see is when someone parks up is them airing out. However this does come at quite the cost, there are many components from management, to the compressor, to the air struts themselves. Oh and can’t forget the cost of installation. Most cases, you would need a shop to do air suspension installation which would cost at least 1k. Overall this will set you back at least 4-5k which is why you rarely see anyone do it. Especially if you wanna do it legally, then you would need to get the car engineered which is not an easy process either. All these costs aside, there is a myth that air suspension ruins your handling, but it has been used on tracks and they have held up fine if not done better than other forms of suspension. Overall, we wouldn’t recommend air suspension unless you can afford it and you intend on keeping the car for a while due to the customisation it offers.
If we were to pick one option to lower your car it would have to be coilovers, they meet most of the requirements of the user and provide the most value for money.
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