Lowered my Ride for $24.95 (SRT-6)

[BrianBrave]

I finished the lowering project on my SRT-6 last night and I can tell you it’s a pretty easy task.

First I want to thank forum member LantanaTX for lowering his ride by trimming the stock coils and to basslover911 for posting his rear DIY lowering steps on the forum; big help to me. And lastly I want to thank forum member stevewrx who told me how he had installed Eibach’s on his SRT at the Anaheim GTG which saved me a ton of time and effort.

Members helping members – what a concept!!

Bottom line is you can lower your ride for $0. I purchased a spring compressor from Harbor Freight Tools for $13 and I did not need it.

I purchased the lowest spring pads for the front and rear springs ($24.95) – and probably did not need them but they were so cheap and good for fine tuning.

The numbers.

My stock rears measured 4-1/2 inches from top of rim to the top of the wheel well. The fronts measured 4-1/4 inches.

I removed the rear springs using the steps in outlined in basslover911's post: REVIEW and DIY - Lowered Rear ONLY with Pictures

Took about 15 min to remove each side, I trimmed a 1/2 coil from each spring (from the top) using a small grinder, painting some black on the exposed metal to prevent rust, putting the “one dot 5mm” pads on top, (my stock pads were 3 dot or 1/3 of an inch taller) re-installing the springs and rims and lowering the car. Total time 1 hour.

I should have driven the car at this point. More on this later.

I measured and only got about a 3/4 inch drop so I removed the coils again, shaved another ½ coil off each side and re-assembled. Total time ½ hour; second time is always easier. Measured and saw a 1-3/4” drop. I was happy and moved on to the fronts.

First time I attempted to remove the front springs, I tried from the front, unbolting the shock, sway-bar, using an air pickle-fork to disconnect the upper and lower ball joint. Without a proper spring compressor I gave up and went to the Anaheim GTG where Steve suggested I remove the two inner bolts that hold the A-arm.

Steps for removing front springs:

Place XFire on front and rear jack stands (both sides or one side at a time) Remove plastic belly pan.
Place floor jack under front a-arm close to shock and raise enough to remove tension. Unbolt shock from top mount (17mm wrench). Unbolt sway-arm mount (two 13mm nuts).

Reposition Jack to inside portion of A-arm under two big bolts and raise just enough to remove any tension. Remove the two bolts (I did not have a 22 mm socket but a 7/8” worked just great). You might also need a torx driver for the other side.

Lower jack, spring will fall into you hand. No spring compressor required. No stress on the brake line etc..

I trimmed the springs ¾ of a coil, painted and re-installed with the new one dot (5mm) pad. (My stock pads were so 2 dot so not much help in lowering). Re-install spring.

Place jack under the inner section of A-arm and slowly raise. Make sure bottom of spring rest in the holder with end of spring touching the butt of the mount. (keep an eye on the shock and feed it thru mounting hole) and align inside A-arm mounting brackets. Insert both bolts and tighten (BTW – I use a little lock-tite).

Lower Jack and reposition under shock mount and slowly raise A-arm guiding shock and sway-bar into position. Good time to insure you have the spring seated correctly. Re-assemble top shock nut and sway-arm bracket. Put the rims back on and yer done.

This lowered the front end 1 inch. I thought about lowering some more but decided it was time for a test drive.

Took it out for a spin, filled with gas and drove to work and pulled into the parking lot. I still clear the little cement parking stops by ¾ of an inch but will not clear a sidewalk gutter (I used to). So I decided that was low enough. When I got home and measured again, the rears had settled more – Not sure if it was a full tank of gas or what – but the rears now measure 2-1/2 inch. That’s a 2” drop from stock, but I like the ride and I like the look – It was way to high in the back, and it’s so easy to remove and put back in the stock pads and raise it back up a 1/3 inch.

But no bottoming out (did a few speed runs) no tire rub, hard turns in the parking lot forward and reverse, and no big change in the ride, still feels like a stiff SRT-6.

I suggest only ¾ of a coil trim for all four springs – but it all depends on how aggressive you want your XFire to look.

Here are few pictures, more in my gallery – and good luck with your projects.

[BrianBrave]

Before Pictures

The Rears

[BrianBrave]

The Front (Before)

[BrianBrave]

After Rear






After Front

[BrianBrave]

[MI1XFIRE]

Now that explains the 2" drop in the rear. Disregard the "WOW 2" drop from 1/2 coil" in the gallery pic comment section.

[Sidez]

Originally Posted by MI1XFIRE

Now that explains the 2" drop in the rear. Disregard the "WOW 2" drop from 1/2 coil" in the gallery pic comment section

its 1 full coil... he said he shaved 1/2 than 1/2 more.

Good write up thank you.

[Maxwell]

should also mention, that it's a cheap and easy way to adjust the front and rear camber, that is if you have issue with tire wear on the outer treads.

[basslover911]

VERY NICE!

I will also do a write up on the fronts as I haven't done that (and write a review on how it handles).

Maybe it didn't help much on the srt6, but on the limited it definitely decreased body roll by a lot (doing the rears)... but then again the srt6 is STIFF STIFF STIFF...

Good job! I know a lot of people are going to appreciate these write ups! (I think we should do a little sticky on "suspension diy" and collect all these posts... for reference).

[SRTpowa]

Looks good. Thanks for taking the time and effort to provide all the details. I think when I get around to doing this I'll go with a half coil in the rear to level it out and leave the fronts alone. Does it matter if you cut from the top or bottom?

[steverwrx]

Looks great Brian! Way to go.

[BrianBrave]

Originally Posted by SRTpowa

Looks good. Thanks for taking the time and effort to provide all the details. I think when I get around to doing this I'll go with a half coil in the rear to level it out and leave the fronts alone. Does it matter if you cut from the top or bottom?

No, the springs are symmetrical. Just make sure the bottom of the coil is seated correctly on the A-arm and the upper pad is seated right. Once the springs are out it won't be hard to spot.

[ShawnQ]

Looks good! Nice write up!

I may have left it a tad higher in the rear - but like you said, you can add your spacer and correct that if you choose to do so.

Keep us posted on that IAT mod...

SQ

[Mike-in-Orange]

How much has the ride quality changed? I wouldn't mine a bit lower but I won't compromise ride quality by much.

[BrianBrave]

Steve,

It's a little stiffer - but not any more extreme then the stock SRT ride.

First time out I heard every bump, every road noise. This evening I went out and tangled a bit with a Boxster S and it felt pretty much as before.

At 1/2 tank of gas the back end did raise up a bit - but I like it and never bottom out (and I drive hard) and it looks sweet.

I suggest 1/2 or 3/4 coil trim. Go 1/2 at first and then test drive a few days - it's an easy mod so you can always trim more later.

If you have the Eibachs the ride may be smoother.

BB

[SRT-6 Steve]

Originally Posted by BrianBrave

Steve,

It's a little stiffer - but not any more extreme then the stock SRT ride.

First time out I heard every bump, every road noise. This evening I went out and tangled a bit with a Boxster S and it felt pretty much as before.

At 1/2 tank of gas the back end did raise up a bit - but I like it and never bottom out (and I drive hard) and it looks sweet.

I suggest 1/2 or 3/4 coil trim. Go 1/2 at first and then test drive a few days - it's an easy mod so you can always trim more later.

If you have the Eibachs the ride may be smoother.

BB

Someone may have already answered this but are the coils progressive? If so, as a rule of thumb, most advise on not cutting the coils but rather replace with a shorter progressive spring so ride quality does not deteriorate.

Steve

[Maxwell]

By progressive you mean tapered or different shaped coils? I've looked at my stock coils and it's a constant coil, no change in diameter or thickness.

[SRT-6 Steve]

Originally Posted by Maxwell

by progressive you mean tapered or different shaped coils? I've looked at my stock coils and it's a constant coil, no change in diameter or thickness.

Yes, the coils are different spring rates throughout the coils. Many cars are this way so they soak up the smaller bumps easier and still handle the larger ones without bottoming out. I honestly do not know if it would be obvious while looking at them or not but this is important to know.

Steve

[LantanaTX]

BrianBrave, Looks really good! The amount of coil to cut will be different for an SRT and non SRT. I left the stock pads and went with 1 full coil and love the results on my Limited. I don't believe the stock springs are progressive. I could be wrong but all the progressive springs I have seen are wound tighter towards the bottom. Just in case I recommend always cutting from the top of the spring.

[SRT-6 Steve]

Originally Posted by LantanaTX

BrianBrave, Looks really good! The amount of coil to cut will be different for an SRT and non SRT. I left the stock pads and went with 1 full coil and love the results on my Limited. I don't believe the stock springs are progressive. I could be wrong but all the progressive springs I have seen are wound tighter towards the bottom. Just in case I recommend always cutting from the top of the spring.

Good point.

Steve