Coil springs and Tire size

[TurboLaserRS]

Hey guys I just have a question I can't find much of an answer for. The thing is that I have a big box of parts for my front end and it's all being replaced at the same time, but I'm 99% certain that my sad 24 year old stock springs are saggy. I want to put good springs on the car, maybe even ones with a very modest drop. However the thing is that I do not know how much it's sagging, as I don't have another stock 1g in front of me to look at. Also I'm running 225/55/16's, which are a little bit big on the sidewall. Ocasionally if I hit a bump just right it will scrape my fender a little. So my main concern besides going down in profile on my tire is that we will get these 'lowering' springs installed, and my car won't be able to move at all with the tires that are on it now. As I said I have no idea how much it's sagging so for a company to say 1.5 inch drop is completely worthless to me. Does anyone have any insight on what I can do to be safe? I bought KYB GR2s for the front, and AGX's for the rear.

Please and thank you!

 

[Soccerguy136]

To test suspension on car, try bouncing one side. If it returns after 1-2 small bounces, you are okay. If it bounces 3+, or large bounces, it's bad.

Stock ride height is hard to find. I found a lot of different numbers when searching so I could set my coil overs up right.

From axle c/l to wheel arch
Front - 15.16-15.5"
Rear - 15.5-16"

Most people that were measuring had 175k-200k on the suspensions, so take those numbers as guidelines.

It is not recommended to use lowering springs with GR-2s or AGXs, but KYB has stated up to a 1" drop is okay and still covered under warranty.

Most of the time, it is not the springs that are sagging, it's the shocks that are gone. Springs can normally far outlast shocks. That said, new springs are pretty cheap so if you are getting new shocks, just look for some in the classifieds, or try rockauto.com.

As to those tires, many people have different views. Some say they will fit, others say they won't. Most agree they will rub slightly over bumps, especially when lowered. I would pull them all off to make sure they isn't any large pieces broken out of the tires.

They are for sure taller than stock, and you are most likely you are losing performance compared to the stock size of 205/55/16. A better match for our cars would be 225/50/16, but I would still pick the stock tire size over those.

Hope this helps.