Lowering=premature component wear?

[reptile]

I was wondering if lowering the car (with whatever drop that Apex springs give) promotes excess strain and stress on the related suspension components.
My car has been lowered for about 2 years now, and while it looks cool, I am worried about the condition of the driveline components. I made use of full camber correction hardware as well as upgraded shocks to compliment the springs, in an effort to "do it right".
The drive axles are obviously at a considerably different angle than they were with the stock set up, as are the upper and lower control arms.
Since this is not how the car was built from the factory, should I be concerned about eventual drive axle/suspension component failure?

My front end has been making creaky groany noises when going over bumps and when going over bumps while cornering. It's not the "clunk" that a worn CV joint makes, but rather just "creaking"
When driving other cars and going over the same terrain (like say, the lip to my driveway) I hear no abnormal sounds from any suspension components.
Could it be that my suspension bushings are just worn out causing noise when made to rotate on their pivot points?
I am debating on whether I should go through the hassle of putting my stock springs back in for fear of causing too much damage to my undercarriage, since it seems to me that the whole system is under considerable stress from being forced into different-than-stock angles . Also, lowering a daily driven commuter is kind of a bad idea, and I am kind of regretting it.

 

[3literpwr]

Lowering cars can put more stress on ball joints and also dampers if the jounce bumpers(bump stops) are cut or removed... Well thats if you have twin tube shocks...... I have had similar "creeking" sounds are cars in the past and it was always a warn ball joint going metal to metal... One poped out of the control arm once and left me stranded 3 hours from home

Cheers
Larry

 

[igs]

I was wondering if lowering the car (with whatever drop that Apex springs give) promotes excess strain and stress on the related suspension components.
My car has been lowered for about 2 years now, and while it looks cool, I am worried about the condition of the driveline components. I made use of full camber correction hardware as well as upgraded shocks to compliment the springs, in an effort to "do it right".
The drive axles are obviously at a considerably different angle than they were with the stock set up, as are the upper and lower control arms.
Since this is not how the car was built from the factory, should I be concerned about eventual drive axle/suspension component failure?

My front end has been making creaky groany noises when going over bumps and when going over bumps while cornering. It's not the "clunk" that a worn CV joint makes, but rather just "creaking"
When driving other cars and going over the same terrain (like say, the lip to my driveway) I hear no abnormal sounds from any suspension components.
Could it be that my suspension bushings are just worn out causing noise when made to rotate on their pivot points?
I am debating on whether I should go through the hassle of putting my stock springs back in for fear of causing too much damage to my undercarriage, since it seems to me that the whole system is under considerable stress from being forced into different-than-stock angles . Also, lowering a daily driven commuter is kind of a bad idea, and I am kind of regretting it.

Lowering a car (up to a point) promotes less strain and stress. People who say it promotes more are making it up. People on the internet make shit up all the time. Lowering a car reduces weight transfer in all situations, less weight means less strain. I had a creaking noise too, turned out to be the bushings in the aftermarket camber kit. If you take yours out and lube it the creaking will go away.

 

[reptile]

hmm, that's good to know.

I have the Ingalls engineering adjustable anchor bolts in the front.
The last time I had my wheels off I inspected the upper and lower ball joints, and they were fine. I'll take a closer look at the condition of those anchor bushings and hopefully get them lubed up somewhat.

Thanks for the info

 

[igs]

Yes I had the Ingalls kit too. After about a year or two the front started squeaking like a mofo. You have to remove the control arm pivot bolt and lube that part.

 

[reptile]

what kind of lube is best for this application? white lithium grease? WD-40? straight silicone spray?

Thanks!

 

[toyotech360]

anti sieze works good, also I have had alot of luck with dielectric grease

 

[EclpzLvr97]

Damn those poloyurethane bushings....