Pictures: Tokico Height

[Smoothie97]

So how low is everybody's car? I decided to take pictures one last time before my car went back to stock height. This is the Tokcio Illuminas with Tokico Springs. They advertise a 1.5" drop on a FWD. That's a total lie! After looking at my measurements, does it look like I only dropped 1.5"???

Alas, I will be liberated with the freedom to go to any shopping plaza I want no matter how steep the entrance! No more going over speed bumps at angles, one at a time. I have the freedom to go to any car shop and get onto any lift I want.

My life will soon be changed my friends.

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[SpooledGSX98]

I believe youre supposed to measure from the top/center of the wheel well to the center of your wheel. When places lower your car for you, theyre supposed to do a before/after measurement. Is that a before or after measurement?

 

[cuttheduck]

^^^^^what he said^^^^

Also,,i measured my prokits and i have a little less then 3 inches clearance on the front bumper corners like you measured. looks pretty close to the same drop.

 

[Smoothie97]

Yeah, I know it really was a 1.5" drop. I know I didn't measure it right. I was just comparing stock height with stock tires from the ground to the dropped height with lower profile tires from the ground.

Going from the stock wheels, with a huge sidewall, to skinny skinny low profiles tires accounts for about another 2" of a "drop" if you are measuring from the ground up.

Just being sarcastic in my post because I feel that my car was pretty low. But after looking at the gallery pictures of a lot of cars, every body's car is pretty much the same height - that being real low!

 

[cuttheduck]

low profile tires shouldn't have ANY bearing on your bumper height clearance though if thats what your saying. They should still be the same diameter. Cant tell w/ the " " around drop though,

 

[98TsiAWD]

low profile tires shouldn't have ANY bearing on your bumper height clearance though if thats what your saying. They should still be the same diameter. Cant tell w/ the " " around drop though,

Thats not necessarily true, yes if he got larger wheels and the PROPER size tire it would be teh same overall diamater and have a real close revolutions per mile to the stock tire. But if he got some thing really low profile it will more than likely be smaller overall diamter than the stock tire, thus lowering the car some and increasing wheel gap.

 

[SpooledGSX98]

Well I was initially lost while reading his post. I was hoping he wasnt dissapointed in his suspension kit because it didnt make his car 1.5" off the ground. Thats why its showing the ruler showing the real heigth, but then again are those after shots or before shots? It was a pretty broad thread. Also, if youre going back to stock suspenision and giving up handling/accel/etc. just so you can get into McDonalds, thats saaaad! But if youre just going back to stock heigth, oh well...to each his own. Good Luck.

 

[Smoothie97]

98TSIAWD: You are correct.

Cuttheduck: You are wrong. Let's take a hypothetical extreme about low profile tires vs. normal tires. Let's make the normal tire a Jeep Wrangler style tire. Now assuming the wheel diameter is the same and assuming that the jeep wheel/rim fits on the car (i.e. ignore fender clearance), don't you think that putting a Jeep wranger style tire (with it's 8" sideline) would defintely raise the car if it were on an Eclipse? While putting a skinny low profile tire on the Eclips would lower the car's height at the bumper? Therefore, the length of your sidewall DOES have an effect of how high or low your front bumper sits.

SpooledGSX98: If you read the second sentence of the initial post correctly, it clearly says, "I decided to take pictures one last time BEFORE my car went back to stock height."

Those pictures are of my lowered car of course. How many stock Eclipses do you see that are 3" off the ground? And trust me, in Houston, a lowered car is a nightmare. We have bumps were trucks even slow down for. There are railroad tracks everywhere. Anybody here from Houston? Everyone, whether they drive trucks, SUVs, or lowered cars, is familiar with how absolutely crappy the Kirby and the Rice Village area.

The purpose of my post and showing the ruler was to show that I'm too low to the ground and wasn't happy with a 1.5" drop. I would be happier with a 1" drop.

Seeing as my car is a daily driver, I've never been auto crossing or to the track. I have no need to take corners that fast. I mean, do you need superb handling when making a 90 degree right hand turn at a light or stop sign? Nope. You go 15 mph just like everyone else. Can I still take freeway curvers at 80 mph on the stock suspension? Sure, I've got 235 tires...no problem.

I'm not saying an after-market suspension is dumb. I think it looks awesome. It IS awesome on smooth and flat roads with no surprise bumps. Stock heigh looks stupid. But if you rode in my car in Houston, you'd want to be stock height just to gain the comfort level back. It's not cool having to slow down for every single freakin' bump and memorize pot holes and be in certain lanes at certain portions of the road.

Now perhaps if I lived in Bend, Oregon where the population was 57,750 in 2002, where there aren't that many cars to tear up the roads, then I'd be okay lowered. But in Houston, with over 2 million people, tons of cars, trucks, 18 wheelers, tearing up the roads, a lowered car is just a nuisance.

 

[UrMyStlkAl]

So are you telling me I shouldn't drop my car when I finally get rims?

 

[Smoothie97]

I'm not giving out any advice. When I had 18s and lowered, I rubbed. When I had 17s and lowered no rub. But regardless of what wheel or tire you're on, the ride will be rough and bumpy. Getting up entrances to driveways and clearing speed bumps will be more difficult (but not impossible). I've learned to drive where I don't scrape at all. But, the people behind me tend to get angry because I go so slow anytime I enter a store's entrance ramp.

 

[cuttheduck]

98TSIAWD: You are correct.

Cuttheduck: You are wrong. Let's take a hypothetical extreme about low profile tires vs. normal tires. Let's make the normal tire a Jeep Wrangler style tire. Now assuming the wheel diameter is the same and assuming that the jeep wheel/rim fits on the car (i.e. ignore fender clearance), don't you think that putting a Jeep wranger style tire (with it's 8" sideline) would defintely raise the car if it were on an Eclipse? While putting a skinny low profile tire on the Eclips would lower the car's height at the bumper? Therefore, the length of your sidewall DOES have an effect of how high or low your front bumper sits.

SpooledGSX98: If you read the second sentence of the initial post correctly, it clearly says, "I decided to take pictures one last time BEFORE my car went back to stock height."

Those pictures are of my lowered car of course. How many stock Eclipses do you see that are 3" off the ground? And trust me, in Houston, a lowered car is a nightmare. We have bumps were trucks even slow down for. There are railroad tracks everywhere. Anybody here from Houston? Everyone, whether they drive trucks, SUVs, or lowered cars, is familiar with how absolutely crappy the Kirby and the Rice Village area.

The purpose of my post and showing the ruler was to show that I'm too low to the ground and wasn't happy with a 1.5" drop. I would be happier with a 1" drop.

Seeing as my car is a daily driver, I've never been auto crossing or to the track. I have no need to take corners that fast. I mean, do you need superb handling when making a 90 degree right hand turn at a light or stop sign? Nope. You go 15 mph just like everyone else. Can I still take freeway curvers at 80 mph on the stock suspension? Sure, I've got 235 tires...no problem.

I'm not saying an after-market suspension is dumb. I think it looks awesome. It IS awesome on smooth and flat roads with no surprise bumps. Stock heigh looks stupid. But if you rode in my car in Houston, you'd want to be stock height just to gain the comfort level back. It's not cool having to slow down for every single freakin' bump and memorize pot holes and be in certain lanes at certain portions of the road.

Now perhaps if I lived in Bend, Oregon where the population was 57,750 in 2002, where there aren't that many cars to tear up the roads, then I'd be okay lowered. But in Houston, with over 2 million people, tons of cars, trucks, 18 wheelers, tearing up the roads, a lowered car is just a nuisance.

God you guys are stating the obvious.

I KNOW SIDEWALL SIZE CAN EFFECT HEIGHT!!!!
I never said it couldn't. I said that him getting low profile tires on 18 inch rims shouldn't change his ride height. I took it for granted that he knows the obvious and got properly sized low profile tires that kept 1-2% within original spec size. I wasn't planning on him putting monster truck tires on his car but I guess I have to spell out everything.

 

[Smoothie97]

low profile tires shouldn't have ANY bearing on your bumper height clearance though if thats what your saying. .

I'm just reading what you said. If you are going to make a definitive stament using the phrase "shouldn't have ANY bearing," then you should explain yourself.

 

[SpooledGSX98]

Now perhaps if I lived in Bend, Oregon where the population was 57,750 in 2002

Hmmm, something tells me it may have increased within 2 years, also, if youve seen Bend and its surroundings, its full of jacked up trucks, semi's, the works. The roads here are sh!tty, full of pot holes, rocks, steep entrances, tall speed bumps...you just need to know how to drive your car.

 

[Smoothie97]

I do know how to drive a lowered car. I said that I'm tired of memorizing which lanes have pot holes. I'm tired of slowing down for bumps in the road and railroad tracks. And how does having knowledge of "how to drive a lowered car" apply if there is a ridge that stretches across the entire road (unavoidable)? Being lowered, I had to slow down. Now that I'm stock, I don't have to slow down. It's just a conveniance thing.

If you like beign lowered good for you. If I like being stock height, then good for me. I guess your car will always look cooler than mine. End of discussion.

 

[SpooledGSX98]

When i said you, i wasnt directing it personally. Sorry for the mix-up.