A Little Lower

[JRNY13]

I just had DMC's Eibach springs put in my car. Apparently, my old front springs had been chopped at some point. The rear is definitely lower than before but the front is not as low as I'd like. The picture is the front fender gap after the new springs. My car still has the original shocks. I'd like there to be less daylight in between the fender and tire--maybe inch and a half or so. Do I have any other options to lower the car besides putting in DMCH's performance shocks or some variant? Thanks.

18848

[Delorean Industries]

I just had DMC's Eibach springs put in my car. Apparently, my old front springs had been chopped at some point. The rear is definitely lower than before but the front is not as low as I'd like. The picture is the front fender gap after the new springs. My car still has the original shocks. I'd like there to be less daylight in between the fender and tire--maybe inch and a half or so. Do I have any other options to lower the car besides putting in DMCH's performance shocks or some variant? Thanks.

18848

Loosen all of the suspension hardware and re torque with the front end weighted down. Loosen the upper control arm to frame bolt, lower shock bolt and lower control arm to frame mounting point. Put additional weight in the luggage compartment and torque. That is not how a car with a DMCH spring kit should sit.

[JRNY13]

Loosen all of the suspension hardware and re torque with the front end weighted down. Loosen the upper control arm to frame bolt, lower shock bolt and lower control arm to frame mounting point. Put additional weight in the luggage compartment and torque. That is not how a car with a DMCH spring kit should sit.

Good to know. I have to say it didn't seem to match all the pictures I've seen over the years with DMCH springs.

[Delorean Industries]

I would have to say that half the problem is that the suspension was torqued while hanging on a lift most likely. Have the installer address the problem as listed above and it should be sorted out. Even with stock girlings in the rear it shouldn't be like this.

[Rich]

I just had DMC's Eibach springs put in my car.....The rear is definitely lower than before but the front is not as low as I'd like. The picture is the front fender gap after the new springs.

Good advice so far in this thread.

Since not all fenders are mounted the same and since not all photos are taken at a fixed angle can you share the front crossmember ride height with us?

With a full tank and no cargo ours is at 5.0 in. or maybe 4.9 in. on the Eibach springs (the shocks play no role in front ride ht.). And the top-of-tire-center tread to top arch of fender is ~1.0 in.

The front end work we've done has all been done as recommended elsewhere in the thread. Loose fit on bushings during assembly, final tightening after the car is down on its suspension. At the shop.

Your clearances may vary.

[JRNY13]

Good advice so far in this thread.

Since not all fenders are mounted the same and since not all photos are taken at a fixed angle can you share the front crossmember ride height with us?

With a full tank and no cargo ours is at 5.0 in. or maybe 4.9 in. on the Eibach springs (the shocks play no role in front ride ht.). And the top-of-tire-center tread to top arch of fender is ~1.0 in.

The front end work we've done has all been done as recommended elsewhere in the thread. Loose fit on bushings during assembly, final tightening after the car is down on its suspension. At the shop.

Your clearances may vary.

I will recommend this adjustment to my mechanic. Thanks for the advice.

[JRNY13]

I've been told the springs may just need to "settle" a little bit. It was recommended that I put weights in the hood over the tires for a few hundred miles and they may assume the right position. Does this sound like a feasible explanation?

[Delorean Industries]

I've been told the springs may just need to "settle" a little bit. It was recommended that I put weights in the hood over the tires for a few hundred miles and they may assume the right position. Does this sound like a feasible explanation?

Nope

[yellowmxwheels23]

I have the same set up. It looks like that at first then in about a week you will notice the gap going away.

[JRNY13]

I have the same set up. It looks like that at first then in about a week you will notice the gap going away.

Well I'll be interested to see what happens.

[Jeff K]

I redid my suspension recently. I had to take one spring out and rotate it 90 degrees because it would not sit in the perch correctly after reassembly.

Also, I jacked up the control arm to the level it should be under load when i torqued the bolts to factory spec.

Unless the springs are not correctly seated in the perches, I don't see how time will fix it. But again I'm not even qualified to be called a hack! :dork:

[JRNY13]

Good advice so far in this thread.

Since not all fenders are mounted the same and since not all photos are taken at a fixed angle can you share the front crossmember ride height with us?

With a full tank and no cargo ours is at 5.0 in. or maybe 4.9 in. on the Eibach springs (the shocks play no role in front ride ht.). And the top-of-tire-center tread to top arch of fender is ~1.0 in.

The front end work we've done has all been done as recommended elsewhere in the thread. Loose fit on bushings during assembly, final tightening after the car is down on its suspension. At the shop.

Your clearances may vary.

From the ground to the top of the wheel well it's 24.5 inches--I'm guessing this is way to high for an Eibach setup--my eyes tell me that much. An inch between the tire and top of the wheel well would seem right.

[Rich]

From the ground to the top of the wheel well it's 24.5 inches--I'm guessing this is way to high for an Eibach setup--my eyes tell me that much. An inch between the tire and top of the wheel well would seem right.

That dimension may be high, depending on reference points and car variations between cars.

Front crossmember ride height is from the floor/ground up to the center of the frame where it runs between the two front wheels. What is that front crossmember ride height/clearance on your car? Reference dimension on our car running Eibachs with correctly set susp. bushings is ~5.0 in. per previous post.

You don't really need to report it. After you get the bushings re-set to neutral position like you plan to the car's frame will be wherever it will be. Fenders, too.

Even if your car settles no further, you DO want to take the preload off of the suspension bushings. It's not good for them.

[JRNY13]

Here's a before and after adjustment shot. I measured--it's a half inch lower--probably still too high, but it does look better to my eye.

1926219263

[Jacko]

Here's the unpopular answer to your question. You have two choices ... use lowering springs from one of the vendors (they're all too high) or take the stock front springs and cut them down to a free standing height of 13 inches ... that's the only way to lower the front end enough. Of course if you choose to lower the car that much you will have to drive smart and be careful with speed bumps, etc. Below is 4915 with the shortened springs. The fenders are full of tire and they don't rub.
Again, you'll need to drive smart.

19264

Edit: I just noticed the attached picture was taken at Poison Springs State Park ...ironically most on this forum regard my solution as 'Poison Springs'

[DMC5180]

I have the Eibach set up and I needed rubber coil boosters to keep the front end from bottoming out. A full tank of gas/luggage and 2 people and it sits too low IMO. We tend to judge the height by how the car looks when we are not sitting in it. As soon as you get in the front end will drop a fair amount up to 2 inches in some cases. Your 1 inch wheel clearance in the fender arch suddenly goes minus 1 inch up into the fender opening.

[JRNY13]

I have the Eibach set up and I needed rubber coil boosters to keep the front end from bottoming out. A full tank of gas/luggage and 2 people and it sits too low IMO. We tend to judge the height by how the car looks when we are not sitting in it. As soon as you get in the front end will drop a fair amount up to 2 inches in some cases. Your 1 inch wheel clearance in the fender arch suddenly goes minus 1 inch up into the fender opening.


Good point. Maybe I should just leave well enough alone. The pic was taken with a full tank.

[propony]

I have cut coils on the front of 5778, 1.5 coils cut out. I just noticed serious tire wear from too much negative camber. I measured a spare set of un-cut oem springs, and the 13" free standing measurement would be approx 1 full coil cut off. Will that 1/2 coil be enough to correct the camber issue? I would cut this set in second and try them, but now I'm gun-shy.
Curt

[Rich]

Good point. Maybe I should just leave well enough alone. The pic was taken with a full tank.

Not sure what you mean by leaving well enough alone. Did you follow this posted advice from Josh already?

"Loosen all of the suspension hardware and re torque with the front end weighted down. Loosen the upper control arm to frame bolt, lower shock bolt and lower control arm to frame mounting point. Put additional weight in the luggage compartment and torque. That is not how a car with a DMCH spring kit should sit."

If the hardware was snugged up with the car on the lift then, yes, the car may "settle" but only because the bushings are slowly shearing themselves and perhaps degrading in the process. You want the hardware set without shear and twist in the rubber when the car is on the ground at least, and maybe even loaded as suggested, and only then tightened. That way the car will be set to the final height without beating any parts up in the process. It's an easy bit of reassurance and maybe more lowering if you are not sure it was done correctly. Having the bushings give out in a few years because they were preloaded isn't a good idea.

[Jacko]

I have cut coils on the front of 5778, 1.5 coils cut out. I just noticed serious tire wear from too much negative camber. I measured a spare set of un-cut oem springs, and the 13" free standing measurement would be approx 1 full coil cut off. Will that 1/2 coil be enough to correct the camber issue? I would cut this set in second and try them, but now I'm gun-shy.
Curt

I imagine your car sat too low with a coil and a half removed. When I did mine I used three sets of front springs before I got it right. After you get 5778 sitting like you want take her to an alignment shop and they'll address the camber issue.:wave2:

[jmettee]

I imagine your car sat too low with a coil and a half removed. When I did mine I used three sets of front springs before I got it right. After you get 5778 sitting like you want take her to an alignment shop and they'll address the camber issue.:wave2:

Would love to see how they do that since the only adjustment on these cars (front & rear) is toe. Camber & Caster are non-adjustable....so far, the only mods I know of are the updated & adjustable lower links for the rear only. I don't know of any adjustment options out there available for the front. My car has Grady's springs & I saw a 1.25" drop with them. Camber is still within spec, but caster is out (mostly due to the dropping of only the front of the car.

[Jacko]

I have cut coils on the front of 5778, 1.5 coils cut out. I just noticed serious tire wear from too much negative camber. I measured a spare set of un-cut oem springs, and the 13" free standing measurement would be approx 1 full coil cut off. Will that 1/2 coil be enough to correct the camber issue? I would cut this set in second and try them, but now I'm gun-shy.
CurtPropony, I apologize for the wrong info on camber ... of course you can't adjust it. Sorry ...

But to your tire wear problem. Do you think it could be from incorrect toe? I ask this because I have driven 4915 in this lowered state for hundreds of thousand miles and never experienced that kind of tire wear. Back when we had a choice I always had sticky tires on the D and they didn't last very long. The rears would be good for about 20,000 miles or less and the wear pattern was always in the middle, no unusual, uneven wear on the edges. The fronts would be good for 30,000 miles or more which I attributed to the light front end. There has never been any unusual or uneven wear on the fronts.

[propony]

I think I will try a different shop for the alignment, everyone seemed put-out or nervous about touching it. I drove it up on the rack, and the mechanic determined I had a camber issue before I was stopped on the rack. He never hung a head on the wheel. He said the tires have too much wear, and they do have wear on the inside edge, but the tires looked right in the wheel well. Buying new tires this week, and will try again.