Guys with lowered cars, step in here.....

[Joe 1320]

I've got a chance to trade some parts for lowering springs, so here is my question.......

Once the drop was done, did you trim the lower air deflector to gain clearance over driveway curbs and such? If so, how did it affect cooling?

[Squat13]

I totally removed mine. The car would run 10 deg warmer sometimes but with the 160 deg thermo it never over heated, ever.

[95z28]

isnt there part of it thats just solid at the bottom ?? it seems like it any way.

and i know this is off topic but my license plate is bolted to that, could that be the reason my car tends to get warmer than usual ??

[Injuneer]

When the front of mine was down 1.8", I left the air dam alone. It scraped, but doesn't damage anything. When it was removed completely, at stock ride height, the coolant temp would rise seriously at high speeds - and that with a low temp t'stat, fans set for 195degF max, and a huge Griffen radiator. I wouldn't recommend removing it completely under any circumstances.

I "found" an old picture of the car when it was lowered....

[Christopherrr]

the dam is very flexable...when i lowered it the would scrap hills and bumps...but it's not solid like a piece of metal, its really flexable and take some abuse...I didn't remove it nor will I, I've heard horror stories of car over heating...

[Joe 1320]

the front of mine was down 1.8", I left the air dam alone. It scraped, but doesn't damage anything.

Anything else scrape or rub? I sure like the look of that drop, just not liking the idea of putting the chin against a curb.

[Rhode Island Red]

My hawks Bilstein susp is about as low as you can get (the equivalent of cutting some coils off the stock Z28 susp and removing the bump-stops )

The tire to the fender lip was on average 1.5 -1.75 inches as this was difficult to measure...

Ground to fender lip measurments
Passenger Front - 26 7/16"
Driver Front - 26 5/8"
Passenger Rear - 26 9/16"
Driver Rear - 26 3/8"


After 3 years the stock bilstein suspension settled even more. I have no problem with leaving the front air dam there, as it was from the factory

The air dam is very flexible, and besides, that is where my front license plate "GRRRRR" is mounted. (kerms Idea)

I say leave it as it is )

[95z28]

Wow fred that looks perfect

[TruckMuddr]

I heard that LT might hit on lowered cars.

[hotwhip9]

Mine scrapes, all depends on how fast I am going and at what angle. I personally don't care, its just plastic! Only other thing with lowering the car, is the lower control arm relocation brackets are not necessary, but real close to being necessary. What a difference they make, even on a non-lowered car.

[Joe 1320]

Fred, any alignment problems with that kind of drop? What shocks were you using?

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Fred, any alignment problems with that kind of drop? What shocks were you using?

Not Fred as you know. You might notice some "bump steer" after you lower it. My Mustang did it bad. I'm not sure how noticeable it will be with a F-Body. The stiffer the shocks, the less it will be. Here is one way to fix it.
http://www.stealthperf.com/cgi-bin/s...ml?id=ibbbZBey

[Injuneer]

That was the result I got with the HAL/QA1 12-way adjustable shocks and the Eibach Pro-Kit springs. I thought I was very careful to set the lower spring seats at the same height as stock, but the front end dropped 1.8" - that is what is shown in the picture. The back only dropped a little more than 1", so it had a "rake" - looked good, but to me the front was LOW. I decided to leave it that way for a while.

I got the alignment specs from someone on this board:

Camber: -1deg
Caster: +4deg
Toe-in: 0.10

I had it aligned to those specs at one of the few local shops that would even let a lowered car in the door. Handled like it was on rails. It was just the front dragging over all the speed bumps and going up into "humped" driveways that I didn't like. The back of the car also has a sort of "buckboard" up and down herly-jerkey sort of feel, kind of like a slammed S10.

Eventually I put the Eibach Drag Launch springs in the back. I bought the HAL drag springs from the front, but didn't put the front ones on - I just raised the front back up using the adjusters on the front shocks. I still have the Pro-Kits on the front. I'm for Steve Spohn to come up with his tubular K-member and A-arms so I can completely rebuild the front end at one time - maybe this winter.

[Joe 1320]

The back of the car also has a sort of "buckboard" up and down herly-jerkey sort of feel.

I'm hoping to avoid that... Intrax advertises a progressive rate and many people recommend them for their ride quality. I got lucky and traded some parts for them.

[cbrr_mike]

im putting in h&r's with a 1.25" drop and the only thing im worried about is the pacesetter y-pipe....i have to try and wiggle it (the pipe) closer to the floor and learn how to go over bumps on angles.....