great informative write up!

 

Can you tell us which shop installed this for you?

 

Don't forget... The stock rear tires wear out MUCH FASTER than the fronts for normal street driving. That means that if your front camber is out and your rear is dialed to nominal specs, your tire life will be more balanced. Odds are that most people will ONLY need the SPC rear camber arms. That's $800 more to add to the mod pile for most people.

Good write up Miami!

 

Intense Motorsports next to the Falls. Ask for Steve.

 

Thanks for the compliment on my write up.

Neffster, I respectfully don't agree with your statement about the REAR tires wearing out faster than the FRONT. Indeed, it's the other way around because the front tires are constantly being turned left or right versus the rear which are just going straight. This is why routine tire rotation is necessary. The only way the rear would wear faster is if you're burning rubber on takeoffs since our cars are RWD. One more thing is that my front camber was WAY out of spec (and I'm aligning my sedan using the more aggressive coupe specs).

Perhaps on the coupes such as yours a drop is typically only 1" so the geometry is not as affected, but on the sedans such as mine a drop of at least 1.4" like I did is needed to eliminate the SUV gap; thus, sedan geometry changes more.

 

bump

new pics located at first post

 

bump....so how do you like your Basics now?

any new pics of showing the drop?

 

It's been over a year of daily driving (I drive 12-15K miles per year) and I love the whole setup. My tire wear is 100% normal and it handles like a dream. I've been toying with the idea of adding a 350Evo rear sway bar on medium setting to dial in some oversteer but honestly I have yet to lose control so I'm not sure if I'm even going to do this. The ride is firm (not harsh) and there is some bounce over really bad roads or poorly constructed concrete bridges but that's about it.

I know I need to get some new pics up and will try soon.

 

Do you think that the front camber kit (350Evo) is necessary? I am thinking of going with Basics and just the SPC Camber Kit for the rear, where I am more concerned about. I also plan on dropping it no more than 1" all around...for now.

 

I think at the least you should budget for it so if it turns out you need it you will not be in trouble. Bear in mind that the stock front a-arms have zero ability to adjust camber, they only adjust toe and caster. In the rear, you can adjust camber, albeit not enough and thus the need for the SPC kit.

I realize the front A-arms are expensive and involve more labor, but everyone really needs to see this as part of the whole system not just an optional add on. Even with a 1" drop you are changing the geometry of a front suspension that offers zero camber adjustments.

Hope this helps.

 

Totally agree with Miami. I have the same exact setup except I have the Tein flex and I love it. I needed the adjustable camber arms in the front too because even though it wasnt out that much, it was still out of alignment and I cant afford to be buying tires everytime I turn around (Once my springs settled the car ate through the stock michelins in about a month). so i figured the front camber kit was a worthwhile investment even though it is very expensive. I would definately recommend the 350evo front arms because the build quality is excellent and adjustability is the most user friendly out there IMO. I would definately say the same for the SPC rear kit also.

So I would definately recommend these camber kits as a good lowered daily driver setup.

 

$100-$150 for the entire Basic set to be installed? Wow. I am planning on the same Basic set for my G. I called around to several local shops (Tampa, FL) and everyone is saying $300+ for just the coilover set installed. For that much I'd rather just do it myself. Was thinking if I could find someone to do it for $150 I'd just pay them and save a headache, but $300-$400 is crazy. Anyone know where I can get this installed for cheaper? Or a good step-by-step DIY guide? (For both the Basic set, and the camber parts) Also, if I wanted to do this myself, where do I get a compressor?

 

you can get a spring compressor at most auto parts stores.

I just bought a pair of them at Advance Auto Parts.

It is an AmPro set....about $30. Worked perfectly fro my spring install................

and I have never changed springs in my life.

 

I have to echo some of the earlier comments about the 350EVO control arms. I also went with those and the SPC camber arms and toe bolts. The EVO arms are really well made and you won't have to worry about squeaks, but as everyone knows they are expensive.

The question as to whether or not you can get away with not changing the arms depends on how much you drop your car and what the specs are afterwards. Some people are able to get the front end at or close to specs with a minor drop. For me, being out 1 degree was the best I could get without the new arms and that was tearing up my expensive tires way too soon. Same thing with the rear tires.

My suggestion would be to see how close you can get the alignment after you drop, but budget for having to buy some brand of control arms and camber arms and toe bolts. I think some people go into lowering their G's thinking the only expense will be some inexpensive springs, and later are shocked to learn that is the cheapest part of the mod if you want to do it right. Just my $02.

 

^+1. However i do think that if people are not concerned too much about performance, then just getting springs is a good way to drop the car a little and give it a better stance and it is sufficient enough.