seattle dale

Ok I've done the K&N filter, then my comptech headers, resonator removal, & last was my unichip about 3 weeks ago. I'm findin myself jonesin for another mod. About 5 or 6 of you guys after seeing pics of my ride basically told me to lower that Biatch. I have no idea what it entails to do this & what kind of coin it takes. I take it by reading numerous threads that H&R are the way to go. Some of my concerns are the suspension, i mean does the comfort of the ride go to shit, bumping & what not? Also do i have to worry about thrashing my underbody kit? I guess my last question would be who would i take my car to, for the work. Someone who charges a fair price & does excellent work? I've see many pics of your guys lowered tl's & i love the look. Any thoughts & help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. last here is a pic of my car, how do you think she would look lowered? Thanks Dudes http://www.acurainspired.com/gallery...=939&pid=24505

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

It'll look sweet once it's lowered.

I would recommend either Eibach or the H&R Sports (make sure it's the 50103 kit, not 51858).

As for what this entails... basically you jack up the car, take off the wheels, and take one suspension bolt from the lower control arm, and the 3 bolts (up front.. 2 bolts in the rear) on the strut tower. Wiggle the strut assembly out, and take off the bolt on top. This will let you take the spring off the strut. WARNING -- the springs are under stress, and you MUST use spring compressors when taking the springs off the struts. Autozone has a free loan program, where you put down a 40-dollar deposit and you get it back when you return the spring compressors.

Replace with the new springs, put the bolt back on (use compressors again), and put the assembly back in position. Bolts on top, one bolt on the bottom. Use proper torque rating, put the wheel back on, and lower the car.

Do this 4 times, and you're done. But for the rear, it requires taking the rear seats out to get to the strut towers. It's not that hard, since it's only one bolt holding the bottom part in, and 4 bolts holding the back part in. Then lift up the rear deck where the subwoofer sits, and you will see the strut towers. Same drill as written above.


Or you could take it a shop. I think a reasonable price would be around 200 dollars. But if it was in California or something, it could be as low as like 100 dollars. I heard the competition is pretty fierce out there. But in places like Michigan, it could get pretty ridiculous. A shop around here quoted me 350 dollars. And that didn't include the springs -- only labor.

Springs themselves go for about 200 dollars or so. Eibach is a bit more expensive than the H&R. But the Eibach kit lowers the front a little more than the H&R kit does. I personally like the Eibach kit better. But for some weird ass reason, I chose H&R. That's not to say I'm not happy with my springs. I love them. But because of my heavy ass stereo system, I have a one-finger gap in the rear, opposed to two-finger gap up front. With the Eibach's, it would've been a one-finger gap all around.

Hope that helped. Good luck.

And you can find those springs at www.TireRack.com.

seattle dale

Thanks pure A. Good info. I think i will have some one do it for me, eventhough I did all by other mods myself. Right now at work its mega overtime so i'll just put in some xtra hours. So it looks like about 500 bucks parts & labor. Thats not too bad. Howabout my other questions. re: how does the car ride? & do i have to worry about thrashing my underbody kit? Also i remember you guys changing the dampner or toe in or something like that, whats that all about?

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Oops, sorry. Forgot about those questions.


Personally, I think my car still rides really nice with the H&R Sport springs. All of my friends with modded cars have suspension mods, and mine is still the smoothest-riding car of the bunch. But it still firms up when pushed to the limit; I also have Comptech sway bars, so that helps, too.

Remember that our cars are tuned for really soft and comfortable boulevard ride, so even with lower springs, you are still going to have a plush ride.

As for the underbody kit... I wish I had a picture of my front body kit piece... It's all shot to shit -- it was silver when I first got it, now it's red, yellow, and even blue. WTF? But you just gotta be careful. Around here in East Lansing, driveways are steep and curbs high. Everyone scrapes, even stock Tauruses...

Toe will not be affected by lowering the car; only camber. Camber is the degree at which the top of the tire sits relative to the ground. In other words, how much the tire is leaning inward or outward. With lowering the car, it'll bring the top of the tires inward -- this means you will be riding on the inner contact patch of the tires, costing you traction and unevenly worn out tires very quickly, not to mention unsafe conditions in harsh weather. BUT, with either Eibach or H&R, it won't cause that dramatic of an effect. At the most, you would be off like a degree.

It's the luck of the draw -- some people need the camber kit, others don't. I didn't need one. And it's been like 10k miles since I've dropped the car and my tires are wearing out evenly. Make sure you get an alignment about a week or two after the springs are installed. Look at the print-out; if you don't how to read it, ask them, or post the numbers on here. From there, we can see if you would need a camber kit or not.

seattle dale

Thanks dude, so did you destroy your front spoiler on mostley curbs & do you have the stock 17's in your car or something larger.?

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Still got the stock wheels. I love them too much to get rid of them.. at least not yet.


There's nothing more heart-breaking than hearing your front body kit go, "crruuunch". :sqnteek: :'( But it's all good. I'm getting it molded into the bumper and repainted. In fact, I'm picking it up tomorrow.

In about 6 months, I'll be on here again bitching about how I have to get the front piece repainted.



EDIT --

Yep, mostly curbs, but a lot of times on driveways, too. I particularly remember this one curb. Well, actually it was more of a sidewalk in front of this store, and it was like 6-7 inches high off the parking lot pavement. I misjudged, and wet straight into it. The kit didn't clear it and only scrape on the bottom -- the damn curb actually BENT the kit and the bumper inward. CRUNCH! FOCK!! Backed it up, and fortunately, everything was fine except for some scratches. But holy shit, did that give me a scare. :sqntfawk:

BiggJ12

whats the difference b/w the 50103 kit and the 51858? i have the 51858, but mine is a 2000 TL, they arent installed yet...should i get the other ones?

Mr Zipps

Its a combination of HR oe and sport. It gives it a more even drop.

dark inspire

the 51858's were made for the accords, when put in the TL, the back tends to sag a bit, due to the TL's heavier rear end compared to the accord.

ou sig

Dont forget the Comptech springs....I got them because I do have a heavy system in the trunk and the drop is exactly even all around. I little bit less than 2 fingers. Also when I was looking around...labor ranged from $100-$300!!! I obviously went with the $100, because they were an authorized Acrua/Honda shop than only does specialty work.

dark inspire

yeah Comptech will give you a raked look, but it it evens out if u got a system in the trunk

TommiGSR

iTrader: (1)

over here in cali, springs installed 240-260 at discount tires eibachs. had my h&rs installed for 60, but i did half the work.

seattle dale

so your springs were about 200 bucks & labor was about 60?