UW RL

can't wait to get them!! how long do i have to wait?

Red Hot TL

sweet~~ enjoy the new springs!!! I want them so bad~~

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2000 Red Hot TL w/o nav
Burlwood Trim and Shift Knob
Wood Trim Set
Gutter Guard Grill
Photos Of My RED HOT TL
I DONT'T HAVE A LIFE

UW RL

i just couldn't take it any more.... so now i just have to get ready and have all the tools needed and gonna lower it with a friend. It should be fun!

Guest

Yeah...it's sooo hard to wait. I've got some H&R springs on order...I would've gone with Comptech but I wanted a really subtle drop (.75f and .50r)...good luck!

TITAN3.2TL

I know the feeling!! I am having my intake/headers/exhaust and springs installed on Wednesday. I can't wait either!

Guest

Alanakusa: yeah, I'll measure before and after...by the way, do you have any pictures post-install? Are you happy with the results or do you feel it's too low?

TLon19s

Hey UW, hit me up when your going to do this, maybe i can drop by...

UW RL

most definitely...

Nate

How are these springs affecting the idea of getting a kit?

Yeah, ya'll should get real good at installing springs for when I get mine!

Guest

Ramsen, sorry but I don't have capability to post pictures yet. And like I said, it seems as if the car dropped more than the 3/4" and 1/2". Before the springs, I would look at the car and try to imagine what the 3/4" front and 1/2" rear drop would look like. And looking at the car now, it seems lower than I imagined! But for my taste, I think the car is perfect. My 225/50 x 17's are slightly taller than stock so it fills the fenderwell nicely. With the body closer to the ground and the wheel gap smaller it gives the illusion that the tires are wider than before. The ride is a bit stiffer(very slight) but that's to be expected. I don't care what anyone says, when you install shorter springs the ride will be stiffer! Cornering feels more controlled.

Guest

Hey Ramsen, I'll get my after measurements of my car tonite when I get home. The way I do it is to measure the ground to the bottom of each fenderwell at the center of each wheel. I'll let you know tommorrow. Look at your car tonite and imagine it with the specified drop... Then imagine it lower!

UW RL

so springs will come with directions that will tell me which ones are for the left and right? And front and rear?

Guest

Hey UW TL,
Make sure you have an impact wrench to remove the top nut on the struts. I tried using an allen wrench but the nut was too tight.
And Ramsen, just installed my HR's last week. I also wanted a subtle drop and got exactly what you ordered. Although, I didn't take any before measurements, the subtle drop made one hell of a diffeence! I swear the drop is more the the .75f and .50r! If you don't mind, how about taking some before and after measurements.

And guys, you don't have to drop the ball joints in the front (just in case you're following the write up in the installation forum).

Guest

Can you also let me know your sidewall hight as well so I can calculate the drop? I'm also curious to know how much clearance you have vertically between the top outside edge of your tire and the outside center of the fender well. Thanks!!

Guest

Ramsen, according to the calculation from www.c5-corvette.com/tirecalc.htm the stock tire is 25.69" overall height (or diameter) and my 225/50x17 tire is 25.86" in overall height. That's only a .17" difference! Not even a 1/4"! Hope this helps.

Guest

Great info...thanks! One more question if you don't mind..you mentioned you didn't check the front gap..what I'm wondering is how it looks between front and back...is it lower in the front than the back, about even, or the opposite. Sorry for all the questions, i'm trying to decide if I still want to install the springs...I do want a very subtle drop and don't want to end up paying to reinstall the orginals.

Guest

Ramsen, no problem with the questions. As for as the wheel gap in the front, it's much larger than the rear. If you look at the stock ride, the fronts have bigger wheel gaps compared to the rears. I would guess that it's because the cutout is a little higher because the front has the turning wheels. Overall, the car looks level but then the front springs did have a 1/4" lower drop. If I get a chance I'll measure the height at the jacking points of the car tonite.

Guest

Great....thanks!

Guest

Ramsen, if you want a subtle drop this is way to go. Comptech will drop the TL over an inch in the front and I think inch and a half in the rear. I'm on the conservative side. I like my cars to be personalized but not to the extent that it stands out too much. You gotta have a good eye to notice my car. As I said, it's a matter of taste.

Guest

Alanakusa: That's what I'm looking for...I was reacting to what seemed to be a bit of shock on your part when you saw the results...basically, as you say, I don't want people to see my car and think, "that car is lowered". If they do, I won't be happy. I assume this thread will be useful to others, since most TL owners tend to be more conservative and want a "classy" look (that's not to say the "modded" look isn't classy in its own way!)

Guest

UW TL, HR springs do not give left and right sides but the springs are marked front and rear. I've seen on other posts that comptech springs will give you the spring rate of each spring.
OK, Ramsen, measurements for my car is now RF=27 1/16", LF=27", RR=26 1/2", LR=26 1/4". I'm not sure what you're looking for. My tire size is 225/50x17 which is about 1/4" to 3/8" taller in diameter than the stock size of 205/60x16. If your eye level is at the top of the tire then I have about a 1 1/4" gap. Never looked that closely at the front. If you're concerned about the actual tire clearance it's hard to compare because of various wheel offsets and tire manufacturers. Actually, the critical space is about 11 o'clock, looking on the right rear. That's the area that going to rub first.

Guest

Thanks! I know my question was a little confusing...I'm not worried about rubbing, simply trying to calculate the actual drop, correcting for your 17" wheel and tires.

Guest

alanakusa..measured from high point of my stock wheel/tire the gap is 3 1/4" on the front and 2 1/4" on the back.

Guest

OK Ramsen, here it is: measured at each jacking point on the car, RF=6 1/2", the other points=6 7/16". And the wheel gap for the front, if you're eye level with the top of the tire is about 2 1/2". Now it's your turn, how about giving me your before measurements?

ChaosityZ

After reading all of your reply's to this topic, I am seriously thinking about getting the comptech. My question is do I need to get new shocks to go with a lowered frame? I thought I read somewhere the stock shocks are not recommended for lowering. Comments?

Guest

Ramsen, thanks for the gap numbers but I think we can get a more accurate comparison if you measure vertically from the ground to the bottom of the fenderwell at the center of each wheel. Getting a measurement at each jacking point will also help. My measurements were done on smooth, level concrete. Hey, with the numbers we got so far, what do you think about the H&R now?

Guest

alanakusa: I'll see what I can do to get those measurements...I got my springs yesterday and think it's worth a try...I'll probably have just the back ones put on and then decide whether to go for it.

Guest

Ramsen, if you're going to install only the rears and then decide, then maybe you should think about installing the fronts first, it's easier! For the rears you gotta remove more stuff AND the rear seat! Anyway, don't get too anxious (like me) and forget to take the stock measurements. Good luck on your install. BTW, had my alignment done yesterday and the guy told me that when you lower the TL the fronts will toe out a lot. Even for this small drop. The rears get a small negative camber but it's not critical.

Guest

You're right of course...but my concern is the drop at the rear...where the wheel gap is the least..and based on your measurements, the rear dropped the most (I'm not sure why...the front was supposed to be dropped more). It'll cost me more if I decide not to go ahead with the installation, but doing it the other way, I might be happy with the front but unhappy with the rear and have to take them all out again.

Guest

Hey Ramsen, have you installed your springs yet? How about the measurements I asked for?

Guest

I'll probably be installing them sometime next week. I'll try to get the measurements by then.

Shoofin

I hope ur using my instructions? click Here! to see the instructions!

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'99 TL Satin Silver/Ebony, Non/Nav, Comptech lowered, Comptech Air Filter Element, Inspire Tails

Pics of my TL
Pics of my Miata! Wadya think?

Shoofin

You can very easily remove the nut on top.. take the assembly out, and once the spring is compressed, it will be very easy to remove the nut, just make sure the spring is facing AWAY from you, not at your face...if by chance it's tight, some WD40 will help. As for the ball joint, you don't have to knock it out, but it's very simple to hit it out and put it back, and it makes the install a LOT easier to work with instead of wedging the unit out from the tower and putting a lot of stress on the brake lines..
Ed

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'99 TL Satin Silver/Ebony, Non/Nav, Comptech lowered, Comptech Air Filter Element, Inspire Tails

Pics of my TL
Pics of my Miata! Wadya think?


<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by Shoofin'TL on 11-09-2000 @ ]</font>

Guest

I've got them sitting in my garage but haven't installed them yet...I'm gonna wait until I see a picture of them on a TL. I don't want to waste time and money...if the ride is too low for my tasted, I'll end up paying to put the stock ones on again.