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Hey Guys. Originally posted in suspension but moved post here so more people might see it. I have a 2012 3.5 base and am looking to lower the springs. I'm not doing anything too drastic. Just 1 to 1.5 inches max.
I was looking at the tein-h-tech-lowering-springs. What's the consensus on these? Will they require a camber kit too? Any unforseen problems I might not expect? Has anyone put these on their TL?
If not these springs, what would be good for my situation?
As much as I would love to do coilover, this is a daily driver and I have two kids. Not looking to drop a ton of money. Just want to get a slightly lower look and improve handling a tad.
Any advice on these or other lowering Springs would be appreciated. Thanks very much.
Hey Guys. Originally posted in suspension but moved post here so more people might see it. I have a 2012 3.5 base and am looking to lower the springs. I'm not doing anything too drastic. Just 1 to 1.5 inches max.
I was looking at the tein-h-tech-lowering-springs. What's the consensus on these? Will they require a camber kit too? Any unforseen problems I might not expect? Has anyone put these on their TL?
If not these springs, what would be good for my situation?
As much as I would love to do coilover, this is a daily driver and I have two kids. Not looking to drop a ton of money. Just want to get a slightly lower look and improve handling a tad.
Any advice on these or other lowering Springs would be appreciated. Thanks very much.
Many members, myself included ran lowering Springs despite being told that Coilovers was the way to go. Truth be told Coilovers is the way to go.
Much more comfortable than Springs and the added advantage to adjust Height and Dampening to your taste. Depending on how low you go a Rear Camber kit may be required.
Lowering Springs will cause your original struts to wear prematurely and then you will have the added cost of replacement. The cost between Springs and Coilovers is not really huge and the labor cost to install either is about the same.
I have Tein H-tech springs on my 2012 3.5L. Not really much in the way of regrets from me other than I should have put a camber kit on from the get-go.
I ended up ruining 2 of my tires because of a camber issue. These springs will settle over time so it's worth getting an alignment right after install and then another one something like 6-12 months down the road.
I didn't buy a full camber kit, I just needed a single arm of the 3-arm kit to correct camber up to 1 degree.
If you have any questions about the springs I'm your guy.
Great. Thanks for the info. So it's sounds like I should get the camber kit for sure if I g with Tein. How about the ride? How does it compare to the factory ride?
Also what made you go with Tein, versus H&R or Eibach? I've had a hard time figuring out the differences between the three. Thanks for any info you can share. Would I likely need a camber kit regardless of which one of the three I select?
First car I've ever dropped. I know enough to know I shouldn't go real low if I don't want to destroy the suspension, but not enough to keep from making some stupid rookie mistake.
Great. Thanks for the info. So it's sounds like I should get the camber kit for sure if I g with Tein. How about the ride? How does it compare to the factory ride?
Also what made you go with Tein, versus H&R or Eibach? I've had a hard time figuring out the differences between the three. Thanks for any info you can share. Would I likely need a camber kit regardless of which one of the three I select?
First car I've ever dropped. I know enough to know I shouldn't go real low if I don't want to destroy the suspension, but not enough to keep from making some stupid rookie mistake.
Holy shit I just spent 15 mins writing you a full explanation on all your questions and my damn iPad crashed before I posted. I had a damn novel written for you, I'll rewrite it tomorrow so standby.
Holy shit I just spent 15 mins writing you a full explanation on all your questions and my damn iPad crashed before I posted. I had a damn novel written for you, I'll rewrite it tomorrow so standby.
Lol. Right on. That's stinks. Thanks for your diligence and willingness to help!
Great. Thanks for the info. So it's sounds like I should get the camber kit for sure if I g with Tein. How about the ride? How does it compare to the factory ride?
I can't say for sure you'll need a camber kit but my guess is after the springs settle you'll more than likely need at least a single arm to correct the rear camber. Front camber doesn't seem to be an issue when running a 1-1.5" drop on these cars. The ride is very similar to stock with slightly less body roll and brake dive. I distinctly remember driving the car after installing the springs and feeling that the handling had improved a bit and the ride comfort felt nearly identical to me.
Originally Posted by Vanderjdm
Also what made you go with Tein, versus H&R or Eibach? I've had a hard time figuring out the differences between the three. Thanks for any info you can share. Would I likely need a camber kit regardless of which one of the three I select?
I did a lot of research on this before buying the h-techs. The H&R springs are only available for the SH-AWD so I didn't go that route. Eibach springs as supposed to be decent but much stiffer riding from what I've heard.
Originally Posted by Vanderjdm
First car I've ever dropped. I know enough to know I shouldn't go real low if I don't want to destroy the suspension, but not enough to keep from making some stupid rookie mistake.
Heads up that if you do this install yourself you have to remove the rear seats in the TL and it's pretty tough to do especially if you're a big guy.
I've got a friend of a friend who offered to do it for 300 bucks once I buy the springs. So it would cost about 500 total and then I assume I'll still need an alignment. I'm asking another fellow I know too.
No problem, yes those are the ones I got. I'm a family guy so I didn't want anything too aggressive, so if you're looking for something that will improve the look without affecting ride quality much they're definitely the way to go.
Honestly the street advance coilovers by Tein I'm sure are a better package since you end up with dampers actually designed for the springs but if you're looking to keep the cost down the h-techs are definitely a good choice in my opinion.
Just found a review I wrote shortly after install in 2014:
Install: I did the install myself with no help. The only specialty tool I really needed was a spring compressor, which I own. The biggest pain in the ass was unhooking the rear seat and clearing the rear fender with the suspension assembly while removing and reinstalling otherwise this isn't a tough task for the average hobby mechanic.
Ride: The difference between OEM springs and the H-techs isn’t all that noticeable (especially when riding on my OEM winter 17” wheel package) from a ride stand point, I feel rough pavement and dips a little more than with OEM springs but to the average passenger the difference is barely noticeable. I have yet to bottom out these springs (that I can remember) and I drive on nasty pothole ridden East Coast roads.
Handling: A decrease in body roll and less brake dive were noticeable. Don’t expect to be flat through the corners, these springs are built to maintain ride quality, not for racing, so the spring rates are on the low side. I like the little extra increase in handling and I’m sure the extra negative camber I’m running now gives a little more confidence in the corners.
Camber: I had the car aligned 2 weeks after install, a camber kit wasn’t required but I am running -.1 degrees over the OEM suggested numbers on one side in the rear only. No issues with tire wear as of yet.
Final Thought: Good setup if you’re looking for an affordable and primarily cosmetic lowering option with little effect on handling and comfort. If you’re carrying a car full of heavyweights around all the time or looking for race car handling I’d skip this and any other spring only setup and go with either coilovers or a mated spring/shock setup.
For anyone know has used or seen the h&r springs on an AWD, does the car sit level? I'm thinking about getting some but I don't want that reverse rake look where it appears the front is sitting higher.
Honestly the street advance coilovers by Tein I'm sure are a better package since you end up with dampers actually designed for the springs but if you're looking to keep the cost down the h-techs are definitely a good choice in my opinion.
Well thanks again sir. You guys really are tempting me with spending the extra 300 on coilovers, damnit... So I take it if I decided to go with coilovers you have to take the back seat out any time you want to change the dampening? Obviously the front is easy to adjust on the fly but I take it the rear isn't. Is that accurate or is the back just supposed to be left alone?
For anyone know has used or seen the h&r springs on an AWD, does the car sit level? I'm thinking about getting some but I don't want that reverse rake look where it appears the front is sitting higher.
Mine seems to sit absolutely fine? I have never had a complaint about the ride height being uneven. Make sure you preload the suspension before bolting everything down.
Well thanks again sir. You guys really are tempting me with spending the extra 300 on coilovers, damnit... So I take it if I decided to go with coilovers you have to take the back seat out any time you want to change the dampening? Obviously the front is easy to adjust on the fly but I take it the rear isn't. Is that accurate or is the back just supposed to be left alone?
Ride: The difference between OEM springs and the H-techs isn’t all that noticeable (especially when riding on my OEM winter 17” wheel package) from a ride stand point, I feel rough pavement and dips a little more than with OEM springs but to the average passenger the difference is barely noticeable. I have yet to bottom out these springs (that I can remember) and I drive on nasty pothole ridden East Coast roads.
Hey Wreack, I have stock 17 inch wheels myself with no plans to upgrade anytime soon. Did you ever end up bottoming out while running your 17s? Think I'll be alright? I don't ever want to scrape on curbs or bottom out in dips. I think that's the last big question I need answered to make a decision.
Thanks all for the input and advice. Getting close. I'll post pictures when I'm done whichever way I go.
Hey Wreack, I have stock 17 inch wheels myself with no plans to upgrade anytime soon. Did you ever end up bottoming out while running your 17s? Think I'll be alright? I don't ever want to scrape on curbs or bottom out in dips. I think that's the last big question I need answered to make a decision.
Thanks all for the input and advice. Getting close. I'll post pictures when I'm done whichever way I go.
No, I might have bottomed the shock out once or twice when hitting a horrendous dip or pothole but as far as bottoming the car itself out never had much of a problem and I have the OEM skirt package. You have to be more careful when parking but nothing much out of the ordinary.
We basically have the same color so I was pretty stoked to see your pictures. Gives me a good sense of what mine will look like. Here's mine with a 15% tint. I finally said screw it and took the front plate off recently. What a difference that alone has made.
Thanks, the wheels aren't anything too special, they're Avarus Wheels in a conservative spec, 19x8.5 with 245/40 tires +45 offset. The car does sit a bit lower now than it did in those pictures.
I had the Tein springs installed yesterday. All in all, I'm very happy with the results. Here are some before and after pics. I hope someone finds them useful in the future because I couldn't find a picture of one that had been dropped with the 17" stock wheels. The pics will also give an example of a before and after 15% tint.
Before:
After tint:
After Tein springs:
Front will continue to drop about half an inch per the Technician.
Last but not least, alignment data:
So as can be seen there is slight camber in the rear as would be expected based on Wrecks experience. Rear Toe is okay and the front looks great. I'm planning to buy new tires before winter anyway so I'm not going to get a camber kit right away. I'd like to take some pics of my rear tires now and see how they wear over the next few months with this degree of camber. If I start to see any bad wear in the meantime I'll just rotate them. I'll post pics of the tires over the summer as I out more miles on them. Should be a fun little experiment.
All in all, I love it. It really did improve handling in a noticeable way. Less body roll in sharp turns, little to no body roll at all in mild bends, I don't feel as much nose dip during braking, and I don't notice the nose rise during sudden accelerations from a dead stop. It was already the best handling car I've ever owned, and this has just made that even more the case. Very happy so far. The ride is very nice, better than stock actually. I was less aware of the usual bumps I hit on the expressway when I drive to work each day which surprised me. I thought it would make them worse. I was planning on getting new wheels this summer, but I like the improved look enough now I'm may just say hell with it and install the trunk deck lip instead.
Thought I'd put a final cap on this old thread. I've been driving the car with the reat camber shown in the alignment data above until today. I was a little paranoid I was going to quickly trash my tires, so I began roaring them with each and every oil change after the springs were installed. I've been driving about 400 miles a week since then. In all that time I did not notice any uneven wear on any of the four tires. I wish I'd gotten another round of photos today but alas I forgot to do that before having them replaced.
I had those shitty old ass OEM tires replaced with conti dws06s today. Wet traction had completely dropped off a cliff in the last month or so. What a difference these tries have made! In hindsight I wish that putting great tires on the car had been the first mod I pursued after buying the vehicle. These tires are freaking unbelievable. I'm still running the car without a camber kit and am going to be watching my tires like a hawk for uneven wear. I'll continue to rotate with every oil change. If I should ever see uneven wear in the future, I'll come back for an update. I can't stress enough how these tires have changed my car. I can take much greater speeds in the corners on wet or dry roads (I was already able to drive on both today). And the ride is exponentially smoother than it was on those old worn out OEM tires. The thing felt like it was riding on glass at 80 to 85 mph today while I was on the expressway. The car is absorbing pumps and expansion joints better than I had imagined possible. I could not be more pleased.
My advice to anyone thinking about lowering their car for looks, would be to invest in a proper set of tires first so you can enjoy the improved handling instead. It was a real treat today.
Glad to hear you're happy with the springs and your new tires. I run my 17" wheels in the winter and my 19" wheels in the summer. My 17"s haven't had any wear issues at all but I've had nothing but problems with my 19" tires, the back keeps scalloping the tires and I have the toe in spec. My bet is as long as you keep running your 17" wheels you"ll do fine for wear.
04-17-2016, 07:30 AM
