Dropzone coilovers....should I or shouldnt I?

[mx3man83]

I've been around this board long enough to have read just about every single post on dropzone coilovers, but im still not convinced either way. Some say they are crap, some say they are not....Here is my situation..my car needs the tires rotated, an alignment, and i desperately want to be lowered...i figure instead of going in to get an alignment right now, lowering my car a couple months down the road( and then having to go in and get it realigned) ill save myself some money and hastle and get it done all at once. I was thinking Intrax springs and cutting just an inch off...but they cost about 200 dollars, compared to the dropzone coilovers at 155. I was looking around ebay and came across dropzone coilovers, which gave me a crazy idea of actually purchasing them. Here are my concerns....If they are set to the lowest setting, will the ride quality be absolute garbage? Will the lowest setting be a true 4 inch drop?? I've read that the ones meant for the escort dont lower it that much at all, but is that the case for the ones made for the mx-3??? Please no flamers or haters posting in this thread, only if you have useful information.. Thanks

[ryanlindenberg]

i think the ride would be like garbage at any height with the springs due to the high spring rates. but that's just me, it just depends if you mind a bumpy ride or not. i would say get the drop zones instead of cutting the intrax ones. i don't think i would trust cut springs. lots of people on this board have cut their springs and have had no problems with them. once again it's just a matter of opinion. you'll probably want to look into getting some struts while you're at it too.

[ltjrunner]

i recommend eibach lower springs. but thats just me as i didnt want my car lowered TOO much. also, NEW STRUTS ARE A MUST unless you want a very bouncy right. a friend has coilovers in her stratus and she bounces so bad when riding in back you cant stay on the seat. i finally got sick of it and bought her some struts and rasied it .2 inch, made the world of difference. good luck with it all man. hope this helps

[Gro Harlem]

this is how i see it:<p>Do you see dropzone, arospeed, R1, etc coilovers being used on winning autocross cars? Nope<p>Do you see eibach, H&R, suspension techniques, ground-control, whiteline etc. springs being used on winning autocross cars? Yes<p>nuff said....

[EBUCKS]

mx3man, we've talked about you cutting the springs. Please don't!
With the Dropzone you don't get that proposed 4" drop. I heard that someone took off the collars and achieved the 4" drop. The ride will be the same at any height, as the spring rate does not change, but the ride height will. <p>one

[mx3man83]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Gro Harlem:
this is how i see it:<p>Do you see dropzone, arospeed, R1, etc coilovers being used on winning autocross cars? Nope<p>Do you see eibach, H&R, suspension techniques, ground-control, whiteline etc. springs being used on winning autocross cars? Yes<p>nuff said....<hr></blockquote><p>
Well, about this, I'm not really into autocrossing or anything so this doesnt really matter. I'm more into straight forward speed, big rims, and looks. I really appreciate the feedback everyone has been leaving, its been very logical instead of people just saying " your stupid dropzone sucks!". <p>I've actually had experience with cut springs before. On my RS i cut about 3.5 inches off of the stock springs. The handling was awesome but the ride quality was pretty harsh, very bumpy. I figure with the Intrax springs if i only cut an inch off it will lower me significantly more without murdering the ride quality..any comments on that one? <p>I know i really should get some new struts, but i just cant right now. That will probaly be a year from now or so. One of the reasons i need to get my car lowered soon is because of safety issues. I go around sharp corners sometimes and if im not going granny slow my tires will lose grip and almost lose control. I've got some pretty expensive z rated tires too. I never had that problem with my RS, since the center of gravity was so much closer to the ground. I could be going 65-70 around corners and be just fine.<p>[ July 22, 2003: Message edited by: mx3man83 ]</p>

[Custommx3]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by ltjrunner:
i recommend eibach lower springs. but thats just me as i didnt want my car lowered TOO much. also, NEW STRUTS ARE A MUST unless you want a very bouncy right. a friend has coilovers in her stratus and she bounces so bad when riding in back you cant stay on the seat. i finally got sick of it and bought her some struts and rasied it .2 inch, made the world of difference. good luck with it all man. hope this helps<hr></blockquote><p>I have to disagree on that note, unless yours are worn, it wont be bouncy. My RS has stock struts, never replaced one. I have a 2" drop (settled) on suspension techniques drop springs and my ride isnt bouncy at all. My friend has ebaichs on tokiko struts and his ride is identical to mine. If yours are bad, then you do need to get some good ones.

[ltjrunner]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Custommx3:
<p>I have to disagree on that note, unless yours are worn, it wont be bouncy. My RS has stock struts, never replaced one. I have a 2" drop (settled) on suspension techniques drop springs and my ride isnt bouncy at all. My friend has ebaichs on tokiko struts and his ride is identical to mine. If yours are bad, then you do need to get some good ones.<hr></blockquote><p>well then, grab whatever springs you want but make sure you have some good struts...just pick a spring based on ur lowering preference.

[thebonestockkid]

ive got intrax springs on my car.. no bounce at all. i find its a little bit stiffer and i feel more road bumps etc. tho. cant beat how it looks and drives tho

[ProtegeSTS]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Custommx3:
<p>I have to disagree on that note, unless yours are worn, it wont be bouncy. My RS has stock struts, never replaced one. I have a 2" drop (settled) on suspension techniques drop springs and my ride isnt bouncy at all. My friend has ebaichs on tokiko struts and his ride is identical to mine. If yours are bad, then you do need to get some good ones.<hr></blockquote><p>This doesn't make any sense.<p>I'll put down 2000 bucks if you have both shocks dyno'd to see if they are "identical" or even close.<p>You don't know the difference, which is why you say they are the same.

[mx3man83]

Can we ban ProtegeSTS from this thread? Is that possible? Ok now back to the topic...i recently came across a set of used H and R srings. Once again, I've heard mixed reviews on these springs. Does anyone have any comments on ride quality and car height? Thanks.

[Gro Harlem]

If i've learned a thing about suspension in my time modding cars for the past 3 years, it is that you should NEVER lower your car with any spring on stock struts.<p>The only cars I know of that you can actually lower on the stock struts without any problems are the RSX and a few other cars of recent years. I know of NO older cars that come with struts that can withstand lowering springs and properly dampen them.<p>That being said...I don't get why some of the people here can buy $2000 worth of bodykits and paint jobs and stereo crap and not afford $170 ZX2 tokico struts! $170 is a friggin bargain and the struts are beefier than the GR2's and tokico blues that they make for our cars. I have a set on my pro with 2" sprint springs and have had it on there for almost 2 years and no signs of wear yet.<p>Anyways...my advice to you is to get some civic dropzones. Why? Because all the dropzones on ebay are identical! They all use generic (civic) springrates and are marketed towards every make and model out there! (which is super stupendous for handling!) Since civics are so common, their parts on ebay are cheaper, including their coilovers. You can get a set of dropzones for like $70 if you look for a EG civic so why not save yourself some more $$$ and get them instead?

[mx3man83]

Ok now does anybody have any info on H and R springs?

[ProtegeSTS]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mx3man83:
Ok now does anybody have any info on H and R springs?<hr></blockquote><p>Search...<p>they are SLIGHTLY stiffer than the other "sport springs" available out there. And they don't lower as much as you probably want.<p>What else do you want to know?

[maldo]

We interupt this program for a special news bulletin.<p>"Research, experience and proven facts no longer matter. Don't waste your money on proven parts. People of the MX-3 community rejoice and join together in a spring cutting ceremony. We can be safe together!"<p>We now return to our regular scheduled "how low you can go" debate.