New Suspension for the XR - differing opinions help?

[SVR73]

g'day guys

I'm thinking about lowering the front of my car 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch with either Eibach or Koni springs

some people I've spoken with say its not good to lower the car more than 1 inch because the rear IRS geometry will be changed and the rear camber will become more negative and chew the inside tyres out and then I gotta spend more money fitting camber/castor kits

then of course there is the ride quality. I dont want it to go south. its lovely as it is with standard tickford ride height but the whole car is sitting equal, not the front being lower than the rear
I want to give the front nose a drop so it gives the car a swoopier look

what are the original tickford spring and shock measurements?

If I decide to lower the front sooner rather than later, is it bad to leave the rear in standard form. can i get by with just doing the front without any problems later on
the car is up on the hoist right now in our race team HQ and I value your opinions
I dont want to get defected, have the ride become crap and make the stance worse than it already is

I am going to contact a suspension expert here in Adelaide who specialises in old school muscle and comes highly recommended for modern fords too.

as said above, my main concern is putting extra pressure on the IRS and screwing up its geometry by lowering it by 1 inch or more and chewing tyres. just for the sake of looks.

thanks guys, I value your opinions

[Whoosha]

I used super lows all round on mine dropped the front about 2" and the rear 1" with no adverse affect on the IRS then had a 4 wheel alignment the rears stayed near enough to the same as from the factory , front needed just a bit of a tweek , but got away with out a caster camber kit.it seems to vary a bit from car to car but for a 1" lower at the front than the back which is about ware mine ended up I can't see any problems

[BIGJB]

Same as Woosh here, i have sl kings right around in the Ghia with koni yellows and the ride is beautiful.
I had to have a Camber kit in the front and as Woosha has said the rear near stayed the same.

[T3man]

Lower the front 3/4 inch and you won't have any problems whatsoever with either the front or rear camber (unless the car has had accident damage that hasn't been put back to factory spec).

Even if you dropped the front an inch or more you still won't have any issues at the back. You may have to fit a camber kit in the front though.

The rear IRS on XRs already has camber adjusters and they have plenty of scope so never need replacing that I have ever heard.

[Day-mow]

if you only want to lower the front. i think eibach do a spring thats shorter then a low but taller then a super low. i know blue oval is running these and he's very impressed with them.

standard XR heigh is low.

[blueoval]

Matt's pretty aware of how mine sits at the moment with Eibach's. That being said, they are lower than 1". I think Matt is better off getting something that's less than 1" lower than standard XR height so that it doesn't look too uneven front and rear.

Kings low is pretty much what I would recommend based on Matt's requirements. There should be enough room for wheel alignment.

When I fit my springs, I fitted the castor camber kit, but never really adjusted the camber much. Currently Im running 1.2-1.5deg negative camber to both wheels and 0.2mm toe in. Its just enough to avoid massive tire wear, and gives excellent handling and turn in.

*disclaimer: the above specs work best with my car application choice, individual driver application & vehicle assessment is required for your car and should be checked by a professional. Some tire wear does happen with the above specs but it is marginal if tires aren't rotated regularly.*

[FAT245]

I put King Springs Super Lows in the fairlane,
front end needed shimming and the rear end needed the adjustable camber bolts.

Heasman's steering did the alignment, we did the spring swap!

[svo supporter]

On the subject of ride height. When you go to your suspension bloke, they should have the specs on hiow low you can go, to stay legal height. If they don't, get onto the transport dept website, or ring Regency park and get the info from them.

As for the camber issues. Only lowering the car will determine what else is needed. All the rest is speculation.

[Dave_Obsession]

Originally Posted by Day-mow

if you only want to lower the front. i think eibach do a spring thats shorter then a low but taller then a super low. i know blue oval is running these and he's very impressed with them.

standard XR heigh is low.

I also have the Eibach's, they are excellent.

Order direct from the factory - $220
http://www.eibachdirect.com/p/523840/pro-kit.html

They also have a free shipping promotion until January 10th.

[Day-mow]

Originally Posted by dave93761

I also have the Eibach's, they are excellent.

Order direct from the factory - $220
http://www.eibachdirect.com/p/523840/pro-kit.html

They also have a free shipping promotion until January 10th.

lame dont say that. i paid 255 for kings :(

[blueoval]

With the US dollar being equal or better than equal to AU$ its really a simple choice to get the Eibach's. They just feel more superior in my opinion, and this is coming from someone who has had Kings, Aurora, and Pedders springs.

[mik]

i like the look of a lowered limo, but mine scrapes enough on the masses of dodgey gutters and speed humps in good old nth Melb, not to mention trying to get it on ramps or jacking the mongrel, how do you guys get by ?

[blueoval]

Mine is fine on speedhumps and gutters. No scraping unless I have a full car load. Only place I had issues was getting on a ferry from Kadina to Pt Lincoln. But I always take it real slow getting over speed humps etc anyway.

[Dave_Obsession]

I'm fine also - the rear mudflaps may scrape sometimes depending on the size of the speedhump, what's in the boot etc....but no problems otherwise, even with a full car.

[T3man]

I have to watch every little dip. And to jack it up I first have to drive it onto boards. And that's not even lowered!!!

[Day-mow]

Originally Posted by mik

i like the look of a lowered limo, but mine scrapes enough on the masses of dodgey gutters and speed humps in good old nth Melb, not to mention trying to get it on ramps or jacking the mongrel, how do you guys get by ?

im ok on speed humps. sometimes i get stuck going in and out of drive ways. to combat this i just go wide and turn so im kinda parallel almost with curb.
this is due the the fact i have a TS 50 bar as well as SL springs.

as for jacking i use the side jacking point just behind the wheel with a small jack (tyre jack works alright) and then use my big jack to get under the front jacking point when i've got enough clearance

[SVR73]

Originally Posted by Day-mow

lame dont say that. i paid 255 for kings :(

That site says - AU XR6 and XR8 - Live Axle only. Mine is IRS
Why would they put live axle only when all of them are IRS

[Dave_Obsession]

IIRC the XR6 HP are live axle? Only the XR6 VCT got IRS??

[SLO AU XR8]

All XR8 Sedans, and VCT engined Falcon Sedans are IRS.