Lowering Kits

Most stock original cars, even sports cars, are compromises. The manufacturer has to build them that way because of bumper height and other regulations and because for every enthusiast like you, there’s a poser who just wants to look the part. You want to be able to push your car hard in the corners; the poser is more interested in a comfy ride. But you don’t have to settle for factory ride height and boulevard ride concessions, you can get a lowered stance, better handling, acceleration, and braking, and a firm but comfortable ride, with one of our performance lowering kits.

Besides the improvement in performance, a lowering kit will also do wonders for your car’s appearance. Some cars have so much gap between the top of the tires and the fenders you’d think they were built for off-roading. With a lowering kit, you’ll lose the gap and get a lower, ground hugging, aggressive stance that will work with the factory tires and wheels, but really look awesome when combined with a Plus-1 or Plus-2 wheel and tire package. We offer complete lowering kits for classic and late model cars, trucks, and SUVs, as well as individual components.

Specific lowering kit components will vary according to suspension design. These can range from an economical set of coil springs that will reduce ride height 1-2”, to hi-tech coilovers that are adjustable for ride height, spring preload, and damping. Coil springs can be used with your OE shocks and struts, but upgraded performance components should be used for best results. The coil springs are usually progressive, which will give you a firm, but comfortable ride with the desired stiffness for cornering and braking. More comprehensive kits include shocks and struts, bigger sway bars, and more. Some kits may even include parts like caster and camber plates, to facilitate wheel alignment, but if not check out our alignment kits category.

If your vehicle has leaf springs we offer several ways to get that ground-hugging stance including replacement springs with less arch, shackle and hanger kits that reposition the spring mounting points, lowering blocks and U-bolts, or for the most extreme drop, flip kits that relocate the axle from underneath to the top of the leaf springs. With such a dramatic drop you may need more room for upward suspension travel and for that we have C-notch kits. We also have many other vehicle lowering components like torsion keys, drop spindles that locate the wheel mounting point higher on the spindle, and drop ball joints. And converting to an air suspension system with independently adjustable air springs or struts will let you slam your ride or raise it up in just seconds with the touch of a button.

With a lowering kit installed, you’ll love your car’s new “flush stance”. But as great as it looks, once you feel how it performs you won’t be spending much time looking at your car, you’ll want to be behind the wheel. Cornering will improve because the stiffer springs will reduce dive, and since the car’s center of gravity is lower, you’ll get less body roll. Braking will improve because of less nose dive. Nose dive puts excessive weight and strain on the front tires and brakes. With a lowering kit vehicle weight is more evenly distributed on the tires and the rear brakes can contribute more stopping power. You’ll also have better acceleration because the car will squat less when you floor it.

With a lowering kit, your car will be more responsive and react more directly to your input regardless of the situation, with greater predictability. But still another benefit from installing a lowering kit is improved aerodynamics. Lowering your car makes it closer to the road, reducing its wind resistance, for higher top speed at the race track and increased fuel mileage on the highway. If you take your car to the track, you’ll appreciate the higher top speed. Fuel economy, on the other hand, probably isn’t a high priority when you drive a performance car. But considering how fast the needle on your gas gauge drops when you push your car isn’t it nice to know you may get a few more miles per gallon when you’re just cruising?