Hi all,
Some time ago I purchased Alex's adjustable spring perches and today I finally got around to installing them. I have always thought that this is a really nice kit and Alex did a great job delivering on really high-quality components. For those of you who are already satisfied with the way the car rides and handles but want a slightly better (lower) stance, this is the kit for you. The stock springs are retained and the whole installation process is simply removing the stock bottom spring perch in favor of Alex's adjustable ones. Once done, you have near infinite height adjustment flexibility at each corner. Although my car sat very level (side to side), I have heard several owners complain that one side or corner was higher than another one. This kit can solve all of that and you certainly have the ability to run at a stock ride height if desired.
The instructions Alex provides are great and describe very well how to set up the perches for a given drop level. I'll go over the installation highlights and share a couple of pictures. Before starting, please note that you can purchase this kit from Alex's Ebay store here.
I've done several dozen lowering kit installations over the years and I'd have to ay that this ranks as one of the very easiest. It is very simple to remove both the front and back coil over from the car. As Alex notes in his instructions (and Alex the factory '06 manual DOES give the same advice), you should provide a mild downforce on the lower A-arm to counteract the pre-load on the upper mounting bolts - which are threaded into aluminum. This is real easy to do and it DOESN'T require Herculean strength as one might think. OK, the only other "trick" is that I would recommend that you have a very good spring compressor. To get the new sleeves on, you have to compress the spring coils together so that they are almost touching. I don't think common, screw-type spring compressors will be so easy to work with. I use an expensive but VERY GOOD Branick 7400 spring compressor which simply makes this stuff child's play.
Front height from ground to center of wheel arch BEFORE was 28" and 27" inches AFTER. For the rear, BEFORE was 30" and after 29.25".
Here's some pics.
This is the factory-recommended pry-point for the front shock removal. A small shop rag is protecting the A-arm and there's a small piece of thin plywood protecting the frame.
This is a picture of the rear upper mounting holes for the shock assembly. There is no pressure on the A-arm and notice that the pre-load is such that there would be force on the bolts as you remove them. With just a small amount of pry force, this holes are easily aligned.
Here's a close-up picture of the factory lower spring perch and the retaining "wire" clip half-removed. The spring is compressed so the perch can be slid up. You release this wire clip and slide it down off of the shock tube. Then you simply slide the lower perch off of the end of the shock, and then slide one of Alex's adjustable perches right on. Alex's perches are held on by the same wire clip. Just slide it back up and it will lock right back on.
This is my son and very capable apprentice applying a small amount of downforce on the lower A-arm. The top bolts of the shock absorber assembly will thread right in by hand.
This is a picture of the Branick 7400. Overall height is about 4 feet. It is super-adjustable and exactly the right tool for this kind of job.
And here's the branick in action...
Finally, here's a couple of before and after pics.
Some time ago I purchased Alex's adjustable spring perches and today I finally got around to installing them. I have always thought that this is a really nice kit and Alex did a great job delivering on really high-quality components. For those of you who are already satisfied with the way the car rides and handles but want a slightly better (lower) stance, this is the kit for you. The stock springs are retained and the whole installation process is simply removing the stock bottom spring perch in favor of Alex's adjustable ones. Once done, you have near infinite height adjustment flexibility at each corner. Although my car sat very level (side to side), I have heard several owners complain that one side or corner was higher than another one. This kit can solve all of that and you certainly have the ability to run at a stock ride height if desired.
The instructions Alex provides are great and describe very well how to set up the perches for a given drop level. I'll go over the installation highlights and share a couple of pictures. Before starting, please note that you can purchase this kit from Alex's Ebay store here.
I've done several dozen lowering kit installations over the years and I'd have to ay that this ranks as one of the very easiest. It is very simple to remove both the front and back coil over from the car. As Alex notes in his instructions (and Alex the factory '06 manual DOES give the same advice), you should provide a mild downforce on the lower A-arm to counteract the pre-load on the upper mounting bolts - which are threaded into aluminum. This is real easy to do and it DOESN'T require Herculean strength as one might think. OK, the only other "trick" is that I would recommend that you have a very good spring compressor. To get the new sleeves on, you have to compress the spring coils together so that they are almost touching. I don't think common, screw-type spring compressors will be so easy to work with. I use an expensive but VERY GOOD Branick 7400 spring compressor which simply makes this stuff child's play.
Front height from ground to center of wheel arch BEFORE was 28" and 27" inches AFTER. For the rear, BEFORE was 30" and after 29.25".
Here's some pics.
This is the factory-recommended pry-point for the front shock removal. A small shop rag is protecting the A-arm and there's a small piece of thin plywood protecting the frame.
This is a picture of the rear upper mounting holes for the shock assembly. There is no pressure on the A-arm and notice that the pre-load is such that there would be force on the bolts as you remove them. With just a small amount of pry force, this holes are easily aligned.
Here's a close-up picture of the factory lower spring perch and the retaining "wire" clip half-removed. The spring is compressed so the perch can be slid up. You release this wire clip and slide it down off of the shock tube. Then you simply slide the lower perch off of the end of the shock, and then slide one of Alex's adjustable perches right on. Alex's perches are held on by the same wire clip. Just slide it back up and it will lock right back on.
This is my son and very capable apprentice applying a small amount of downforce on the lower A-arm. The top bolts of the shock absorber assembly will thread right in by hand.
This is a picture of the Branick 7400. Overall height is about 4 feet. It is super-adjustable and exactly the right tool for this kind of job.
And here's the branick in action...
Finally, here's a couple of before and after pics.
