attn bretton - dropping a x3 excel

[X3_ON_17s]

hey all ive got a 1996 x3 excel with 17*7 inch wheels and i have it dropped 2 inches. i dont want a bodykit for my car all i want is for the wheels to be dropped more. ive seen cars that have there cars dropped more for example the rear wheels are under the chassis and the front wheels are low and really close to the guard. is it possible to get it done??? like get it dropped another inch or 2.

thanx

[CROOOL_LANTRA]

Yes you can get it done. My boss used to have a X3 dumped 3.5" all round with 17"rims. All you have to do is roll the guards so much it pushes the guard out. Make sure you use heat to warm the paint or it WILL crack. Once youve done that youll be able to drive but not do full lock on your steering wheel anymore.

[bretton]

On things many people do not think about is that the more you lower your car, the more harsh the ride becomes, and after a certain point the car actually handles worse than one which is lowered less.

Lowering an Excel (or most cars) by around 30-40 mm will still allow it to handle much better than standard, and will still be comfortable for every day driving. You can still use just about any aftermarket shock absorbers (though if you are running the factory shocks, they never like loweing at all. On the best of times they will last 30-50,000 without lowering, and 5-20,000km when lowered).

Any more than 50mm and it will start to become very jittery, and depending on the tyres you are running, it will feel very harsh and you will feel every small pot hole, bump, join in the bitumen and evey cigarrette paper as you run over it.

Sure, lowering a car by 3-4 inches looks great at the Auto Salons, but is not practical for the road. If you want your car lowered by that much, there are places that be able to make a set of springs for you, but good luck! Besides givign a Sh@t ride, you'll be looking at defect notices first time the cops spot you.

If you want your car to handle well, look at getting it lowered by 30-40mm and fit a good set of gas shocks (Pedders Comfort Gas, Monroe GT Gas, etc are good value and work well, tho ifmoney is no object, look at Koni's and the like). This will make your car look good, handle much better than standard and still be able to give you some suspension compliance to soak up some of those bumps and road joins.

For further improvements in handling, consider fitting a thicker rear sway bar, which will make your car sit flatter when taking corners and lane changes, as well as improving front end grip so it will understeer less when pushing hard through corners.

A front strut brace will also help a lot, making the whole front of your car more rigid, thus keeping your suspension geometery correct during cornering. Rear strut braces are also available, though they will reduce the amount of usable boot space, and if you have a large sub enclosure in teh boot, may not fit.

If you are still after more cornering grip, or wanting to stop the tyres scrubbing inside the guards, then a set of camber pins is advisable, and dial in around 1.2 degrees of negative camber or so. If you set it with too much negative camber, then you will scrub out the insides of your tyres much quicker.

Bodykits also come in handy for 'lowering', as they make the car look lower, as the front lip and side skirts will generally sit closer to the road than the factory bumpers and sills.

Hope this helps


Cheers


Bretton
www.PerfomanceStylingCentre.com.au

[CROOOL_LANTRA]

Good comments Bretton. Ride comfort will deteriorate greatly, but your ohhh ahhhh factor will sky rocket! good luck however you go. Make sure you post some pics when your done!

[XZBIT_1]

if you are going to lowered it more it would be a good idea to get some good shockers too and add canber to it. but remenber you will always get the scrapping not more people on the back. on the other hand to the lower you go the worst you braking gets. anyway good luck.

[bretton]

Not always true,

Rubbing or scraping of the tyres against the inner guards at the rear can be overcome by lipping of the guards and/or negative camber at the rear. The need for either or both of these will depend on the width rims and tyres you have fitted and the off-set of the rims.

As fro braking, with a properly sorted out suspension the braking distances will be reduced.

The lower centre of gravity and stiffer springs at the front will allow the car to sit flatter and remain flatter during braking, therefore reducing the amount of weight transfer towards to the front of the car, thereby allowing the rear tyres to maintain a heavier contact patch on the road brakes to let them assist with braking more.

On a standard car with soft suspension and worn shocks, when you brake heavily the car nose dives down a lot, and with the weight transfer towards the front of the car the back will tend to lift and the rear brakes will lock up, causing the back wheels to skid. And a locked brake with a skidding tyre always takes longer to stop..

As long as your car's springs and shock absorbers are 'matched' and in good condition so that the shock absorber can cope with the demands placed upon it by the spring, then it will allow all four tyres on your car to maintain proper contact with the road at all times, improving the levels of grip under acceleration, cruising, cornering and braking.

It is when you fit lower (and heavier duty) springs to your car and the shock absorbers are in poor condition that it will cause the tyre to skip up and down when you jump on the brakes, hence adding to your braking distances.

It's about this time that Glen Seton will be jumping through your television asking you to check your brakes, tyres AND shock absorbers

Cheers


Bretton
www.PeformanceStylingCentre.com.au

[kramit]

hehe.. brenton thru the telly at meh :surprised:

nice one.

you gotta remember, if you dont have the cash to do it the right way.... DONT TAKE SHORTCUTS

the life you kill might be mine :??:

take the time to do it right, you will gain from it

[Scrud]

I had a problem with my braking when i first got new stiff king springs, and what was happening is that they were so stiff there was no weight transfer to the front of the car, stopping the wheels from digging into the road, causing lose of traction (skidding).... so dont you need a certain amount of weight transfer, like the front wheels being forced into the ground.....? cuz if you think about it, if the car doesn't tilt foward it would be harder for the front wheels to bite the road and come to a stop?

[kramit]

bretton.... see roll call for the apology 'bout your name,
good mate of mine is called brenton, i got a little confused :nervous:

SOZ

scrud... it's more a matter of getting your balance right, the more of a footprint you have on the road (amount of tyre surface in contact with it).. the better u can stop. by allowing the car to nose in straight line braking isnt too much of a problem, but when it does it in cornering it will unsettle the ass end and upset your car's attitude in the corner ---> making you corrrect thru the corner and thus losing your cornering speed

likewise, if your front end is tooooo stiff ----> understeer central

balance is the ZEN of braking

happy speed :bandit:

Kramit