[rhudeboye]

I recently installed new springs (12" Hyper coil 275 rate) along with the lowering kit from paragon. Despite the perch adjustments to drop the car. The springs are not allowing it to go any lower. The car currently appears to sit at stock height. My mechanic was shooting for another 3/4", I would like it to be a full inch lower. My mechanic told me that the car will drop over time as the springs settle. How much? Well just have to wait and see.



So I'm curious as to how long this will take. Any experiences?

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[flash]

yeah - they won't "settle" like that. they may go down 1/4" if you're lucky. they might sag over time, but it will take years to see any real change.



i ran into this exact problem with paragon before.



12" at that rate is too long. at 275 i would have gone with a 10" spring. you really can't go beyond 200 at 12", and even that will put you at the end of the collar.

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[bombfactory]

Agree with Flash. A spring made of the appropriate type of steel shouldn't sag much at all - 1/4" sounds right - over the typical lifespan of a car.



I'm still running stock springs up front on M030 struts, and my threaded collars are just about maxed out too (can't go lower). My ride height is between 25.25" and 25.5" at the fender lips. 10 or 11" springs would give me more adjustability.

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[rhudeboye]

Wish i knew this upfront. I ordered the kit and springs assuming they would send the appropriate size as i gave the make and model of the car. I called to question them about it and was told by a tech (who told me he also owns a 968) that its a trial and error area with these cars. At the 275 spring rate he thought the 12" would do the trick. He then started talking about 944s and 400 springs etc. In the end, the most they're willing to do is exchange the springs for the 10". But that would mean paying twice for install and alignment when the 10"s arrived.

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[flash]

this makes me crazy. it's just plain lazy to make comments like that. it's not trial and error at all. springs have very fixed compression measurements, and can be easily calculated. a 275lb spring will compress 1" for each 275lbs applied to it. that means that on a 968 it will compress about 2.75" at rest that means a 12" spring will drop down to about 9.25". measuring from the perch, it then becomes easy to see what length spring you would need............surprise............10"

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[bombfactory]

Welcome to the 'pay for multiple alignments before it gets done right' club (Flash is permanent club president). I'm currently on number 3 and I'm still not happy. Number four coming up soon.

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[flash]

lol - yeah - and i think i get to go for another one pretty soon, as i want to change my upper strut mounts.

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[rhudeboye]

Paragon just called me back, perhaps they lurk on this forum. They offered to send me out the 10" springs along with a return label that I can use at my leisure for the 12". Now how simply can springs be swapped? He told me i shouldn't need another alignment. According to him, the tech can undue the nut, swing out the strut, slip off the old spring then slip on the new. Is it that simple?

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[bombfactory]

You might be able to get the strut to 'swing out' without removing the lower two mounting bolts (the upper one is an eccentric that sets camber) if you disconnect the swaybar end links from the control arm.



However, lowering ride height will change your alignment settings a bit.

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[flash]

you can definitely get the spring out easily. remove the center nut on the top of the strut (you'll need an impact gun). disconnect the sway bar from both ends, which allows the control arm to swing down freely. compress the strut a bit. tip out and remove spring. reverse to install.



you won't need another alignment if you stay at the same ride height.



you will need an alignment if you lower it. lowering will increase negative camber, and also change your toe set, which can make all sorts of bad things happen.

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[rhudeboye]

Thanks. Lowering it another inch is the goal. The guy at Paragon must've overlooked how that would change things.

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