I was trying to decide if I liked the drop a few weeks ago before I purchased the springs. I was searching for before and after pics of a 2.2 with sportlines, and I only got a few results. What really got me a bit upset was all the pictures were taken at different angles so it was hard to do a simple side-by-side comparison.

Today I installed my sportlines. Before the install, it was a 100% stock car, now the sportlines are the only modification. Here are before and after shots taken at the exact same angle. Hopefully this will become useful to people trying to decide if they like the drop in the future.

My opinion on the result - I absolutely LOVE it! I didn't notice any huge sacrifice in ride quality, but the handling already feels 5x better. Appearance wise, it looks perfect. The wheel gap is minimal with the stock steelies and gets rid of the jacked-up "wedge" look it had before. I am 110% satisfied.

Before

After

 

OOOOOOOHHHHHHH! I really like. I didn't see this thread before I posted mine. I still debating this due to my 18" rims. I don't wanna rub. How much clearance do you have now?

 

looks good

 

I have Sportlines on my 2.4 w/ 19"s and still have no rubbing issues.

 

Plenty, lol. You can basically stick two fingers between the tire and the outer wheel well, which is about 1" of wheel gap, but as you know the wheel well goes up more then the body shows, so there's still plenty. I hit some pretty dippy areas of the road coming home that made me bounce up, down, up, down, up, down... increasing each time, and I never had any issues.

Then thing to keep in mind when you buy the large wheels is the overall diameter of the wheel. Take your tire size now (eludes me currently) and figure out the diameter this way:

Say the factory tire is 195/60/16. The first part is the width of the tire, second part is the percentage of the width equalling the height of the sidewall, and third is what size wheel it will fit.

Its easiest to convert the width to inches first, so devide it by 24.5. 195/24.5 = 7.96" wide.

So now we know it is 7.96"/60/16.

Figure out 60% of 7.96" by multiplying 7.96 by .60. 7.96*.60 = 4.78".

This means your tire is 7.96" wide with a 4.78" sidewall. To find the total diameter (top of wheel to bottom of wheel), add the wheel size (in this case 16") to the side wall x2 (since the tire is all round the wheel, you would be measuring bottom portion of tire>wheel>top portion of tire, to get the diameter).

So, 4.78*2 = 9.56 + 16" = 25.56".

Again, this was just an example and I have no idea if I was close to the stock tire size, but use the same formula. Then when you're looking at 18" wheels, you'll want to stay fairly close to the same total diameter.

Given the experience with the drop, though... and based off my factory tires (not my example which was random numbers pulled from thin air), the diameter could increase about 2" without issues, 1.5 or so to be totally safe; until somebody verifies a larger size that fits.

 

did you install new struts?

 

Looks great.

 

No. I fully intend to install Koni's down the road, or if I really get into rallyx or racing throw the gravana coilovers on there; but my logic is basically don't fix it unless its broke.

I know full well they will blow my struts eventually, and when that happens I should have a pair of Koni's ready (probably buying them next month). Until then I figure I might as well get the most life out of my stockers until they blow to maximize the lifespan of the koni's.

Thank you... and guess what... I'm buying stuff from you on Monday.

Still deciding exactly what, but should be auto tranny mount, shift+, front strut bar, and debating on engine mount. I've heard with our cars the engine mount doesn't make a whole lot of impact??? But your mounts are SOOOO good looking, it is still very tempting

 

how is the ride with those installed

 

Im still running my stock struts after running Sportlines since November '06.

 

i am thinking about buying these just not sure if i could install them though

 

Springs? Springs are easy. Just find a few friends, grab some beers and get to it.

Oh, and you'll need to rent a spring compressor which is no big.

 

Well its the first day, and I've heard it takes about a week to fully settle, but regardless the ride is totally fine. It reminds me of how my SRT4 felt... exactly. Little bumps move the tires as you would expect but not the cabin. Bigger bumps make more of a noise then before, but the responsiveness is just a little bit more stiff with the rebound, actual "aftershock" to the driver is minimal. Only real thing noticed was dips in the road (like a few feet of a slight concave part of the road no more then a few inches deeper then the rest of the road and then back to normal) move you a little where before you kind of glided over them, but even still it is minimal. You just realize you drove over a dip, wouldn't spill your coffee or anything.

Handling is an amazing improvement, and getting in and out of the car has a recognizable difference.

 

thanks for this!!!!...this helps me cause sportlines were gonna be my next mod

 

sounds good i just have to find some money to buy these!

 

looks good!! this should be my next mod.

 

That's exactly why I'm going to wait for them to blow. I've heard people driving 10,000 miles on them; so I'd rather put those miles on the stock struts then the Koni's.

Installation was cake because I was with a local mechanic with pneumatic tools However all you would need is 2 jack stands, a jack, a socket wrench set (torque wrench would be handy, but not needed), allen wrench set and a rubber strap wrench (if you don't have pneumatic tools), something to cut a polyurethane bumpstop with (saw, dremel), a spare set of hands, and spring compressors.

You can buy the spring compressors for $40 at autozone, but unless you're planning on using them again, you can rent them for the same price and they'll refund you fully when you return them. You can also rent a torque wrench from autozone if you want to torque the bolts to the recommend settings.

The allen wrench and rubber strap wrench are used if you don't have access to a pneumatic impact wrench. After you get the front struts out and compress the springs, you put the correct socket on the bolt on top, put the allen wrench through the hole of the socket wrench, and then use the rubber strap wrench around the socket. Use a pair of pliers to hold the allen wrench and the strut still while you loosen the bolt with the rubber strap wrench.

Probably sounds confusing as hell in text, but look at half/cent's how-to article. Without pneumatic tools and just one person helping you can probably expect a 3 hour install. With them, 1 hour.

It is 100% worth it.

They should have been your first
Look in the vendor deals, they are often parts of group buys. Picked mine up for ~200
Also should have been your first

 

wow thats a big drop

 

how long mileage wise will it take for the stock struts to blow

 

Totally varies on driving style and sheer luck. Some people report a year or so and 10,000 miles, some much shorter. There isn't really any defined answer there. If you're planning on running on stock struts, I would recommend budgeting for strut replacements within a few months to be on the safe side, but not putting them in till you need them.

 

Well how much does struts cost

 

Koni yellow's are around 450

 

Good job, James! Glad you're enjoying the Eibachs!

Todd did those? I was going to have him remove my Sportlines (sick of the ride discomfort on these pothole-filled roads, and I drive 70mi round trip to work everyday so comfort is key) today, but I couldn't afford the money to rent a spring compressor. About how long did it take? Did he have all necessary tools?

He seems like a really cool guy, and your car looks kickass with the drop!!!

 

can u put as link. Please

 

Apparently alot.

I put sportlines on my '07 2.4SS in November '06 (yes, I had an '07 months before '06 ended). I've since daily driven the **** out of the car and clocked 41,000 miles on it, and im still running the stock struts with no issues.