A budy of mine has an 06 goat and hes done a lot of car work before...from engine to body work. We were havin a lil disgusion a few days ago and he had mentioned that he recomends me gettin the eibach anti-roll kit and a sway bar before lowering it. He said if i still ddnt feel happy with the ride, then lower but with the pro-kit instead. Im nt going 100% looks, i want some performance behind my car. What do you guys think about this?

 

lower it for looks not performance.

 

or in the case of coilovers.... Looks + Performance = Expensive but amazing...

 

Your friend is right in a way.

The thing is, he wants you to get confirtable with the car and see if the handling is up to your standards. When you start lowering a vehicle, there is alot ot be concerned with besides your springs and how low they are. You need to look at spring rates, shock absorbers, clearance of your wheel and body and the list goes on. Also, ride comfort is starting to be compromised even if done correctly.

Basically, he wants you to do the minimal effected things to your driving experience as far as handling first to make sure you don't NEED to lower your vehicle.

A+ for your friend.

The thing is, lowering effects both...to a degree. The handling part about it is that now you have a better lower center gravity and you'll experience less body roll. This also effects wheel hopping.

But this all comes to a degree. You can't lower your car to the earth and think that lower is better. It isn't.

 

Lowering the SS/SC any lower than stock will put excessive angles on your axles and steering linkage, (tierods). Too much angle on the axles, can cause premature wear to the joints; remember, on the Time Attack car they used different joints, because of the extra angle they would be running. On the steering, the tierods will point upwards when lowered, this is not good, do to, "Bump Steer". Bump Steer can cause a sudden jerking of the steering wheel when hitting a bump, poor road feel will result. These angles can cause premature wear of the joints and tires. The geometry of the "arch" that the suspension system will travel, has now been changed. You will need to raise the steering rack to properly compansate for lowered ride hight. I do now for most people these issues matter very little, but it some cases, its the details that make the difference.
Sway-bars, I would attack the rear first. If the rear is tightened up, it will allow for easier turning, by causing the rear to lift alittle and swing outward.

 

Great Post.

 

This is a great thread. I do not know much about suspension. I would like to lower my car for looks but if this means I lose performance I will not do it. Looks are important to me but performance is at the top of my list. So, If I want to improve my 60" times on the track and street would lowering my center of gravity help?

 

Lowering your car would help but like he said, you have to do other precautions if you want to do it properly and have a nice comfortable and reliable vehicle.

 

Thank you, just trying to add some "food for thought" that has not be brought up.
Well, for the best launching ability; remember, on take off, the vehicles weigh will shift rearward. So, to counter-act this a heavy spring rate will reduce, "sqat". Also, a stance lower in front and higher in rear will force more wieght to the front. These will help for launches. Basically a lower center of gravity will have lttle effect as compared to a heavier spring rate. Now, for street or road courses its a different game. You need more balance. A level ride hight will shift alittle weight rearward, this will give a better weight distrubusion for turning, more weight to the rear will reduce "push" in a turn, understeer, and help the back to swing out. A heavier spring rate will also help tremendously, to a point, but you will sacrifice ride quality. If the spring rate is too high, you can over come the traction afforded by your tires and break loose. This is the reason I don't suggest a front sway bar for the SS/SC, anything larger may be too much.

 

awsome post...i had h&r's and i thought it would help out for autox, guess what it didn't...it made things worse...once i took the springs off and went back to stock hieght the car reacted much better around corners...the ss/sc needs attension to the rear...get a sway bar and a lower tie bar...the sway bar will allow the car to oversteer a lil, thats a good thing you want the rear to swing out to make cornering easier....the lower tie bar will tie the rear cradle together and will reduce the stress and movement of bushings giving the more regitity and keeping it square around corners....if you really want to get extreme take off your front sway bar, time attack cobalt did it and you'll really notice the oversteer.