COILOVERS VS LOWERING SPRINGS

COILOVERS VS LOWERING SPRINGS – YEAH, WE ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER

One of the most popular upgrades among all enthusiast across the board from dedicated weekend track racers to those who build show cars, is coilovers or lowering springs. For those with track-dedicated race cars or who like to participate in weekend track days, it’s more about lowering the center of gravity on their Subaru, improving the overall handling, and cornering feedback. And for everyone else, you want that aggressive race-inspired look to complement your new wheels or to impress the rest of the stance bois at hot import nights.

In all seriousness, lowered Subarus, Evos, Porsche’s and what have you, look amazing when lowered. But some vehicles come with an unsightly high ride height from the factory. Now there is always function behind the reasoning. Meaning that whatever car manufacturer, vehicle suspension and tire size is by design, and to provide a safe and comfortable driving experience. When we start going against the grain of the factory suspension’s geometry, that’s where things get dangerous, and we’ll talk about that more in a minute. But the main topic of discussion is lowering the chassis.

Coilovers vs lowering springs. This is not even a debatable topic anymore, as coilovers is the clear winner. However, coilovers are not for everyone, and that is 110% understandable. Coilovers that end up in the wrong user can ruin a car. And here’s why.

 

WHEN GOING TOO LOW GOES WRONG

Whenever you lower a car whether it be lowering springs or coilovers, you must get an alignment afterward because lowering a car changes the camber settings and changes the overall contact footprint of the tire. For many who just spent a lot of money on coilovers or lowering springs, they don’t want to invest the extra money to get the minimal alignment done. Meaning an alignment that can be performed at your local tire store. Getting coilovers, lowering them all the way to the lowest settings for the scene, while running oversized wheels on stretched tires will scrape everything underneath the vehicle which includes the pinch welds, and most importantly the oil pan. We get it, it looks cool, and some owners with show cars do it right by installing aftermarket control arms that can accommodate the tilted look, but it’s not exactly daily drivable unless you’re on bags. Going too low irresponsibly to the point to where you are rubbing on fender liners, cutting into your fenders causing a blowout on the highway putting other drivers at risk, and accelerating the wear on suspension bushings isn’t worth it. Now, this is the never the case with lowering springs as they only lower on average about 1 inch. Coilovers or bags can get much lower.

 

WE KNOW COILOVERS ARE BETTER THAN LOWERING SPRINGS. BUT WAIT A MINUTE.

Now the reason why coilovers are ‘better’ than lowering springs is the overall versatility. The main benefit of coilovers is the on-car height adjustability. With lowering springs, you must remove your OEM strut and spring assembly. Whether if you perform this job yourself, or pay a shop to do it, it’s a labor-intensive process. This can be performed on a weekend afternoon, but it’s still a process. Once you remove your strut and spring assembly, you must either buy or rent a spring compressor. Then you need an impact gun or some muscle to compress the springs down enough to where there is no tension once you are ready to remove the strut top hat. And warning: If you try to remove the strut top hat without compressing the spring first, you can lose an eye, break a nose, or knock yourself out with the force of the spring shooting the top hat and the top hat nut into your face. Don’t do this.

Once you have no tension, you can continue to remove the top hat, remove the spring, slide the new lowering spring into place, re-install the stop hat, and re-install the strut and spring assembly onto your vehicle. This can take up to an hour per corner.

With coilovers, you jack up one corner, remove the wheel, and use your included coilover spanner wrenches to loosen the spring perches so you can twist the coil body into the lower mount. On average, this can be performed in an hour or less on all four corners.

 

BUT WHY LOWERING SPRINGS THEN?

Because for some people, and for many of us who got older, got married and had kids but still drive a new WRX, the ride needs to be comfortable for everyone. Or you don’t really want to mess with newer advanced strut systems that have factory electronic damping systems, or you simply just want a better look without compromising the overall ride quality. Although coilovers are highly adjustable from a height and damping perspective, they are still harsher ride quality wise, when compared to lowering springs.

 

BENEFITS OF LOWERING SPRINGS?

• Better ride quality in terms of comfort.
• Lowers the center of gravity on the vehicle.
• Improves the handling.
• Provides a better stance with on average, and inch lower to close that fender gap.
• When a strut blows, and OEM or OEM-0like strut will work out.

 

CONS OF LOWERING SPRINGS

• Labor intensive to install, and you do not have the height adjustment when compared to coilovers.
• Lowering springs only lower the chassis from a half inch to an inch on average.
• Although cheaper to buy when compared to coilovers, the labor to install would be almost as much as buying coilovers.

 

GREAT LOWERING SPRING EXAMPLES: click on pic or title for pricing

 

Eibach Pro Kit Lowering Springs 1-inch front, 1.1-inch lower 2022-2024 Subaru WRX

 

Whiteline Performance Lowering Springs 2015-2021 Subaru STI

 

H&R Sport Springs 2015-2021 Subaru WRX

 

Tein H-Tech Springs 2015-2021 Subaru STI

 

WHY COILOVERS REIGN SUPREME

As mentioned with lowering springs, you are limited on ride height which will be a deal breaker for those of you who like to keep things low and slow. And the ride height adjustment can be performed by simply jacking up the chassis, safely supporting your Subaru on jack stands, then you can move to each corner and lower the spring perch or strut body down to your liking. By the time you spend money on lowering springs, and pay someone to install them, you would almost spend just as much by just getting a set of coilovers. Some coilovers also have damping adjustment for those of you who need to stiffen the ride on your struts for performance driving, or to soften them to improve everyday drivability, and softer settings help with launching so your chassis can squat during liftoff.

Although many coilover systems will include top hats to make them ready to install right out of the box, many options will also include adjustable front top hats to allow you to get a deeper camber setting. This is a great option for those of you with track-dedicated race cars that are running a really wide squared tire setup and need that clearance at higher speeds, and it is also beneficial for stance bros who are running a really wide wheel in the front.

However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows with coilovers. Depending on what coilover set you buy, there are some drawbacks. Coilovers are inherently harsher to ride on especially when compared to OEM suspension, and that is simply due to stiffer spring rates to accommodate the lack of strut travel. Additionally, although there are companies that can rebuild a coilover in case of a blowout, the process is painstakingly long, whereas if you just have lowering springs, you can go to the dealer or local auto parts store to get an OEM-like strut replacement. In some cases, a blown coilover means that you will have to resort to getting a new set of coilovers.

 

BENEFITS OF COILOVERS:

• On-car ride height adjustability.
• Installation process is much easier when compared to lowering spings.
• Set the ride height to your linking when compared to lowering springs.
• Improves the handling.
• Improves driver feedback in racing conditions.
• Many coilover setups include damping adjustment to improve the overall comfort.
• Many coilover setups will include top hats to be ready to install right out of the box.
• Some coilover setups will have front top hats that are camber adjustable.
• Ideal for daily driven, show car, or race car applications.

 

COILOVER CONS:

• There are consequences to irresponsible actions – meaning if you lower your car too much, you will chew up your tires, damage your chassis and frame, while greatly increasing the wear to your suspension bushings. Sometimes doing it for the gram isn’t worth it.
• Some coilover setups are not rebuildable if you blow a strut, and if they are rebuildable the time to rebuild them can take weeks or longer.
• Harsher ride quality with sacrificed comfort when compared to lowering springs.

 

 

INVEST IN THE RIGHT COILOVER

Buying used suspension on forums or on your local social media marketplace is never the brightest idea unless you know the person or know the condition of said suspension. You never know how many miles those coilovers may have on them, and you never know if someone cleaned those coilovers with brake parts cleaners to hide an underlying problem. Buy them new, but don’t just buy any set. Get a set offered by an established and reputable brand in the industry. That being said, here are some great examples:

 

FACTION FAB FR-SPEC V2 COILOVERS 2022-2024 SUBARU WRX

 

BC RACING BR COILOVERS 2015-2021 SUBARU WRX/STI

 

 

 

ISC SUSPENSION N1 STREET SPORT COILOVERS 2002-2007 SUBARU WRX / 2004 STI

 

 

FACTION FAN FL-SPEC COILOVERS 2022-2024 SUBARU WRX

 

In conclusion, it really depends on your overall driving goals, your purpose, and your overall utility. For some of you who value comfort over looks, but still want to spice things up, lowering springs will be a great choice. Although they don’t have the adjustment range as coilovers, they are less of a headache to have especially when it comes to maintenance, or replacements. Springs have a really long shelf life and don’t often break, so when it comes to replacing a blown strut, a replacement strut within reach.

Coilovers offer the most amount of adjustability in terms of height and damping. If you change wheels, get a different tire size, want to go lower for car shows, or raise your Subaru higher because you’re tired of scraping, coilovers offer quick adjustments. Although a little stiffer ride quality when compared to lowering springs, coilovers execute that desired aggressive stance that you cannot achieve with lowering springs. There’s pros and cons with either choice, choose what best works for you. And when you’ve installed your coilovers or springs, and are happy with the desired outcome, make sure you get an alignment.