RedThunder

Question for those who have lowered their cars on stock bolts.....I'd like to get the bottom of my rear wheel well down. Left side measures 1 7/8 inch to top of tire. Right side is a little higher measuring 2 1/8 inch.

I don't want to lower more than 1/2 inch or so (to leave a little above the top of tire to insert cleaning tools). Of course, I'd like the lowered stance to match side to side and realize I need to measure final results by distance to the bottom edge of the car.

However, anyone have a guess as to how many turns on the bolts to accomplish this approximate 1/2" difference? I'm borrowing rack space so I want to avoid as many (measuring) ups and downs as I can to speed the process along. Thanks for any guesses or advice.

Oh yeah, if I lower 1/2 inch in back, how likely is it that I will need to lower the front (driveway/splitter probs)? Thanks.

shaimerej

I’d run 3-4 turns to get the 1/2” you are looking for. Once the car has been lifted off the ground to do the work, it will sit higher than normal when you set it down. Moving the car or setting down on something slippery will allow the wheels to spread to set the car at height.

4SUMERZ

I have the Z51 suspension, and I turned my lowering bolts almost all the way, and it did not lower it much more than 1/2" all around.

hubes

Also how much gas is in the car will effect the ride height, especially in the rear. The right tank empties first, so If you measured with half a tank, they might be the same with a full tank or empty

Long_AV8R

I lowered mine in the garage using a bottle jack under the end of the spring. I didn't even have to remove the wheels. If on stock lowering screws you will have to go almost all the way down for 1/2'. I had to cut some of the rubber bumper off to get it lower. If you lower the rear, lower the front too - also can be done with a bottle jack and the wheels on. All told, maybe 30 - 45 min of work my way.

dr_gallup

My car was lowered when I bought it, the front was down about 2", rear was down over 1". I was able got get it back to stock ride height so it sounds like YMMV. You need to drive it around after each adjustment and recheck. Could take several attempts to get it right. Then you need to check the alignment.

cmonkey713

Back off the bolts all the way and see where that gets you. Remember to drive the car around the block or so to settle the suspension down for an accurate reading. Depending on the result you may need to cut a couple of rings off the bolt cushion to get it down. There are also aftermarket bolts that will do the same thing. I have done several cars and they will all react slightly different in the end result. This is basically a trial and error process until you are satisfied with the ride height.

hubes

I've been playing with my ride height quite a bit lately trying to get it where I want, which is only a little bit lower than stock, but I started with things a little screwed up, and I've been measuring after every drive, so I think I have some info that might be useful. I started by lowering every adjuster all the way and then back up 3 turns. This resulted in the rear being right about where I wanted it (approx 1/4"-3/8" lower than stock) and the front being a lot lower than the rear. I ended up turning the fronts up an additional 5-6 turns. This concurs with what people are saying about having to cut some of the rubber off the rears to get it even at lower heights. It will not fully settle with a drive around the block. It will be close enough to let you know if you're way off, but it will continue to settle for probably 100 miles or so. I've only been making adjustments after 1 drive if it was already too low. Also, it's been my experience you can't get it perfect, and like I said earlier, fuel level makes a difference. Also I found this chart very helpful. I've been using the height to top of wheel well (R&P)

RedThunder

Thanks to all who provided an answer.....all were most helpful. I also OD'd on youTube videos and in most cases, it looked like turning them all the way down was necessary to gain the 1//2" drop I'm looking for. Even so, watching some of the vids, I couldn't tell anything had been done.

Think that's what I'll try (all the way on the stock bolts) and eventually post results here. I know I don't want to cut the bolt cushions and. It may even be that a 1/2" drop is too aggressive. It just looks like it'd be right using measurements.

hubes

I'd recommend lowering the rears all the way and bringing the fronts up about 5 turns from bottom and starting from there