Just had a quick question, I was considering lowering my pony about an inch with some new springs but I was talking to a buddy of mine and he said that'd also require changing the shocks or after time they'd blow out? So my question is, right now I'm rolling with the stock 18 inch wheels, what if I didn't lower it but got 19 or 20 inch wheels and new tires? Or is there something that I'm missing if I were to do that?

 

First of all, your friend is wrong. All shocks go bad after a time, but putting shorter springs on isn't going to "BLOW THEM OUT" lol . Second, simply changing the wheel diameter isn't going to fix your problem. I'm assuming your problem is the space between the tire and body. You would have to put 23's on there to fill that gap.

 

If you are trying to "fill the gap" larger wheels with the same sidewall height tires as original will do that. It will also change your speedo readings etc.
Normally when people change to one size larger wheel they go with a tire with less sidewall height to improve handling, leaving the overall diameter of the tire and wheel the same.
The shocks may not "blow out" with a lowering, but they might not perform as well because of the difference in travel. Changing them is recommended.

 

Ive just put 20" wheels on mine and lowered it with eibach pro kit
Drives sweet and handles loads better! Kept standard shocks.

 

Or 15's...

 

LOL Yeah that works too

 

Your friend is actually right, I lowered mine with the eibach prokit, kept the stock struts. Recently I purchased a set of Koni STR.T struts and shocks to replace them, both my stock front struts were blown out completely with only 12K miles on 'em after the lowering springs were installed (only have 15K miles on the car). There is also additional expenses if you wait, labor and another alignment. With the ride improvement after the new Koni's, I would suggest you do it all at the same time. Bought my Koni's here for $318 http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=64&ModelID=5

 

I suggest you lay off the jumps.

 

thanks guys, I definitely appreciate the input.

 

Guess you don't drive the 101, 405, or the 5 then

 

I do and you're right but you can't get enough speed going to catch air. LOL

 

The stock shocks wont blow out immediatly but will have a reduced life span due to them being designed for the stock ride height. If you have the money do the springs, shocks at the same time. And I would recommend camber plates and an adjustable pan hard bar.

 

i want to do ford racing P-springs with a J&M adjustable panhard rod. it lowers the car 1 inch. will the OEM shocks and struts handle this? or how long till they blow out? anyone running a similar set up?

 

I'm running 20"s w/FRPP lowering springs w/o any issues...

 

I would say the longevity of the stock struts/shocks would also have to do with how much the springs lower the car. I would think the stock strut would handle a quarter inch drop but if you go an inch and a half you wouldn't fair as well.

 

For the best results shocks and springs should be a matched set. If you're going 1 to 1.5" inch I don't think you need caster camber plates. You will need a panhard rod and the J&M is a great choice. You can go slightly larger diameter but not much you can go a lot wider if you get the correct offset.

 

Thanks everyone for the input, I haven't quite done anything yet. Sorry it took me so long apparently I don't get email update notifivations