factory shocks on lowering springs

[rezvanf]

anyone have experience with how long their factory shocks lasted or felt firm after installing lowering springs?

I just installed eibach pro kits which lowered it 1.2" and love how firm it is now, but I was told afer 4-6 months the shocks will start giving out. will it give out that fast? I just want it to last 2 years for end of my lease.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by rezvanf

anyone have experience with how long their factory shocks lasted or felt firm after installing lowering springs?

I just installed eibach pro kits which lowered it 1.2" and love how firm it is now, but I was told afer 4-6 months the shocks will start giving out. will it give out that fast? I just want it to last 2 years for end of my lease.

It is an old wives tale that the stiffer springs will "damage" the shocks...don't worry about it.

[RimasRS]

your shocks will not wear out they just does not operate like they should

[rezvanf]

I hope so, one of the tuners told me his car was ok with sport springs alone for 4 months then the ride started getting bouncy so he had to get new shocks. right now in aggressive street driving it's solid, when pushed to the limits, the factory shock does start struglling on the lowering springs, but I never push it to extremes so as long as i'ts not going to start bottoming out and getting bouncy in 6 months, it's good.

[b1aze]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

It is an old wives tale that the stiffer springs will "damage" the shocks...don't worry about it.

Originally Posted by RimasRS

your shocks will not wear out they just does not operate like they should

I have to disagree slightly here. If you add lowering springs, it will change the preload on the shocks and how much force it is dampening. If the valves in the shocks are not correct, you will tend to over-pressurize your seals because the valving is either too stiff or too soft. This will cause leaky seals earlier and in turn, bouncier shocks/suspension sooner. A very stiff spring paired with a soft strut will cause crazy bounce.

[rezvanf]

any ideas on how much sooner the shocks will start loosing their firmness and feel diferent?

[b1aze]

Can't really say. People blow shocks out by hitting potholes wrong.

[cheshirecat79]

Originally Posted by b1aze

I have to disagree slightly here. If you add lowering springs, it will change the preload on the shocks and how much force it is dampening. If the valves in the shocks are not correct, you will tend to over-pressurize your seals because the valving is either too stiff or too soft. This will cause leaky seals earlier and in turn, bouncier shocks/suspension sooner. A very stiff spring paired with a soft strut will cause crazy bounce.

Indeed.

It depends on the individual spring and shocks themselves. The usual culprit is a set of lowering springs which, due to their nature of being shorter, tend to compress the shock with a pressure or stroke it wasn't designed for. Usually, the more aggressive the drop, the more potential damage for the shock.

From my experience, most shocks fail after spring installs due to overstroke to the point of sometimes hitting the bump stops which blows out the seals and basically ruins the stock shock, much like what blaze mentioned above.

This isn't the case for all shocks- every shock/spring pairing will be different. However, aftermarket springs blowing out shocks is definitely not an "old wives tale".

[runnin9z]

Once you install lowering springs its takes the shock out of its optimal point of use.

If you can imaginie that the OEM spring an shock combo will be at 0% it can move 50% up and 50% down.

Now that you have lowered the car lets say that the car sits at -30%. Now the shocks cant only go 20% down but can go 70% up.

The sock is just out of its ideal range of motion. if you go over harsh bumps you will wear the shock out fast because you will also be bottoming out, if your roads are smooth you may last a bit longer.

Regardless you will be putting extra wear on your shocks because they are now operating in a region they were not engineered to be in

[hydroboy35th]

Do the shocks with the springs while you have it apart & save your self the headache later.

[tracer bullet]

Agreed it makes things worse. As mentioned, totally correctly, stiffer springs will make the car bounce as the shocks can't control them. Also, less issue for us since even the 1st 1-'ers aren't that old, is that if the car is lowered w/ the newer springs, the part of the strut shaft that rides through the seal afterwards is the part that used to stay above it and potentially been exposed and weather beaten some. Lastly it's always cheaper to just do it right the first time than to go back again later.

That said - if you just want it to last through the lease - you may well be fine with the struts surviving. But you already mentioned that the stock shocks are struggling, and even if they don't get worse, that still sucks.

If you just don't care that much, leave it alone. If it gets annoying, or the struts die, or you end up planning to keep the car - change them.

[Black Sheep]

Anyone running springs with the m3 subframe bushings? Hows the ride? Still feel floatty in the rear end at high speeds?

[John_01]

IMO the shocks are basically useless even with standard springs. Performance suspension is a big upgrade over stock.