Hey there - so, I'm seriously thinking of lowering my 6MT Sedan and picking up some aftermarket rims after the first of the year. I've never had a car lowered before, so this is all pretty new to me and the more I read about it the more questions I have. Anyway, hopefully you guys can chime in with your thoughts below. For wheels, I'm thinking about ordering some 19" Forgestar F14's. Not sure what offset's to use though. I like the 20" but think they might be overkill for me.

Questions:

1) Seems like it makes sense to get the wheels first and get them mounted before moving on to lowering the car?

2) Coilovers vs springs. I'm not planning on doing any racing, so would it be best to go with an Eibach pro kit?

3) Where do you guys typically have your suspension work done? I can't find any motorsport places near me (there are some good places a few hours away) but would like to have someone close to work through any issues that might come up. The infiniti dealership near me says they can do it but their rates are sky high. There are a couple of Tire/Wheel shops around me that can do it, but not sure about them.

4) Anything else I need to think about that you can pass on when heading down this path?

Thanks!

(BTW - happy thanksgiving to you guys)

 

Where are you located?

 

Northern California - up near Sacramento

 

Welcome.

I can't speak to the sedan, as I have a coupe, but I feel pretty confident in suggesting that you will not look back after lowering your G. Even with the modest drop of an Eibach Pro-Kit, you will see and feel a difference. As for the wheels, I have 20's right now and I know for a fact that my next set of wheels will be 19's, if for no other reason, than to provide some assurance. To be honest, I don't know if the sedan guys with 20's roll with a different tire set-up, but I know that riding on a '30' and '35' profile tire with a coupe can be trying and nerve-wracking. I love how my 20's look but the added sidewall on a 19" wheel will provide just a bit more peace-of-mind.

I don't see any issue in installing them both at the same time. What is your thought-process in doing one before the other?

Anyway, good luck!

 

Make a trip to SF to see Eric/Weiboy. It's not that far.

 

Probably since I'm new to this process. Seems like I would want to get the wheels on there first to see what type of drop I would want. The more I think about it though, I think the Eibach Pro kit is going to be more than sufficient in terms of drop for what I need.

That said, is it an issue if I drop the car first with the existing 18" OEM wheels and then upgrade to new wheels later? Sorry, this seems like a dumb question, but am not sure if it will be an issue to change the dropped suspension over from the OEM wheels to a new set when I finally get them.

From speaking to the local dealership near me, they suggest I will need a camber kit as well. Anyone have thoughts on this? Is this something I should order up at the same time as the prokit?

 

Thanks! I'd still like to find something a bit closer in case I need to make a return trip or two to iron out issues that might come up. Seems like there are multiple places in the bay area that do great work from what I have found.

 

No. Don't worry about "dumb" questions... A forum's main purpose is to help people, right?

Regardless of the lowering springs you choose, you can drop the car on stock wheels and then put on a set of aftermarket wheels sometime down the line. The overall diameter of your OEM wheels and tires will be roughly the same as your new set of 19" wheels and tires. Also, the Pro-Kit is a very mild drop. A camber kit is not absolutely necessary, but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

Of course you could drop it on stock wheels (i just did that) but all in all i would say go with the drop first.

 

hey whats bro i stay n sac too and i wanna do the same thing lower the car and put staggered..bt i wanna knw wheres the best place to go u knw..let me knw when u get urs done alrite man.

 

i have an '09 6MT sedan, lowered on Eibach Pro-kit with stock 18's. with the 15mm spacers the setup looks great. no problems at all. alignment is all good, except slightly over spec for camber in the rear.

i also have the G35 coupe 19s (Rays) that i will try out in the spring. hopefully offset is not a problem with the spacers.

 

Go for the drop first, then worry about the wheels. If your anything like me, I did the drop first and am waiting till after the winter to worry about the wheels. My car is going to be a snow plow.

 

Canucklehead, can you post a couple of pix of your car dropped? I think I am going to do the same thing as you with the stock 18's until I've replenished the $ for some new wheels in the spring. I'd like to see how it looks with the spacers (where did you end up getting your spacers through?)

 

Yep, I have to agree. This sounds like a good way to go. Did you go with a camber kit along with your drop?

 

When I did my drop I didn't go with a camber kit. After the alignment was done, was when I found out that I needed a rear camber kit, as my car was too negative. So I bought a Rear Camber kit from Amplified and that has fixed everything. The car is so much better now.