Sorry to be such an old square guy, but I really don't understand the desire to lower these cars.
To me, it certainly doesn't look better. No way it can ride or handle better. It looks like on most of them, the tires would rub going over the smallest of bumps in the road.

So why would someone spend a small pile of money doing this?

btw: I'm 51 yrs old & own a 2012 G37 Journey Sedan

 

at 51 I hope I'm not lowering my car, but who am I kidding....

 

I dont think I could ever leave any car stock. I am however, never going to slam any of my cars anymore. I like to drive as care free as possible.

 

the appeal to lower our cars is primarily aesthetic. for some reason infiniti designed our cars with an unsightly gap between the tire and the wheel arch. many euro brands are able to find a happy middle ground for this style feature, so they appear more "planted", if you will. obviously when you lower the ride, you lower the CoG which in theory helps handling, but that is not the motivation for most guys on here. handling aids would be sway bar or coilover upgrades. sticky summer tires are probably #1 though!

lowering springs tend to compromise some of the factory suspension tuning. less spring travel often = choppy or bouncier ride. i was running eibach springs for quite some time. loved the stance and the look, ride was fine with stock struts, but practical reasons forced me to switch back to factory springs. i tired of scraping and high-centering on driveways and speedbumps. for "real" handling upgrades i went with eibach sways. much more of an impact on handling than the springs.

as for cost - springs are relatively inexpensive. new sets can be had for under $300, used sets in the $150 range. so it is a cheap way to improve the looks if that is a guy's goal. "slammed" cars or air bags are a different story. i'm talking about mild drops here.

 

Looks are subjective. To many here the enormous gap between tire and fender looks bad, and a smaller gap is more attractive. Nissan vehicles are notorious for having enormous fender/wheel gap, particularly in front.

It does not ride better lowered. It's worse. How much depends on how much the car is dropped. However, it can handle better if lowered slightly and done in the right way. Most who lower the car too much, use cheap components, or don't adjust other suspension components correctly to facilitate the drop do handle worse. Only a few people actually lower the car in order to increase handling capabilities. Most do it for looks.

Whether the tire or wheel rub the fender depends on wheel fitment. Even a car that is lowered a lot ma not rub if the tires and wheels fit in a way to accommodate the drop. Our wheels/tires are slightly inset from the factory so when lowered the top will camber inward more and tuck inside the fender. if it sticks too far out, yes, it will most definitely scrape or rub. There are ways to compensate for this. Exaggerated negative camber to tuck the wheel inside the fender, tires that are dangerously narrow for the wheel will "stretch" and have a slimmer profile where the tire meets the wheel and tuck inside the fender. Aftermarket wheels with an offset that doesn't stick out too far will allow the wheel to remain inside the fender.

There there are adjustable air suspensions. These can lower the chassis literally all the way to the ground and then be inflated to ride the car back up to a normal ride height for driving.

People spend tons of money doing it because they like it and it makes them happy; whether other people like it or it's practical or not.

 

Thanks for the explanations....I was really just curious.

I see a lot of lowered cars on this site & facebook, etc., but I didn't see any when shopping at Infiniti dealers. Do folks put the car back stock to trade it in? or just sell it to another individual that likes the lowered look?

 

Speaking of sway bars..can they be removed? My gf's g is a lease and it will need to be returned in same condition

 

I'm not really following the point of your question. The short answer is yes, sway bars can be removed. It is also incredibly dangerous to drive without sway bars, as the car will be crazy squirrely on turns.

 

LOL why would you want to remove the swaybar. But as far as lowering, I think closing the gap enough to drive comfortable is the way to go

 

if by this you mean removed and replaced with the factory bars, then yes. of course. the bars would have to be removed to be upgraded in the first place, so returning to the factory bar is just reversing the process. sway bars are bolted to the end links. 1 bolt each side. very simple process. make sure you torque them properly.

 

That is what i meant. Thank you

 

I'm 50 yrs old, and I just lowered my 6MT on Swift Springs. And if you knew anything of what I've written or said over the last decade, you would be rolling your eyes in disbelief, or just laughing straight in my face, deservedly so.

Never say never, man.

 

Everyone has a different vision of their ideal car & they modify it accordingly.

I'm half of OP's age & feel just about the same about lowering, except a perfect balance would be 1-2in wheel gap all around. Slammed & airbag suspension is for the birds IMO, looks downright goofy

 

gives it more of an attitude

 

Like John, I too am 50 yrs old...later this year that is.

I've been modifying my cars ever since 1994...I've never owned a "stock" vehicle.
I do lower my vehicles for both performance/handling & appearance.
There is nothing "wrong" with lowering your vehicle as long as it's done correctly and safely.

The choice is always up to the owner's discretion.