TK Chan Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Tony, Here is the result: From the pictures, the drop isn't significant. By actual measurement, the drop is about 30mm all round as per Eibach's specification. Before, it was about 4 fingers's width between the fender and the tyre surface and now the width has reduced to 2 fingers. From Tango's experience, the springs will drop further after a few weeks ride. But then his set is US spec and I don't know if my set of UK spec will react the same :rolleyes_anim: . The diameter of the stock spring coil is about 10mm while the the Eibach coil is 1mm thicker. The stock set has 6 coils in the front and 7 in the rear whereas the Eibach set has one more coil for the front and rear. Here is a picture of the front coil for comparsion: Now about the ride quality after the drop, I have to say I couldn't be happier. The ride is actually more comfortable than the stock suspension with much easier ride over portholes, drainage covers, bumps, etc. The tyre noise is also reduced. I didn't notice a big difference with cornering but then I haven't push hard yet. I did feel more grip with less side rolling on continuous S bands. What amazed me most is that the car seems to be boosted with more hp which gives a much better response in acceralation. I don't know about the physics of it but definitely I am happy with the overall ride quality. I couldn't do a good picturial series of the replacement operation because the garage shop is quite narrow and they just raised the car on floor jacks to do the work: I did take quite a few pictures and I will post some more after sorting them out in order. There was no geometry adjustment done after the spring replacement. When test driving the car, the technican said there is a slight left turning tendancy. They said the toe adjustment will be done after 2 or 3 weeks when the springs are settled. TK Chan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Looking very good :rolleyes_anim: Surprising how dropping it even 30mm can make all the difference. I've recently dropped mine on Eibach springs, very impressed so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Chan Posted April 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Looking very good :rolleyes_anim: Surprising how dropping it even 30mm can make all the difference. I've recently dropped mine on Eibach springs, very impressed so far Yes, that is quite unexpected. I had done a drop on my previous Mit VRM and that caused a lot of complaints from my wife for the 'hard' ride. Eventually I had to switch back to stock springs. I think Eibach must have done it right. Did you experience any further spring settlement since installation? Any geometry adjustment since then? TK Chan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Looking very good :rolleyes_anim: Surprising how dropping it even 30mm can make all the difference. I've recently dropped mine on Eibach springs, very impressed so far Yes, that is quite unexpected. I had done a drop on my previous Mit VRM and that caused a lot of complaints from my wife for the 'hard' ride. Eventually I had to switch back to stock springs. I think Eibach must have done it right. Did you experience any further spring settlement since installation? Any geometry adjustment since then? TK Chan Yes I've noticed that as well the ride hasn't changed that much, if anything feels slightly better. A mate of mine has a Civic Tyre R and the ride on standard springs is horrible! I don't have the same car as you but I haven't noticed any difference in the height since I first put them on but then I have only done 600 miles on them. Tony did a geometry after they were fitted, the front was way out but then I had taken everything else off. The mondeo doesn't have adjustable camber so I think it was only the toe that was adjusted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 From the pictures, the drop isn't significant. By actual measurement, the drop is about 30mm all round as per Eibach's specification. Before, it was about 4 fingers's width between the fender and the tyre surface and now the width has reduced to 2 fingers. From Tango's experience, the springs will drop further after a few weeks ride. But then his set is US spec and I don't know if my set of UK spec will react the same :rolleyes_anim: .TK Chan TK, The initial drop on mine was surprisingly immediate and settled only slightly afterwards, certainly nothing significant. After another 4000 miles it hasn't dropped as much as a millimetre. Yours seems a little high at the front compared to mine but then with just over 10mm difference it should be. My wheels are bigger but the rolling radius is still the same as yours so top of the tyre to wheel arch is -10mm difference on mine in comparison to yours. The drop on the rear of mine should be slightly less than yours ..just under 5mm. The US spec Eibachs are slightly stiffer than the UK version but it still hasn't detracted from the ride even with the lower profile tyres, and it handles and corners a whole lot better than before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Looks stunning :rolleyes_anim: Make sure we get all the images in time. The height will definitely drop more over a few hundred miles. Tango's car was an exception probably due to the US rating... whereas normally the UK marketed Eibach has an initial drop but needs to settle to fully comply with the lowering percentage. With Tango we had the opportunity to immediately recover the Geometry, which i measured before and after the coil installation. I can assure you the fitting violated the Geometry positions.... After 1000 miles i recovered the Geometry again due to the continued settling.. So at the moment your positions must be wrong! I feel once this is set then the handling will improve way beyond expectations. If you missed it here is a thread where the owner had handling issues on a stock IS250.. the problems were minute amounts of toe front and rear but nevertheless detectable to the owner...... Have a read. http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/ind...ic=1131&hl= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Chan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Looks stunning Make sure we get all the images in time. The height will definitely drop more over a few hundred miles. Tango's car was an exception probably due to the US rating... whereas normally the UK marketed Eibach has an initial drop but needs to settle to fully comply with the lowering percentage. With Tango we had the opportunity to immediately recover the Geometry, which i measured before and after the coil installation. I can assure you the fitting violated the Geometry positions.... After 1000 miles i recovered the Geometry again due to the continued settling.. So at the moment your positions must be wrong! I feel once this is set then the handling will improve way beyond expectations. If you missed it here is a thread where the owner had handling issues on a stock IS250.. the problems were minute amounts of toe front and rear but nevertheless detectable to the owner...... Have a read. http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/ind...ic=1131&hl= Tony, I have sorted out 34 images, do you want me to post them all here? They are of size 500x375. I think you're spot on regarding the wrong geometry as I experience some slight uneasiness in initial turning, kind of slight understeer. I think that has to do with the negative toe after lowering. Tango, that is a very nice comparison of your car and mine. I look at my car this morning and it seems to have slightly settled more, or could be my eyes . Will take more pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Tango, that is a very nice comparison of your car and mine. I look at my car this morning and it seems to have slightly settled more, or could be my eyes . Will take more pictures. TK, Just by eye, and probably not very reliable, but it looks as if your car should settle a little more both front and rear. Good idea to take those photographs, makes me wish I had taken similar and we could have had a visual comparison between the Eibach UK and US spec springs. Unfortunately when we fitted the springs I had forgotten to ensure I had a memory stick as well as the camera and when we thought to record the event with Tony's the job was finished and the car on the lift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Put them in the gallery, should automatically resize them for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Chan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Put them in the gallery, should automatically resize them for you Ok, here is the gallery: Eibach Spring Installation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Chan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Tango, thanks for dropping by my gallery but it is far from finish yet. Just got too busy and too lazy at all times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Tango, thanks for dropping by my gallery but it is far from finish yet. Just got too busy and too lazy at all times. All those photo's are superb. I've not visited China yet but after seeing your photo's I am very, very tempted. What camera(s) do you use? www.tkcgallery.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Chan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 All those photo's are superb. I've not visited China yet but after seeing your photo's I am very, very tempted. What camera(s) do you use? Tango, let me know if you want to have a photo adventure in China. Tibet is the must go place at least once in a life time. I use the heavy stuff from Canon - 1Ds Mk 2 and mainly 3 zoom lenses. Prior to turning digital I use Leica. TK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 How do you keep that car so clean and shiny? Have to agree with Tango those other photos are stunning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Chan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 How do you keep that car so clean and shiny? Have to agree with Tango those other photos are stunning Thanks ER, may be it was due to the high reflective of the dark colour. I wash it every 3 or 4 days with water. Photography is my other serious hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark H. Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Lenses are too expensive, . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 How do you keep that car so clean and shiny? Have to agree with Tango those other photos are stunning Thanks ER, may be it was due to the high reflective of the dark colour. I wash it every 3 or 4 days with water. Photography is my other serious hobby. ...and you like your sounds too I understand , you must have the Mark Levinson System in the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Chan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 TK,Just by eye, and probably not very reliable, but it looks as if your car should settle a little more both front and rear. Good idea to take those photographs, makes me wish I had taken similar and we could have had a visual comparison between the Eibach UK and US spec springs. Unfortunately when we fitted the springs I had forgotten to ensure I had a memory stick as well as the camera and when we thought to record the event with Tony's the job was finished and the car on the lift. Tango, You are right. The car has settled more after 2 days, especially the front. With more settlement, it seems the ride is not as comfortable as the day before, kind of harder ride on bumpy surface and there is a slight understeer. I took these pictures today: TK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Chan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 How do you keep that car so clean and shiny? Have to agree with Tango those other photos are stunning Thanks ER, may be it was due to the high reflective of the dark colour. I wash it every 3 or 4 days with water. Photography is my other serious hobby. ...and you like your sounds too I understand , you must have the Mark Levinson System in the car? No I kind of like to have no distraction while driving. My wife would listen to the radio but I always switch off the sound when driving alone. I like to keep the good sound at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Chan Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Lenses are too expensive, . The German glass is quite expensive but the Japanese ones are reasonable. Their 2nd hand value is much better than cars so in the end you don't lose much after a few years use. With the digital camera, you don't really need to get the expensive lenses because nearly everything can be simulated in photoshop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark H. Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 i suppose you could do it in photoshop, but that costs enough itself. I only have the 350d so spending 2 x what it cost on a nice L lens for taking photos at the hill climb is pretty expensive, lol. I'll have to stick to my £119 lens for now. The next hill climb is next month. I have a spare seat if you are coming up on the train Tony . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 i suppose you could do it in photoshop, but that costs enough itself. I only have the 350d so spending 2 x what it cost on a nice L lens for taking photos at the hill climb is pretty expensive, lol. I'll have to stick to my £119 lens for now. The next hill climb is next month. I have a spare seat if you are coming up on the train Tony . Nice gallery TK Chan.... very nice indeed and an insight for us to see the work being done in another country. Mark H i am very interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark H. Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 http://www.harewoodhill.co.uk/HwoodEvents/...-15_Results.pdf That pdf file shows times from the last meet. We missed Aston Martins . An Evo 9, 2 Evo 6's an Evo 7. 3.7L Sierra XR4i, 3.8L BMW M5, Golf R32. Lotus Elise's and an Elan. 2 Jaguar E Types. A couple of OMS 2000m's. # 12 May - May Open # 13 May - May MSA So Saturday and Sunday event. I can come and get you from the train station if you would like one day. Should be fairly cheap to get a train ticket if you book in advance a super saver ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 http://www.harewoodhill.co.uk/HwoodEvents/...-15_Results.pdf That pdf file shows times from the last meet. We missed Aston Martins :o . An Evo 9, 2 Evo 6's an Evo 7. 3.7L Sierra XR4i, 3.8L BMW M5, Golf R32. Lotus Elise's and an Elan. 2 Jaguar E Types. A couple of OMS 2000m's. # 12 May - May Open # 13 May - May MSA So Saturday and Sunday event. I can come and get you from the train station if you would like one day. Should be fairly cheap to get a train ticket if you book in advance a super saver ticket. What day do you think would be best to attend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 How do you keep that car so clean and shiny? Have to agree with Tango those other photos are stunning Thanks ER, may be it was due to the high reflective of the dark colour. I wash it every 3 or 4 days with water. Photography is my other serious hobby. Every 3 or 4 days, wish I had the time to do that But then your weather is probably very different to ours and I bet it don't get covered in dirt/dust and all the nasty bird poo we get!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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