So if I get this right, coilovers are the whole thing (shock and spring), but with the adjustable ride height feature, and springs are just... well, springs? I am not too familiar with suspension, so I am pretty confused about this topic. Does anyone make a coilover set for the lancer? Cuz I have seen many springs out there

The only coilover system that I know of for the Lancer is the system from Megan.. I'm pretty sure that the ones from Tien are just the springs as well as the ones from RRM..

Regards.

Megan Racing, BC Racing, and Tien (Basics).... these I know for sure, might be more in production.

So is the extra $600-$800 worth it? How is the ride compared to just lowering springs?

If you are going for looks, stick with springs. Just my opinion...

Coils will be more functional. Obviously the main advantage would be that you can easily adjust your ride height to a specific level for specific purposes. Springs alone will give you that drop but that's the only drop you get. Can't really fine tune or anything..

Regards.

So I've looked and searched but I can't find the info so i'm reviving this thread! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I was thinking of getting lowering springs, especially after I drove my friends lancer today with the rrm grip springs. My main concern is that during the winters here i'll be f***ed because of the amounts of snow and i'll end up being a snow plow. So I discovered coilovers. More specifically Megan Racing Coilovers. Its says that you can adjust the ride height but it doesn't say by how much and on what interval.
So my question is: does anyone know what kinda ride height this allows you to have vs stock?
And did any of you get them??
Any other info and comments are well appreciated! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif)

I don't know too much about suspension.
But as far as I've been told, springs are all good but up to a certain point.

If you throw a shorter spring you will be compressing your struts, i.e. putting pressure on them without letting them expand to their whole potential.
Eventually your strut will give out.

I'm sure you've seen cars driving around which when hit a bump on the road start bouncing and don't stop for a while. That's a fudged compression in the strut AFAIK.

I don't actually know what the acceptable length of a shorter spring is, and what limits should not be exceeded. I assume something like that would probably only happen in extremely shortened springs.

Anyways, if I was doing it I would just dish out the cash to the coilovers and do that setup instead. But it's hella expensive. That's why I'm not doing either or.

Anyone correct me if I'm saying anything out of place here though... cause honestly I am not sure...

yep, that all sounds right to me according to what I've read. thnx!

But i'm still looking to see if anyone knows what the ride height would be in inches relative to stock. As in the min and max...

Well, before giving you my opinion of the ride heights let me say this, "If you run Megan coils in the winter, they will rust and seize w/in the first year of ownership."

Ok, now that I have said that there are a few other options that I wanted to throw out there. First, if you really want to get some coilovers for the "adjustability", keep your stock suspension and swap them each winter when putting your winter tires on. This will allow you to keep stock ride height in the winter and will also maintain the coilovers by not exposing them to harsh winter roads, i.e. SALT! Plus, it would only take about 1 hour to do this.

Second, if you decide to run the coilovers in the winter, they will allow near stock height. I can't give perfect numbers, but I know that the BC coilovers (which I would recommend over the megans) can rise to at least stock height. This is not something that I would worry about.

Third would probably be the biggest pain in the rear. You could do springs and just swap them each winter. This is much more tedious compared to swapping coils and stock susp because you have to take apart the shock/struts and use spring compressors, etc... But this is always an option.

Or you could buy lowering springs and OEM struts and assembly them and swap them out with your stock suspension during the summer. This would prob save you a couple hundred over coilovers. Cause i have to agree with EngRWW33 about ruining the coilovers from running them in the winter. Ive had a few friends that did this and the adjusters ended up getting ruined.

Thanks for all the comments guys, this really helps. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/liebe011.gif)
I think eventually when I save up the money I'll do what EngRWW33 suggested: get coilovers and swap them out for the winter.

Yea, I agree. Aren't springs better for the car though? IDK much about suspension either. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blush-anim-cl.gif)

I'm pretty sure just springs are worst for the car cuz you're overcompressing the struts...

When looking at springs, alot of people have told me to get new struts as well since putting on a lower spring (lower ride height) puts more stress on a strut that has been optimized for stock ride height, so you will wear it out faster. If you really don't care about the coilover's adjustibility, then getting a spring/strut combo would be cheaper on your wallet. Reason being, and correct me if i am wrong here, is that whenever you adjust the height, it is HIGHLY recommended that you get an alignment as well. I think, if you are not on the high performance racing scene, then going for the less expensive spring/strut combo would be better than coilovers. You have to replace them eventually anyways since they do have a lifespan, just my two cents..

Regards.

Hmm... that makes me wonder.... would I have to get an alignment every time I swapped between stock struts and coilovers?

Yep, however that's why I've purchased Firestone's lifetime alignment service. Paid for itself three times already!

That sounds interesting... tell me more!

Lifetime alignment means you pay $150 for unlimited alignments on your car. It cost something like $60-70 just for one alignment. It is worth it for me because I change my suspension for winter and back again in spring.

hmmm interesting. I'm not trying to race my car or anything. Once I drop it, that's it. I'm not changing it every season. But, I wanna do what's best for the car. Thanks for the info! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif)