Coilover Help?

[black_rose]

Hi all,

don't know if this has been asked before, but been having a look recently and getting a bit confused. i have a lexus is200 and im turning her into a track car... (slowly).

so far i've been reducing the weight in my car and it now sits really high so I was going to invest in some coilovers but a wise man told me to check if I need to replace anything else such as the camber arms as the camber might be way out if I lower it. he did on his 3000gt and his camber was way out so invested in some adjustable camber arms. i want her lower anyway as she will be a track car eventually... so i might as well lower her a LOT to get rid of the silly ride height AND get her lower than a standard is200...to increase handling.

i do drive her on the road, and she's not quite a track car so won't be letting her on track just yet, so ideally I don't want too much camber... otherwise it wouldn't be a problem!

now, ive got my heart set on some race/street coilovers for now and i don't really want to replace any camber arms (just yet), but the height it bugging me after getting a new exhaust system, she just looks a bit silly... plus, I've heard that people can get different size springs for the coilover kits, but you can also adjust the ride height with the coilovers too...

so really my questions are... 1. if I replace the coilovers will I need to replace the camber arms too? or can i just take it to a garage and get the camber adjusted? OR.. can I get away with it for a while until i save up for the camber arms?

and 2. would i need different sized springs if my cars been stripped? as apposed to a standard is200 being lowered with all the interior?

lets say that I don't want to commit to buying these coilovers just yet if I have to buy other bits as I can't afford them as well... well not until say a month or so later...

sorry if this post has been done already! :)

[PatrickM]

1: No, you dont need to replace anything when lowering it.

2: If you buy Coilovers, you dont need to change the springs. You should buy some decent ones with adjustable rebound. You can fully adjust the rideheight and Spring Rate with the adjusters on the coilovers.

[north]

1- No coilovers will fit with the standard camber arms...

2- for track purposes it is better if you fit the adjustable camber arms as you can get the wheels at a better angle giving you more control of the cars suspension behaviour. So you can buy that at a later date...

Be advised: the adjustable camber arms are stronger then the OEM arms so if you lower the car to the maximum of the coilover kit you should realize that your OEM arms will have more stress put upon them... also getting Poly bushes all-round will not be a a bad thing to consider for track use, the same goes for torsion bars up front and in the back preferably top and bottom torsion bars... this will add strength to the suspension and body smoothing out body roll and other undesirable things while pushing the cars limits. and don't forget to upgrade your brakes while your at it ;)

[black_rose]

Thanks guys. That's a big help! :)

I'll get those coilovers then, and then later on invest in some camber arms and bushes for the track!

I will be replacing the brakes eventually, but as I'm not going on track for a while and they're fairly pricey I'll wait a bit. :P