That looks like a good height for a DD. Are the spring rates close to the OEM?

Ahh Ziggy's store is so much better.




Not yet sure but here are the Tein specs:
* Spring Rate: 235 lbs/in Front - 213 lbs/in Rear
* 1.4 Inch Drop (FR) & 1.0 Inch Drop (RR)

If the shocks already have a lot of mileage on them then yes there life will shortened by lowering it because you will be moving the area of travel to a different part of the shaft. I had cars lowered and put on hundreds of thousands KM's and never ever blew a OEM strut or shock... aftermarket ones I have seen a lot.

I mostly used lowering springs with some type of adjustable strut before going coilover and I can tell even if they're rated to have a higher spring rate, the drive will still feel oem yet lower. Which isn't a bad thing IMO if it's a daily.

Thanks for the info guys,
The cost between coilovers and springs is drastically huge. I will think about it more over next few days. The plan was to keep EVO stock but the stock heights especially on the front is hurting my eyes.

Alex,

Just go here: http://www.muellerized.com/

They're near you and do amazing stuff. Get some Ohlins on that girl

Tein lowering springs to complete Ohlins coilovers..... ya, those are pretty much in the same ballpark


I wouldn't think most lowering spring would cause too much issues with stock shocks/struts, as far as spring rates go, most aren't much higher then OEM springs (hence why their useless if you actually want the car to handle good). And many are fairly limited in their drop.

Can't spend big bucks on her as i don't want start another car project. Just want a little drop that's all

A friend of mine in EVO 8 filmed me in EVO X chasing experienced BMW downhill through canyons near LA. This was my first time running through canyons. The place where driving skills, suspension, tires & brakes, outperform car's acceleration alone. I will post my in-cabin video shortly. This downhill run could-of end-up in a disaster. My EVO X saved me from so many beginner mistakes i did.

inside the cabin video with taken with my sony cam.

[video:youtube]http://youtu.be/GXWGnIn6wAw[/video]

Sweet vids! This reminds me of the Japanese cartoon "Intial D"

+1.

Looks like my drive home if i use the scenic drive. I counted 36 turns to my laneway lol

I had Swift Sport lowering springs on my 2008 MR which gave it a nice drop and evened up the wheel gap perfectly. The stock Bilstein shocks are sufficient but I do recommend you get the Whiteline roll center correction kit. I noticed a change in the way the car handled after the springs which was corrected when I put the roll center kit in.

Thanks for the info Greg, i will consider it. For now i'll just keep it stock...nice & simple

I opted for the Eibach Pro Kit for my springs. Cost was a bit less, but I don't regret the purchase one bit.

I did have some creaking when rolling around.. but it managed to fix itself. I would suggest wheel spacers though if you go this route on the stock tire size... I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Not so good news to report.
I had to let go my EVO MR as of yesterday 9PM PST.
Recently i moved to a new place and my commutes plus full premium tank of gas every 4 days, high insurance & financing, were getting heavy on my wallet. Without a snow and rarely any rain that AWD system & 300 lb-ft of torque are basically useless year around driving in traffic with AC going 5-20mh/h.

I will defiantly miss my EVO and will always drop tears when i see them cruise around.

HAHA Alex, you still have the DSM! Why did you ditch the evo and not the DSM?

What's the replacement? I am thinking Golf TDI right now for the exact same reasons you posted.

Evo vs DSM. Quite a huge price difference Bryan!
Sorry to see it go Alex. Evo's are not the most fuel efficient cars. I have found that they pretty much give you the same mileage regardless of driving style.

Hopefully you can get back into one sometime in the future Alex.

Yeah I know but after your reviews and your thoughts I figured he would have gone evo.

Comon Bryan

Yeah my bad, that's a good point Deep.

Besides...who gets rid of a 2g?!?!...BLASPHEMY!

Welcome back, to the land of mortals.

Like this?



Bored Google maps tourist one day, I snapped it because I was shocked

That is exactly how i experienced it. I gave up trying and just drove it hard. I realized that i save more on gas when don't slow down and speed-up on hard turns





Here is my new super efficient commuter.



2012 Chevy Volt Premium with 30k miles.
Payments dropped by 130$ and I used zero gas driving 24 miles to work today. I have about 20 more electric miles left to go home. After battery runs out the backup generator kicks-in and extends range by 300 miles. I can fully charge it in garage overnight using standard 110 volts outlet. It adds about 1.50 per each charge to my electric bill. I should also mention the suspension feels like i am floating on water instead of driving on bumpy LA freeway. Cabin is extremely quite too.

It produces instant 270 lb-ft of torque in sport mode which feels like its boosted haha. Hopefully volt will not disappoint. It is my first US car.

Sorry to hear you had to part with the Evo. Interesting choice for replacement! That should afford you plenty of opportunity to poke around an entirely different kind of engine bay

COOL! We were look at one of those for the wife!

How long have you had it for now? Will have to follow up with you in the next while to see how you are liking it, I have heard lots of good things about them.

I think that was a smart move Alex.

Good on you!

^^^
True! Plus keeping the DSM is nice

I'm actually wondering now how does the generator-only powered drive compare to a normal gas powertrain?

I do 150+km/day and $1.50 for half of my trip sounds amazing, what does the other half cost?

Google say that the gasoline generator gets 37 mpg, it's 1.4 liter engine. The cool thing is that it's purely a generator it's not connected to the driveline in any way.

I'll need to hear it from Alex. I can't trust any EPA figures.
But damn that's pretty good!

thanks Mike



Well said! Under the hood it still looks very familiar.
Same oil changes, spark plugs, and filters just like DSMs. At least i can look after that for now haha





Looks like just an average. When i drove 70km to get home on generator i averaged about 42 miles per galon. Battery was at zero charge when i left. I drove about 65-70 miles average speed.



That looks like right after big earth quake





Official EPA 35 city / 40 hwy on generator only. My total commute is about 80km. This morning i left home with fully recharged battery. Here what it looked like when i parked at work.




Yesterday it took me total of 1.4 liters of gas on generator to get me home after battery ran out about half way. I should also mention it was about 85% charged when i left home. Usually there is more traffic going home. Hopefully i can keep it under a litter.


Yep, Volt saves money that can be invested into my DSM

As a data point, I average 18 MPG on my daily commute to work and 21 MPG on long highway trips driving ~120kph.

please take a look at this video and let me know if make any sense

http://youtu.be/AX5ZwzNwTc4

That is one hell of a cool video.

So what's the range like?

Recalls?

Not sure about recalls, need to run my vin first. Range is fairly consistent of about 60km and after that it operates like prius alternating between battery & generator. GM did a very good job with the volt. Very solid machine and packed with cool features. Every day i drive & discover something new.

I wish GM would put more marketing effort into the Volt.. Instead of trying to keep the Camaro alive.

well they dropped MSRP to 35k in US. Total of rebates is close to 10k in Cali

Volt engine swap in a 420a Eclipse shell.....c'mon......do itttttttt

Well ya.. GM is dropping prices everywhere.. There not selling anything. They need to start making the volt their flagship instead. And start dropping their overvalued fleet cars... Or atleast dull them down abit.