Arguments Against Lowering the Car

[call me jack]

I remember the Top Gear episode when they bought 3 the e30 cabrios. If I remember correctly they advised any potential e30 buyers to walk away from any e30 that has been lowered.

Lowered e30s look much better, but is there any downside that comes along with the looks?

does any body know what season/episode this is?

[bmwguy325is]

Lowering an E30 has its cons but has its was of being fixed.
Rear camber is a con. Can be fixed with adjustable RTAB or modified subframe.
If you get camber plates the front doesn't have to many issues. If you go lower than 2 inches you get way to much bump steer. Then you have to space the tie rods
The oil pan is kinda a given.
But then I guess you have to make a choice. Do you want your car to look cool or function? My car is lower and functions but most here dont think it looks cool. Though was built professionally.
Oh as for ride quality. Well higher rate spring require higher dampening. So buy high end shock and the ride wont suffer to much. I daily drive 750 springs everyday.

[mr2peak]

A change in ride quality should be obviously. Also take Top Gear with a grain of salt.

[Dj Buttchug]

lower has no real cons if done right imo

[Stephen]

a drop like H&R sports should really require no change in driving habits unless you drive like an angry gorilla, and while i prefer lower it looks and feels 40x better than stock

[HarryPotter]

even a kit from GC is still gunna fuck the geometry up. Just look at the angle of the control arms.

[MarshallM]

Every car has issues when lowered unless done right. Most people lower the car will little concern about how the cars suspension geometry will be affected. A proper lowering job on a E30 will cost over a grand, a good job will cost over 1500. Companies like Ground Control are in business for a reason.

[IminDiegoTriick]

Well since your looking into DIY for your e30, the beauty in the lowered is in the eye of the beholder. It can be a hassle on city streets & I see you are from San Diego as well. We have REALLY bad streets. The highways are ok. But the draw backs is the worry of breaking the oil pan... scraping the undercarriage.. having to get different specs for tires and wheels, that is if you want slammed. If you are also slammed, investing in an adjustable camber and toe subframe will do wonders. I have yet to do it.. and I really should. Lowering the e30 to the ground leaves the toe in and camber on the rear subframe suspension, really goofy. But of course you have options from coilovers to springs that have been tryed and tested. I daily drive my e30 slammed.. and it can be a big pain in teh ass.. avoiding pot holes, bumps, speed bumps, angling everywhere. But that's why I said the only arguement is in the eye of the beholder.

[CHIF8008]

cons to lowering a car- depending on the amount of drop but: camber wear on tires, endangered oil pan and exhaust

[Ian Bowers]

Buying any used car is a gamble, buying a modified used car more-so. A lot of people go with the "good enough" approach. Cut springs, jerry-rigged shit, zipties, etc. At the same time, the people who know what the fuck they are doing, generally have the receipts for the parts they purchased, or can atleast explain what they did.

.02

[E30_(1st Musk)_]

i love lowered e30's and almost everyone on here is lower or is planning to be.

downsides are:
-low enough for oil pan danger
-fender rolling if low enough to be flush (flush is a positive to me but depends on personal preference)

[jrobie79]

yeah if i was buying a car lowered from someone on r3v and knew they used lets say bilstein and H&R i dont see how that could be a problem, and shit f they had an adjustable subframe they had some idea of what they were doing......

but like Janderson said, there are some real clowns out there who use that bullshit to slam their car and buyers wonder why it sucks so bad to drive and blame it on the lowering aspect of it.

[Jand3rson]

The only reason they said that is because you never know what combination of shit parts they used, what brand they used, if they knew what the hell they were even doing, or even installed them right in the first place. They could be cut stock springs, heated and compressed, super-cheap garbage ebay coilovers, etc.

[monoblanco]

So I've been looking into suspension alternatives for my vert as well as reading the r3v suspension thread. The one thing I have not seen in the forum is arguments against lowering the car.

I remember the Top Gear episode when they bought 3 the e30 cabrios. If I remember correctly they advised any potential e30 buyers to walk away from any e30 that has been lowered.

Lowered e30s look much better, but is there any downside that comes along with the looks?