Lowering/Performance Springs

Updated August 4, 2006

4-WHEEL LOWERING KITS
1995-99 Chevrolet Monte Carlo/Lumina.

• Option 1: Eibach Pro-Kit. Eibach Part # 3836.140. Progressive rate springs allow for a polite and docile ride over typical road surfaces. As the wheels become loaded (hard cornering), the springs are compressed towards their secondary level of travel. This is where the rate of the spring becomes gradually firmer. This progressively firmer spring allows for flatter cornering and reduced brake dive. While improving the handling, the ride height is lowered 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches. (depending on the model and number of options on the Monte Carlo), to provide an aggressive stance and a lower center of gravity. The package includes 4 coil springs. They are available from:
  • Performance Parts Outlet - $246.75
  • RKSport - $269.95
• Option 2: Suspension Techniques. These are designed to lower the car 1 to 1.5". They are available from JC Whitney for $79.99 each pair (2 pair required, front and rear).
• Option 3: Intrax Suspension. Part #25.1.024. These are designed to lower the car up to 1.8". They are available from Summit Racing

1988-96 Cutlass Supreme, Regal, and Grand Prix; 90-94 Lumina; 97 Cutlass Supreme

• Option 1: Held Motorsports Front and Rear Coilovers. M001F & M040F is the part # for the front coilovers, M001R & M040R is the part # for the rear coilovers. I do not know anything about this company's products, although they have product information on their page. Some photos show coilovers on gen 1 W-bodies, others show coilovers on gen 2 W-bodies. I don't know which W-bodies their products actually fit. I was not able to get any kind of email reply from them about their products and do not know anyone using them.
• DISCONTINUED: TWINDUALCAM.com Lowering Package. Includes the rear coilover suspension system with springs and front lowering springs. Your stock struts are re-used. This will lower your car 1.5 inches in the front and rear and dramatically increases the cars handling. Originally $499.00, this product is no longer sold. Only available on the used market.
• DISCONTINUED: TWINDUALCAM.com Total Handling Package. Rear coilover suspension and springs, front lowering springs and KYB struts. This lowers the car 1.5 inches in the front and rear and dramatically increases the cars handling. Originally $779.00, this product is no longer sold. Only available on the used market.
• DISCONTINUED: TWINDUALCAM.com Total Handling Package. Rear coilover suspension and springs, front lowering springs and Koni adjustable struts. This lowers the car 1.5 inches in the front and rear and dramatically increases the cars handling. Coupled with adjustable struts you can "fine tune" the ride to exactly what you want. Originally $1079.00, this product is no longer sold. Only available on the used market.

FRONT PERFORMANCE LOWERING SPRINGS (All)
Lowering the front is easy because these cars use conventional coils on the front.

• Option 1: Eibach. If you have a first-gen W-body car, you can use Eibach springs in the front. Just purchase the ones designed for the 95-99 Monte Carlo (Eibach Part # 3836.140). They are a progressive-rate spring which means they are designed to be softer (like factory) under light loading (like small bumps) but are firm under heavy load (like hard cornering). This means they should offer a pretty good overall ride quality. Unfortunately, the rear spring on these cars is a fiberglass mono-leaf. As a result, you will not be able to use the rear springs in the Monte Carlo kit. Maybe if enough people request it, Eibach will be able to offer its front springs separately for owners of first-gen W-body cars.
• Option 2: Suspension Techniques. Suspension Techniques offers lowering springs to fit the front of the first-gen W-body. They are commonly sold through JC Whitney for $80/pair (SKU #81ZX0113T). They are designed to lower the car 1 to 1.5". Several W-body owners run these springs and are pleased with them. I was told by one Grand Prix owner that JC Whitney sent him the wrong springs but kept insisting they were the correct ones. I have no idea why, but it might be something to keep in mind.
• Option 3: Intrax Suspension. Intrax offers lowering springs for the 95-99 Monte Carlo, Part #25.1.024. The front springs can be used on the front of a first-gen W-body car. They are designed to provide up to a 1.8" drop, although from photos I have seen, the drop is very similar to that of Suspension Techniques. They are a progressive-rate spring which means they are designed to be softer (like factory) under light loading (like small bumps) but are firm under heavy load (like hard cornering). This means they should offer a pretty good overall ride quality. Unfortunately, the rear spring on these cars is a fiberglass mono-leaf. As a result, you will not be able to use the rear springs in the Monte Carlo kit. You can get a set from Summit Racing. Occasionally there may be a Group Buy in the Forum to get the front springs by themselves for less than $100.
• Option 4: RS Motorsports. RS Motorsports offers front lowering springs. I have been told this company is simply reselling the above Suspension Techniques springs. They do not offer a rear lowering spring, but for a total of $300, they will sell you the two front springs and a set of instructions on how to lower the rear.
• Option 5: The Lowrider method. Chop a few coils off your factory springs until you obtain the desired ride height. This will increase the spring rates and will result in a stiffer ride. In most cases, the ride quality resulting from cutting the springs is excessively harsh. This is not a recommended method. DO NOT heat the springs to lower them! That will result in ruined springs.

LOWERING THE REAR (All EXCEPT 95+ Monte Carlo/Lumina)
Since the rear end uses a fiberglass rear monoleaf spring that runs transversely from left to right, you are unlikely to find any lowering kits to lower all 4 corners of your car. Manufacturers of coil springs aren't usually in the leaf spring business and vice versa. That means you will have to buy a rear lowering spring from another company.

• Option 1: Flex-A-Form Rear Spring A company called Flex-A-Form offers a fiberglass rear lowering monoleaf spring in several different spring rates: 350lbs, 300lbs, 200lbs, and 185lbs. On my car, the 300lb spring was way too stiff and 1.5" higher than the Suspension Techniques front springs. The 185lb spring is virtually a perfect match in height to the ST springs and is what I would recommend. The benefit of a fiberglass rear spring is that it weighs the least and is a direct replacement for the stock fiberglass monoleaf. Unfortunately, they are a bit slow and occasionally unresponsive via email, so you will get best results phoning in an order. Please tell them you heard about their spring from w-body.com.
• Option 2: Birchmount Custom Lowering Spring. Birchmount's custom rear lowering leaf is a 3-piece metal leaf similar to that found on pickup trucks. It is heavier than the original fiberglass, but they are supposedly of very good quality. Any and all heights are available, you can order one that will slam the rear end down to the ground if you'd like. You can purchase one from:
  
  Birchmount Auto Spring Company
  458 Birchmount Road
  Scarborough, ON
  M1K1M6
  
  Telephone: (416) 698-3636
  Fax: (416) 698-5732
  
  The springs are made to order and you will need to specify your desired drop. Price quote as of 1/26/05 was $220CDN+shipping. There have been a few reports that the Birchmount spring is a bit noisy.
  
• Option 3: Coilover conversion. A coilover conversion requires removal of your stock monoleaf spring and installing custom struts that have a conventional coil spring tightly wound around the strut. Most all coilover kits allow for adjustable ride height. This method is not without risk, because the rear wheel wells were not designed to withstand the force that coilover springs will exert on them. I have seen cutaways of rear strut towers of junkyard cars, and the strut towers of a car designed with coil springs (95-99 Lumina) has almost 3x the metal thickness and reinforcements compared to a first-gen W-body. Metal fatigue in the wheel well area has been rumored (but not documented with photos or proof) by the use of coilover conversions. Since the wheel wells are an integral part of the unibody frame, metal fatigue in that area can essentially "total out" the car. However, in real life applications, numerous people have used coilovers, some for a number of years without noticing any problems. Even if you are convinced that coilovers are perfectly safe and you want them, be aware that several owners of coilovers have reported significant increase in suspension noise. The TDC coilovers in particular have been known to unload and unseat in hard cornering or large bumps. After installing coilovers on the rear, you may find it desirable to upgrade the wimpy 12mm rear sway bar. We got away with such a wimpy rear sway bar because the transverse monoleaf itself reduces body roll.
  The following rear coil-over kits are (or were) available:
  • Fast Forward Performance has rear coilover kits available for $270 alone, or $425 with KYB struts. I occasionally IM/email people that are affiliated with this company, so I believe they are legit.
  • Held Motorsports M001R & M040R. Price is $496 alone, or $686 with KYB struts. I was not able to get any kind of email reply from this company, buy from them at your own risk.
  • Discontinued TWINDUALCAM.com rear coilover conversion package. The price was $369, it was also available in the Total Handling Package mentioned above. The $369 coil over kit included the springs and perches. TDC is gone, so you'll have to look for this used.
• Option 4: Buy a new rear spring. As you may have noticed, some W-body cars naturally sit lower on the rear than others. Many W-body cars have a different rear mono-leaf than others. What you could do, is buy a rear spring from the dealer or a salvage yard. Pick one with a lower load rating than your existing spring, and the ride height will decrease a little. Consult the spring chart for more info on springs with a lower load rating.
• Option 5: Combine lower load rating rear spring, and use Auxilliary Springs. Some cars (most notably, older Cutlass Supremes, Buick Regals, and Luminas) use a spring that is apparently too stiffly sprung. So what they do to tweak the spring rate (which also affects ride-height), is to use a set of Auxilliary Springs that act as dampers. These springs mount to the rear cross link and attach to the strut. What they do, is they push up on the strut while pushing down on the cross link. This lowers the car slightly. Take the Auxilliary Spring off of a car that has one, and its rear ride height will increase 1/2" to 3/4" in my experience. So what you could do if your car does not have Auxilliary Springs, is to install them and perhaps you will experience a drop in ride height. Of course, this will not work on a car that already has the Aux Springs. In that case, simply change the rear leaf spring to one with a lower load rating, and use the Aux Springs with it. As far as I know, there are 3-types of Aux Springs. There is an 88-93 type that looks like a black rubber accordian, it is used on cars with the FE1 (soft) suspension. Then there is the 88-93 type that looks like black rubber cylinder (it has a metal spring inside). It was used on Cutlass Supremes, and maybe other cars that have the FE3 sport suspension. Neither of these types will fit well on a 94+ car due to rear caliper clearance. Lastly, there is the 94+ type that looks like a rubber accordian, and I have only seen it on 94+ Buick Regals. It has the proper clearance for 94+ rear calipers.
• Option 6: Destroy or remove your rear spring. One person desperate to lower his car, took a Wizard/Dremel rotary tool, put on a cutting disc attachment, and ground 10 slits into the fiberglass spring on either side until the car sat at the ride height he desired. Of course, this makes the spring prone to breakage and will ruin the ride quality. However, if you're desperate...
  Update: This guy's spring did break, lowering the car more. Since breakage most likely will occur, you can probably just have the rear spring removed altogether and let the car ride on the jounce bumpers.
  This will screw up your handling immensly and can be dangerous, but you will be able to get the car lower than any other method. If your objective is to build a scrapin' lowrider, then this is one way you can go about it.