Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior how do your drive a lowered car (esp. w/ TRD springs)?

i am planning to get TRD springs and though i know it's not much of a dropped i asked a person from projeck 7 who had them with stock alloy 15s. he says that i must worry about bottoming out in some places...i don't really understand what this means. how DO i drive a lowered car? and special way or things to look out for? i mean the TRDs only drop 1.2 inches right...what kind of experinceds have some people have had about scraping and going on speed bumps or the feel of an uneven road?...please help, i was planning on buying them soon but this question made me raise some suspicion.

Bottoming out is scrapping/hiting the bottom of the car on the road/surface.

I saw some kid in a trashy riced out truck stuck on a speed bump at college one day...SICK.

Just be careful when driving over speed bumps, backing out of your driveway, things like that.

it really depends on what kind of body kit you have, for example, if you have the veliside one which is longer in the front then most body kits then go slow over speedbumps and pulling out on to the street otherwise youll catch the front skirt. But on the open road put the padal down on tight turns and hold on cause those trd springs make your car feel like its on rails. The springs will still give you good travel even though your lowering them. i would go with the trd springs or the hotchkis springs.

i plan to only have stock...no body kit and just 15 alloys on just like alphasubzero...would i still scrape?

no with the TRD springs and no body kit you should be perfectly fine.

oh really? because someone told me i should worry about scraping and bottoming it out...damn scared to go on a driveway or speed bumps...but i am really excited to get them. right after i move into my new apartment next month i'm putting them on

actually a guy from projeck 7 is hooking me at a place that installs them for 75 bucks...much better then dealer quotes at 2-300. thanks for the advice and reassurance...i just hate to see myself scraping everywhere i go...

yeah man, the dealer rips you off big time! you know they quoted me at 250 for the springs and i get them at etoyota.com at 170 all taxes and shipping included...i swear, it's not like toyota is hurtin' for money...jeeezz. you can go to local shops and you get quoted at 150...but i'm sure there are some at 100...75 is an unusally low deal..and i'm lucky!

I still say Hotchkis is the best

i don't doubt that it is or isn't...but i prefer only a 1" drop..1.2 is what TRD gets me. yeah, i've heard A LOT of good things about hotchiks, but trd seems to give me the least drop...

Why not install the springs yourself. Is it a warranty issue? I installed my first set of eibach sportline springs in about 3 hours and it rides perfect. Of course I knew that who ever was doing the work was gonna have to take a bunch of the panels out of my trunk so i felt comfortable doing it my self. I rented the spring compressor for free and three hours later I had my springs on. It was the same day I got my wheels put on and I was looking at my car and was like damn I need to lower it so i went home and did it.

i would install them myself but i'm a fool when it comes to cars...btw are there any driving tips and tricks i could use to better safely drive my lowered car? (besides the above mentioned of course)

really all you have to do is to use common sense when approaching intersections and driveways...if you feel that it is too steep and you think your going to bottom-out then take it at an angle if you have to or find another way around.

after the first week of driving with your newly lowered car, you will have a pretty good idea of what you an and cannot do.

in southern California - just don't drive like a maniac up and down steep curbs... you really shouldn't have ANY problems with the speed bumps here.

CT - lets get on your lighting situation weds/thurs/fri/sat or sun... you name the time
(my schedule is much more predictable this week)

[ 05-07-2003, 04:13 AM: Message edited by: isaac ]

I gotta get me one of those hotchiks!

I have to be REALLY careful pulling out of my garrage or I bottom out, and I am not even lowered. I can't lower my car, because I would be parking it outside . I also bottom out in one spot in the garrage at work where it's too steep... and that's just with zero drop springs.

My celica has stock springs, and at some places around here I have to drive up at an angle.

Just be really careful. Like isaac said, if it looks too steep, drive up it at an angle.

after lowering your car with springs, will the camber be messed up and have to have an alignment done?
how about with adjustable coilover springs? will you have to have another alignment done after installation too?
i'm thinking of going with adjustable coilovers that way i can well... obviously adjust them

thanks a lot guys! and isaac you have a PM!

well after much thought i think i'll go with the lowering springs. it seems it doesn't really create that much of hassle...