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UMI Front lowering springs (not)

Discussion in 'The whoa and the sway.' started by Greensky, Jul 3, 2023.

  1. Greensky

    Greensky Member

    After replacing old rear springs with new Moog cargo coil springs, I upgraded the fronts too - looking to improve the handling (especially cornering) without spending too much, or loosing all the comfortable ride.

    I talked to UMI Performance tech line twice, and then decided on their 1" front lowering springs (4050F) which are also a bit stiffer than OEM. They said their stock height springs would raise my front end (hmmm that's weird, why not make them the correct stock height?). I appreciate that springs can be a guessing game, so I took a chance on the 1" lowers. I also got their Proforged upper ball joints that are .5" taller, to improve the negative camber gain in cornering. A local shop installed those parts for me 2 weeks ago and front end align.

    Good news is the car now rides better in my opinion, a little stiffer but not harsh - less wallow over bumps & swales. Less body roll in the S-curves. Turns and steers much better, the front end alignment (and the taller ball joints I think) being major factors. All this with the OEM sway bar and rotted rubber bushings still on.

    Bad news is these 1" lowering springs raised the front 3/4" as measured to the top of the front wheel arch - not at all what I expected from 1" lowering springs. So be warned, I'm not sure if this is on UMI or me or Lady Luck...but UMI stock height makes you taller, and 1" lowering makes you 3/4" higher too.

    Maybe OK in the end, since the stiffer spring rate seems better, the ride height is at factory spec all around now (even though my goal was to have some forward rake), and the front doesn't look lawful - like a gasser or anything. Next I'll post about my new Hellwig front sway bar
     
    patwhac likes this.
  2. Greensky

    Greensky Member

    Here are some AFTER pics
     

    Attached Files:

    patwhac likes this.
  3. Max Damage

    Max Damage I'm working on it!

    Looks good! I wonder if it's just that the original springs had sagged more than that 3/4" inch over the years?
     
    Lucy Fair and TrunkMonkey like this.
  4. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    Wait a few weeks - the springs should settle a bit.
     
    Lucy Fair and chrisg like this.
  5. john.schaefer77

    john.schaefer77 Well-Known Member

    Did you lose weight up front? Like aluminum heads, radiator, intake or ditch the AC?
     
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  6. knucklebusted

    knucklebusted Well-Known Member

    As stated above, let them settle for a few weeks.
     
    Lucy Fair likes this.
  7. Daves69

    Daves69 Too many cars too work on

    Did you torque the control arm bolts with the spring compressed?
    Try loosening all the bolts and then tighten them with the spring compressed.
     
    Lucy Fair likes this.
  8. Greensky

    Greensky Member

    No weight loss (ha, my wife can attest…). But hay that’s a good tip, to retorque control arm bolts under normal spring compression - thanks Daves69
     
    patwhac and john.schaefer77 like this.
  9. RoseBud68

    RoseBud68 Well-Known Member

    Tall ball joint on factory control arms?
     
  10. Greensky

    Greensky Member

    Yes the .5” taller upper ball joint, on front OEM control arms
     
    RoseBud68 likes this.
  11. knucklebusted

    knucklebusted Well-Known Member

    Taller lower ball joints will drop it back down.
     
  12. RoseBud68

    RoseBud68 Well-Known Member

    So no issue with the alignment? Is there a lot of shims?
     
  13. Greensky

    Greensky Member

    Not a lot of shims, I hope the shop had no problems with aligning it (they didn’t report any to me). They did say they thought the taller ball joint was a good idea though.
     
  14. RoseBud68

    RoseBud68 Well-Known Member

    Thanks, I'm heading in that same path so getting as much info from those that have done it.
     
  15. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    To me from the pics the front seems to have an upward rakeo_O
     
  16. tsgp51

    tsgp51 Well-Known Member

    cheers I used hotchkis SMALLBLOCK 1 inch lowering springs on my gsx and the ride height was perfect. The spring rate is 512 and the ride was good. stock rate is 450
     

    Attached Files:

    Max Damage and RoseBud68 like this.
  17. RoseBud68

    RoseBud68 Well-Known Member

    What was your height before the springs. I'm at 28" up front so high for sure.
    Have that same springs as you and ordered Tall lower ball joint to see if i can get it down to at least 26".
     

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