I have a question for people who have lowering springs. I'm not wondering about any specific type or brand...I just want to find out which set will accomplish what I want to accomplish. For the impatient: is the ride height of your lowered xB the same on both sides in the back? If you want more details...read on.

I have Tanabe S-OC II coilovers now. In the back I have adjusted both sides all the way down, but I find that the driver's side is consistently lower than the passenger's side by around 1/2" in the back. You wouldn't notice unless you were really checking for it, but it bugs me considering I spent like $800 on this setup. I've checked and rechecked to make sure everything is installed correctly. I spoke with someone at Tanabe who said that this may be caused by the way the vehicle is weighted. I took out the spare tire, and got the same result.

What I think is the problem is the softness of the rear springs. The S-OCs are designed to be comfortable and the springs do not feel stiff at all. The ride is much smoother than it was stock. I think the fact that the springs are soft makes what might be a higher weight in that corner of the car so apparent. If the factory ones were stiffer, then that would be why it was not noticeable when the car was not lowered.

I plan to put my factory springs back on and remeasure everything. If it turns out that it is level with the factory parts, I will replace the whole setup with regular lowering springs. I was wondering if anyone here who is lowered on springs has measured their rear ride height and verified that it is the same on both sides. I know someone with an H&R Cup kit on his xB and we checked his, both sides were spot-on equal. I'm thinking about going with Goldlines or DF210s, but I would like to know I won't have to deal with this issue again before I make a final decision. Thanks

 

Hey Kevin, mines the same all around. I just went out and measured. I'm rolling on Tanabe DF210s right now. The drop is absolutely slammed and I love it. The rides not terrible but its definetly stiff. If you want I can take some pictures tomm if youd like. (No subs, stock spare in) .

If you really want.... I wouldnt be opposed to a trade
Any more questions, feel free to ask!

Scott

 

im rolling on trd springs that were special ordered from a toyota dealership back when i first got my car 2 years ago. The problem that i had w/ mine is that the front right spring rate is off making it look about 1/2 in higher than the rest of the car. If i took a picture of it or you saw the car in person you can tell, it bothered me @ first but i dont care anymore. Soon i will be going w/ tanabe springs. So if you're **** like i was i would either try messing around w/ the settings or just go w/ a different set up.

 

Scott: Thanks a lot for measuring. I was considering going with the DFs anyway, so that is probably what I'm gonna get. I'm not too worried about the ride, as long as it isn't bone jarring. I'm still not sure how I'm going to go about swapping things out, but I honestly wouldn't say some kind of trade is out of the question if you were serious.

Cockpit: That is similar to what I'm experiencing, but I guess more subtly. I hope the new setup works better for you.

 

Naw the ride isnt bone jarring at all. It just feels stiff IMO. If I had to do it all over again, I would still chose the DFs over any other natural coil spring. I'll try to get some pictures if the rain stuff. I love my slammed look How far do your coilovers drop it? P

S if everything checks out and you might want to trade, PM me and we might be able to work something out

 

The specs on Tanabe's website say 2.5 front and 1.5 back max. I didn't measure before so I'm not sure what the total drop was, but that sounds about right. Probably closer to 2" in the back.