I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. There a lot of hills around here. My uncle told me not to lower it, do to the fact that it would ride hard. Should I or shouldnt I?

My main question is:

Is there anything I can do to make my xA ride smoother when I lower it?

 

Yeah. Buy some Tein H-Tech springs and Monroe Sensa-Trac struts. That seems to be the perfect combo for lowering and comfort.

And yes, you should lower your car. The xA needs it!

 

I debated for a while too, and finally just went for it. I chose KSport springs, simply because they were easy and cheap to get locally, and I prefer progressive rate springs. Really easy job to install, and made a big difference in handling and appearance. As for ride quality, it's a little stiffer than stock, but not by much. The xA will still have plenty of ground clearance, even if you drop it 5"! But a mere 2" lowering won't affect your commute nearly as much as you're probably thinking.

Go for it!

 

so you think 2" will be enough to make look a little better?

 

I went with Tein S Techs and the ride was hard, so I changed out the shocks to Monroe SensaTracs...it was night and day...love my set up, looks good, ride is sweet! I drive about 30K miles per year, so ride was VERY important to me. IMO, no need to swap out struts, stock is just fine, but shocks made a HUGE difference.

Before...


After...


Kinda dark, but I am sure you can get the idea...

 

2" looks good to me!

They are rated 2" rear/1.6" front, but it actually made the wheelgap completely equal on all 4 corners. From the lip of the fender to the lip of the wheel, it's 5 3/4"

 

Some cars can get away with stock height... Unfortunately the xA has one of the biggest wheel gaps ever. It's needs a drop bad.

I say go for it. You can always go back to stock and sell the springs if you don't like it.

-THE DON

 

Yeah those hills in Cincy are crazy! I guess ur wondering how I know, my fam is all over Cincy so I know my way around there. Wat part of Cincy do you live in?

 

Personally, lowering the car was a no-doubt-about-it kind of thing. Other than the improvement in handling and bump control over stock, it just simple looks that much better.

Here's mine with the Tein S-techs.

 

Definitely lower it. Everything looks better lowered and the performance is awesome taking the turns.

I throw people lowering their car into two categories:

1) Dropped about 1-1.5", wanting an aggressive look, an increase in performance, and not wanting to worry about speedbumps.

2) Dropped more than 1.5", wants a VERY agressive look, increase in performance, doesn't mind going over speedbumps and dips VERY slowly, and doesn't mind scraping the bottom once in a while.

I fit into category 1, where I want some looks and performance but don't want the headache of a very lowered car.

 

Does anybody have pics of an xA on H-Techs? I've never seen one before and I'm wondering how low it looks. If you get snow in your area then that may also be a factor, I don't know if an S-Techs drop would be a good idea in snowy areas....

 

Guess I'll have to manage.

We get snow around here like 1-2 times a year. Most of the time it's rain.

[Now watch... this will be the snowiest winter on record. ]

 

drop it like it's hot, drop it like it's hot. nough said. Here's mine on H-techs and konis.

 

two syllables....

gold-line

 

ok, cool! thanks guys! so i am going to lower it 2 inches i guess. so i need shocks and springs! which should i choose? Goldline? Tein S Techs? Thanks for the help! peace.


~J

 

Ksport springs and stock shocks/struts (upgrade them when they blow).

$125 from elementmotorsport.com

 

you got fresh shocks and struts so dont get none of em et just some niice goldline budddyyy

 

when they blow?

 

Stock stuff isn't engineered for the lower height. They have to operate at a different range than they were engineered for, so generally they go bad faster.

Think of it this way...if you would have changed them at 70,000 miles, you might need to change them at 35 or 40,000.

 

if you don't wanna go too low get some tanabe NF210's