I’ve finally decided I can no longer live with the comically large gap in the fenders of the xA w/ the stock suspension. I’ve been researching lowering strategies for the past few days and must say I’m even more confused now than when I started…

I kow there are 30,000 threads about dropping our cars (at least is seems like it) but the search on the site is tough on such broad topics, and like I said reading so many treads has just confused me further. What would be my best options for achieving my goals of:

-a moderate drop (I will most likely be sticking with the stock steelies for a while, and when I do upgrade rims I’ll only get 15”s or 16”s)
-improved handling for daily LA driving (which means the occasional swerve to avoid nasty potholes or duchebags)
-a comfortable ride on the mean streets and the LA freeways.
-little threat of scraping when entering weirdly steep driveway inclines, nasty speed bumps, etc.


I would, obviously, like to be able to just buy springs, but what will this mean for the stock shocks and struts? What are the cons to just buying lowering springs? What are the ramifications on my factory warranty?

Thanks for the input, and sorry to ask a newb question that I’m sure has been asked 1000 times before.

 

trd springs are 1" drop all around will not void warranty. other option is tein h tech.

your stock shocks will not last as long due to they have to absorb more than the stock springs would compress. so you'll want to find something that will warranty a 1" drop or so.

 

The shocks/ struts should last a long time on a TRD drop, more than 40k.

They did on mine and still had some life left in them. I'm at 62k miles and on a different lowering spring setup. The front struts need to be replaced as i replaced my rears already.

 

does anyone know how long stock struts and shocks will last if we just have springs?

 

I'm leaning towards the Tein S-techs.
How will these pair with the Monroe Shocks on the rear?
Anybody know the correct Monroe part # for the rear shocks?