Drop spindles vs. lowering springs

[atwot]

Which is better handling wise, drop spindles or springs? I have a mostly stock suspension. I'd like to go down about 2", and if there is no difference I'm apt to go with the springs. I've heard you can run into clearance problems when using drop spindles and aftermarket wheels (I have 18x8's now).

Also, can anyone recommend a good set of aftermarket A-arms? I'm thinking of going with global west ones, they are fairly inexpensive and I can reuse my existing hardware which is fairly new.

[XcYZ]

Welcome to Lateral-g.

I know drop spindles can cause interference with the tie rod and inner side of the wheel (with wide wheels). I don't know if that's the case with 18" wheels though.

If you're looking for tubular control arms, two of our site sponsors make and sell them: Detroit Speed & Engineering and Speedtech Performance.

[importkiller69ss]

hotchkis make awesome 2" lowering springs they are cheaper than some others but have been out longer and alot of people use them..dse makes awesome parts and they too have 2" drop springs i have the hotchkis on mine

[astroracer]

What you want to consider is alignment after the drop. Drop spindles create (essentially) a static, straight down drop which doesn't affect the current alignment to a great degree. Lowering springs lower the car in relationship to the spindle which increases camber. To correct the camber the upper arms need to be pushed outboard with more (or less) shims. The only problem here is how straight your car is to begin with and how much "room" you have to correct the alignment.
I will go with dropped spindles every time to get the "majority" of a drop and then adjust that with lowering springs to dial it in. I feel doing it this way leaves more room for adjustment...
Mark

[markss28]

I like springs mainly because you can get the drop and get an alignment to correct any camber problems. Also you will resceive a better handling suspension because the spring is tighter then the original. Plus spring are like $120 vesus $250+ for spindles.

[atwot]

Thanks for the info guys! Excellent point astroracer, I wouldn't have thought of that.