Ride height for DFW daily driver?

Well I'm still twiddling my thumbs, waiting for my new toys to show up... in the mean time I have a couple of questions.

What is a good ride height for the DFW area? I was thinking of 12.75" front and 13.0" rear. Should I be going lower than that? For the time being my car is a daily driver (might be retired for track work in the next year or two...) I know I've read on the pointy board that some people are running the Clubsports very low, but I'm thinking that's not a good idea for a car that will spend time on the street as well.

To order the Clubsports I had to pull loose change out of the couch cushions etc., so there was no $ in the budget for bigger front sway bar, endlinks, helper springs, etc. Do I need adjustable endlinks for 12.75"/13.0"? As for sway bars, I am considering the FM 1" bar or the 1.125" RB hollow bar. Preference? The RB is lighter, but is it too stiff for my 550/350 springs?

I've been running about 12.5" front and back (with stock sways/endlinks) for the last 3 years. I haven't noticed any ill effects from the combo, and the height is fine for 99.8% of my driving. Sure, my front lip isn't the prettiest thing, but I've only dragged bottom twice while off-roading. Once in New Mexico going up the dirt road to my cousin's house, and once trying to find my way back to Junction, TX from a family reunion. No problem with speed humps or anything like that.

I'm sure others will chime in on sways, but it seems like the RB hollow front bar (with the stock rear bar) is popular around these parts.

Good to know, thanks. Maybe I can get away with 12.5 front and 12.75 rear.

Just don't find yourself in the position of pulling out of my garage with the temp spare on... :-)

My NA has been at 12.5/12.75 for ~5 yrs. No front lip to scrape driveways, so can't comment there. I've had one or 2 scrapes of the frame rails on extraordinarily large speed bumps with 2 guys in the car, but no hard hits, and the frame rails are not deformed.

I'm at 12.25" and have the occasional issue with height, but I'm used to driving with lowered cars.

My stock suspension leaves my front end at 12.5", and sometimes a speed bump will scrape the frame rails. But I bet part of that is thanks to the soft spring rates. Other than that, no problems really.

Thanks guys. I think I'll give 12.5"/12.75" a try and adjust as necessary.

Two more questions, do I set the height with me in the car? And full tank of gas or empty?

Am I over thinking this?

This is my car at 12.25/12.5

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/6674/dsc0004ud.jpg

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5658/dsc0005rf.jpg

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Originally Posted by MoonieGT

Two more questions, do I set the height with me in the car? And full tank of gas or empty?

Am I over thinking this?

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Definitely set the height with your butt in the driver's seat.

I'd go with a full tank of gas so the height will basically be at its lowest point once it's set... I'm just pulling that out of my ass, but it sounds fairly logical to me.

Thanks Tricky. I think I'm going to start with 12.75/13.0. NI'll be saving my pennies for a corner balance after that... I'm really curious to feel the difference.

scrape or go home :)

old civic before i raised it up some. rocking 13"s ... the toe of my shoe would be stuck under my car if i tried to put it under lol

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g9...i/IMG_1459.jpg

My green car is pretty damn low and I have no problems around town. My daily is higher and it rubs in the fender wells. I guess the 700/400 springs have something to do with that. I'm at 4" and 4.25" at the pinch welds which is about 11.5 or so considering the innacurate height measurement you guys use. I'm tucking a little tire under the fender in the front.

Since you brought it up, my nephew got a ticket years ago for being too low. IIRC, the officer or judge told him that no part of the car can be lower than the height of the wheel rim.

Is that still true?

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Originally Posted by onething

Since you brought it up, my nephew got a ticket years ago for being too low. IIRC, the officer or judge told him that no part of the car can be lower than the height of the wheel rim.

Is that still true?

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Still true as if you have a blow out it could cause the car to scape the ground and loose control. Years ago a friend of mine got one of those tickets and I believe he framed it. Larger dia. wheels and low profile tires can fix that problem.

I haven't measured my car, but I'm on 14's and tucking in the front. I was tucking a ton in the back ( because of settling), but I now have raised the rear. I scrape almost everyday, but I've been checking underneath my car to make sure nothing was getting damaged and no damage has been done so far lol.
I'm doing rear sway bar for drifting. You autocross guys probably hate us drifter guys lol. I say, to each his own, I like both but will be doing more drifting than anything else.

at 12/12.5 f/r, i have no problems 95% of the time ... unless i'm going through an apt complex w/ monstrously huge speedbumps. in which case, i have to take it super slow & endure frame scraping :'(