Well, I finally installed the Eibach Pro's today that have been sitting in my living room for nearly three weeks (much to the displeasure of my other half). Install was not bad at all - though I would say for sure the job is impossible without an impact wrench for the fronts. It took me about 3 lazy hours. It could have been done more quickly but I was really trying to be careful and take my time. If I had to do this again on another 500 it could easily be done in less than90 minutes.
Let me preface by saying I had read a few posts containing complaints about the Eibachs. I can finally say that I don't get it. Is the car more firm? Yes. Do you feel more of the road? Yes. Is it obnoxious at all? No. The car feels the way I expected it to after hearing about how great the stock sport suspension was. When I brought the car home from the dealer (sorry – “Studio”) I took an I95 off ramp and had to panic brake after the car felt like it was about to tip over. The sport suspension leans so much in corners I'm shocked people rave about its handling. Now that I've dropped the car not only does it LOOK a lot better - it stays completely flat in the turns the way I wanted it to from the beginning. I've also seen posts about cutting the rear bump stops (which is not a recommendation of Eibach by the way) and I have yet to experience anything that would make me want to. Mind you my experience with these springs thus far is limited to the 35 (rather aggressive) miles I drove home from my dad’s garage.
Also - I have seen some back and forth about how much the car actually drops after install. Many vendors are advertising the same drop front to rear and if that were the case the rear of the car would still be higher than the front.This makes no sense since in every picture I have seen the car looks level. There is also a debate about Eibach vs H&R. Let me simply post what I found by simply visiting each manufacturers website with regard to how much they lower the car. What I find intriguing about the Eibach vs H&R debate is that it focuses mostly on the rear drop.
Eibach: 1" front / 1.4" rear
H&R: 1.2" front / 1.4" rear
Understand that these figures are admittedly "estimated" by each manufacturer. I still find it to be very interesting though.
I will post an update to this thread as the next week or two progresses just to add any additional comments. Please if anyone has any questions about the install or my experience with the springs – do not hesitate to ask!
Now - for the obligatory before and after pics. Enjoy!
Let me preface by saying I had read a few posts containing complaints about the Eibachs. I can finally say that I don't get it. Is the car more firm? Yes. Do you feel more of the road? Yes. Is it obnoxious at all? No. The car feels the way I expected it to after hearing about how great the stock sport suspension was. When I brought the car home from the dealer (sorry – “Studio”) I took an I95 off ramp and had to panic brake after the car felt like it was about to tip over. The sport suspension leans so much in corners I'm shocked people rave about its handling. Now that I've dropped the car not only does it LOOK a lot better - it stays completely flat in the turns the way I wanted it to from the beginning. I've also seen posts about cutting the rear bump stops (which is not a recommendation of Eibach by the way) and I have yet to experience anything that would make me want to. Mind you my experience with these springs thus far is limited to the 35 (rather aggressive) miles I drove home from my dad’s garage.
Also - I have seen some back and forth about how much the car actually drops after install. Many vendors are advertising the same drop front to rear and if that were the case the rear of the car would still be higher than the front.This makes no sense since in every picture I have seen the car looks level. There is also a debate about Eibach vs H&R. Let me simply post what I found by simply visiting each manufacturers website with regard to how much they lower the car. What I find intriguing about the Eibach vs H&R debate is that it focuses mostly on the rear drop.
Eibach: 1" front / 1.4" rear
H&R: 1.2" front / 1.4" rear
Understand that these figures are admittedly "estimated" by each manufacturer. I still find it to be very interesting though.
I will post an update to this thread as the next week or two progresses just to add any additional comments. Please if anyone has any questions about the install or my experience with the springs – do not hesitate to ask!
Now - for the obligatory before and after pics. Enjoy!