Just got my alignment done today, so decided to take some pictures. The car was dropped with some Tanabe GF210's. First pic is the drop in the front and second pic is the drop in the rear. I wish it was a little more balanced in ride height...but can't complain about the handling (and the sweet orange color :D ).

I finally painted the lugnuts black to match my centercap. Hehe, as for the rims, you either love em or hate em...but from what I gather from my previous posts, most board members think it looks dirty. But hey, it hides the brake dust, so eh :o

 

Looking good ... you have any pics from a bit further out? How much did you drop it by?

 

Looks like the rear's a little lower. I can't really tell because it's parked on an incline. Is that what your referring to?

 

Your finish looks "orange peal" free, is it? Looks nice

 

did you preload the springs before you tighten it? Looks like it didn't even drop the car. Where did you get your alignment done at?

 

BlueFrenzy - Thanks for the compliment. The Tanabe springs dropped my car 1.4" in the front and 1.2" in the rear.

tiggerlee - Yah, the rear is a lot lower. Even if I backed my car up on the incline, the front won't compress down any more.

Nemesis8 - It is orange-peel free in most areas, but I couldn't help the overspray that got on the sides of each blade. I focused on the face side more.

IZoomZoomI - I got my alignment done at Auto Innovations in Milpitas. We tightened the bolts before setting the car down (bad idea I guess). But the rear dropped a lot, so maybe it's the springs?

 

Those pics look great. Very nice rims... I like them a lot.

 

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...=1#post1005658

Painted with Rustoleum paint from Home Depot.

 

You should have cleaned your rims for the pic! That brake dust can really eat em up. :D

Car looks great although something is definitely not right with the springs, 1.4 drop up front should be a lot more noticeable, looks like stock ride height to me.

 

You are supposed to load the springs up before tightening the upper control bolts! That's why the front sits higher than it should be. Go get a 14mm (?) socket wrench and loosen the 2 bolts of the upper control links. Drive around your block slowly or leave it overnight to let the spring settle down then tighten back up. Let me know how it goes...

 

Will this require a re-alignment after resetting the springs?

 

Did I just waste $80 on an alignment?

 

Are there any ill-effects if I leave it the way it is? I was thinking of switching to coilovers once my shocks die out, so I would like to save the money on a re-alignment if possible.

 

soundave where did you get it aligned?

Wheelworks lets you get your car realigned a billion times within a year of alignment. If you did it through them you're in good shape.

If you didn't then i would go back and say, my alignment feels funny can you recheck it and then they'll adjust whatever is neccessary.

 

I got it aligned at Auto Innovations in Milpitas. They said they were gonna charge me the full $80 again to get it re-aligned...kinda bummed out

Live and learn I guess. I should have went to Firestone or something and get the unlimited alignments deal for like $150 (according to my friend). Hehe, maybe i'll just leave the springs the way they are and just get the car re-aligned when I get my coilovers.

 

Most places will have a 30-day guarantee on labor. Just call them and complain that your alignment is still not right (after you did the re-tightening thing like I posted above) and they should at least check it for you.