[CK335iMSport]

Question for those of you who have suspension mods that lower the ride height of your cars. Is there a suggested period of wait time between having the car lowered and then alignment done that allows for the springs etc. to settle so the alignment will be accurate? In other words, two weeks later once springs have settled, wouldn't wheel/tire alignment be off if it was done at the same time?

Thanks,
CK

[Dippydo]

I had mine done same day on all my cars the last 25 years. The amount of settling is not significant enough to throwing off your alignment.

[Presario]

Every time I've lowered my car I've waited two weeks. I've had some suspension setups settle almost half and inch. If you'll be running some expensive tires, it's good practice to wait just in case the amount it settles can affect your alignment. It pays to be patient sometimes.

[CK335iMSport]

Originally Posted by Dippydo

I had mine done same day on all my cars the last 25 years. The amount of settling is not significant enough to throwing off your alignment.

Originally Posted by Presario

Every time I've lowered my car I've waited two weeks. I've had some suspension setups settle almost half and inch. If you'll be running some expensive tires, it's good practice to wait just in case the amount it settles can affect your alignment. It pays to be patient sometimes.

Thank you both for the feedback. Knowing me, I probably give it just a week or two because I'm so paranoid about anything not being perfect on the car

[inChargeOfIT]

I just ordered a set of Eibach's and asked them a similar question and got this response:
"Keith- Our springs won't settle any lower than the indicated heights. Alignment can be done after the springs "settle," which should only take 10 miles of hard driving."

'hard driving' is fairly subjective, but I am taking it to mean that I get to drive like an ass for an hour guilt free.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by inChargeOfIT

I just ordered a set of Eibach's and asked them a similar question and got this response:
"Keith- Our springs won't settle any lower than the indicated heights. Alignment can be done after the springs "settle," which should only take 10 miles of hard driving."

'hard driving' is fairly subjective, but I am taking it to mean that I get to drive like an ass for an hour guilt free.

...a statement which we all know is B.S. because people measure the 'true' drop all of the time, and it's almost always lower than what the manufacturer conservatively stated.

[inChargeOfIT]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

...a statement which we all know is B.S. because people measure the 'true' drop all of the time, and it's almost always lower than what the manufacturer conservatively stated.

that's my guess too, but we will see. I am going to take measurements before, during, and after. Maybe some springs settle more than others I do not know. I mostly see H&R's on this forum and the drops seem to differ wildly.

[Dippydo]

Originally Posted by inChargeOfIT

that's my guess too, but we will see. I am going to take measurements before, during, and after. Maybe some springs settle more than others I do not know. I mostly see H&R's on this forum and the drops seem to differ wildly.

Yes and no. Depends on when you measure. if you measure as soon as you set the car on the ground you are going to get a much higher difference because your shocks also need to compress back to normal. This will vary as well shock to shock. Simple, jack your car up now and lower it back down and it will be higher. Drive a couple of miles and it will come back down. Most springs will settle around 1/4" and at the worst case 1/2" on average. Even at the worst, these differences won't make any difference in aligning the car.

If you like to be 150% triple quadruple sure for your own piece of mind, then wait a week and then take it in, but according even to the shop that did mine that is the only certified Ferrari and Lambo repair center in the midwest and a Porsche racing team, it just won't matter at those heights...LOL...

[SD_E88]

Had my alignment done at the time I had the suspension work done. (HR sport springs and B8 Bilstein Shocks). They did drive it 10 miles before doing the alignment. Not hard though.

Had the alignment checked two weeks later, it was perfect.