Eibach lowering springs on 260z, weird, no lower, higher than before?

Hey guys,

I recently bought shock cartridges and eibach lowering springs for my early 74' 260z.

Shocks: New cheap "Monroe" sensatrac inserts  x 4 $90

Eibach lowering springs: Used, progressive.  (part#6305 001 Longer length  and 6305 202 Progressive which Shorter)

Now, I've read and installed the springs correctly. 001 longer springs in the fronts, and 202 shorter progressive springs in the back.  The front didn't lower at all, it still has about 5" from tire to fender lip.  Which is absolutely the same or even higher than how it was originally. 

So I assumed I installed it wrong, but checking it over and over, the parts number and everything seems to be installed correctly. Fronts 001, rear 202. Longer fronts, Shorter progressive in rears. 

Now, my concern is that I assume 240z and early 260z are the same isn't it? As the part numbers are cross referrenced the same.  I know the Later 260z and 280z are the same.

So I am perplexed. Is it the lowering springs? The monroe inserts (which are installed correctly since it is impossible to install them incorrectly.

Any ideas?

the inserts only control shock its the spring that determines the height

the inserts only control shock its the spring that determines the height

Could it be the fact that it is my imagination? The car has 14" wheels with 195/50 or 60 R14 on it.  Maybe I should try putting 15's with 205s on it and see if it makes any difference. 

I can stick my hand vertically from top of tire to fender, a good 4" gap at least. I guess it may be the 14" wheels and 195's

OMG, why are S30 Z's so damn difficult when it is so simple?????????  From electrical, to everything, Z's have the simplest designs but so damn near stupidly difficult issues arise from them. Whyyyyyy!!!??

Fwiw, hete in Oz there is a spring maker called Kings, he does the same spring part number for the rear of both 240 and 260, however when this spring is fitted to a 260 rear leg, he claims it is "lowered" approx 1", but when same spring is fitted to a 240 rear leg, it is "standard" height.

Dunno about the fronts.

In your first post you ,ake mention of "longer" and "shorter" uummmm, why not run shorter at both front and back?

Other tging ypu cpuld try, sounds horrid on brand new things, as ypu cant return tnem for an exchange, but try to, is, to cut a coil or two off the new springs!!! Loose between the spring seats? Simple fix, drill small 3/16 holes on insides of spring perches, and use tie wire to secure springs in place?

Next option, rempve lower spring perch, in a lathe, and reweld back on car a bit lower down, but be aware of your shock insert min and max travels for bottoming out.

I had exactly the same problem , Rear nice and low , Front too high!

Thought i may have put them in the wrong ends of the car but apparently not.

I am now going to cut a rung off and see how that goes

I also recently aquired some eibachs for a late model Alfa , and I am about as convinced they are a good spring as I am happy with the Zeds uneven ride height.

I wouldn't recommmend Eibach and not convinced progressive springs are any better than a tried and tested regularly wound spring

You could try cutting down the top mount rubbers.  Pretty sure you can find about an inch there.

Here NZeder explains it better than me:

If you want to go a little lower in the front there is the old 80's trick that was done here in NZ and I assume other countries.

Take the oem top hat/bush thing aka the big thing on top with the 3 studs sticking out. Heat up the outer shell to break the bond of the rubber. With the rubber removed it is then trimmed down. The steel out shell is the cut not down but split down the side in a number of spots aka hack saw down to make 4 or 6 metal tags. The cut down rubber is installed back into the outer shell and the now tags are then bent/folded down to hold the rubber in the shell.

This old school mod should lower the setup by about 1/2 to 1" and the travel/shock length strut tube is not altered and you still have stock spring platforms« Last Edit: February 24, 2014, 08:11:33 PM by NZeder »

Cutting progressive springs is not a good idea as you will lose a lot of the ride and handling characteristics that people look for when ordering progressive rate springs, although from a safety perspective I don't see any problem with cutting the springs.