The right way to lower a PT Cruiser GT 3"?

[NoDecafPlz]

Hi gang. Just bought my 2006 PT GT Vert!

Because I am in a wheelchair, I will need to lower the car to transfer in, but want to do it the right way. No cutting of springs. Can anyone be specific as possible what my options would be and what brand or part numbers I'm looking for? Is there a one stop kit?

Would three inches be doable?

Thanks in advance!

Joe

[quicksilverdon]

I'll let others reply, but your best bet is air suspension - you'd lower it, then pump it up.
Yeah, 3" has been done, but scraping on bumps is an issue, and ride can suffer if you don't get good shocks.
I'd bag it (air bags).

[NoDecafPlz]

Thank you replying! I hope others do as well. I really need the guidance.

Would lowering only 2" and then relying on good shocks resolve the "bumps" issue?

The car just seems really high off the ground at regular. But if 3" is a iffy
drop, I think I can manage with 2".

Is there a kit or does it have to be done piece by piece.

What all do I need?

[William_F]

If he doesn't chime in here in a day or so, I'd suggest you shoot Candyman a PM. In addition to his vast knowledge of paint & body he also knows quite a bit about lowering and should be able to give you some good information.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help....

[garyerrol]

Joe;

My wife is also a full time chair user so I understand where your coming from. One concern I have with a lowered Cruiser is if you plan driving it during the winter months. Cincy gets the same type of snow and ice that we do up here in Indy. A lowered Cruiser is going to have trouble getting around unplowed city streets. It's bad enough for us able bodied to have to get out and push, I sure hate to see you get stranded. If available, I would agree that an air suspension probably would be best. Drop the car down to what ever level you need to get in, then raise it up for driving.

[Candyman]

Hey their Joe,

I know we have been discussing some of these things in private, but for the sake of other people who might want some good information on this one I figured I would go ahead and post this.

If I had a choice having had both custom ultra low drop springs, and now air ride, I would personally opt for the air ride.

The system I would recommend would be a dual compressor setup using Viair high CFM Compressors, a 5 doughnut style tank which fits under the PT where the spare tire would go, and I would run 3/8 hard lines as the 3/8 lines will allow for your PT to go up and down slow and smooth rather than fast and hard which can be more harsh on your PT as a whole, and running hard lines over the standard lines would be of greater benefit if you were to use your PT as a daily driver since they are more durable for day to day use in my honest opinion.

On the up side, with air ride, you can lift your PT up to 1" above stock so it is not a problem to go over speed bumps, up steep driveways, and other related obstacles, and still be able to drop your PT to the tires or lower to make it easier to get in and out. You can also get a setup from Dakota Digital that will allow you to lift and lower your ride via remote. Another benefit is that you can adjust your ride quality in reference to a softer, or tighter ride depending on personal preference.

On the down side, air ride is extremely expensive, and their are plenty of parts involved that can fail potentially leaving you high and dry when you need your ride most. To further complicate things, older kits like mine from Air Ride Tech are no longer made, and many of the newer kits available from Airlift, or other companies drop in such a way that unlike mine, you cannot drive with the bags all the way out as your wheels will not roll.

Now with that said, I know from our conversation that you are looking more at changing springs which I ran for several years. Though I have already sold my last set of custom 3" x 5" drop springs now known as "Candy Drops" the lowest kit still on the open market would be the Goldline Super Slammers which will give you a 2.75" x 3.25" drop. If you change to Tokiko Blue front Struts, you will regain a little bit of ride quality, but always keep in mind, whenever you drop a vehicle on springs, the lower you go the less suspension travel you have. The less suspension travel you have, the less ride quality you have as well. You can slightly offset that a tiny bit by going to a smaller diameter wheel and increasing the tire sidewall to compensate, but for me to be completely honest, the thought of a 15" wheel, well for lack of better words just kinda sucks.

So to recap a bit, if you go with the Goldline Super Slammers, your ride quality will drop big time, but so will your ride height. You can upgrade your stock struts to Tokiko Blues which will slightly upgrade your ride quality but most likely not by much. You will touch when going over speed bumps, and steep driveways as you normally would in any car dropped that much so no real surprise their.

On the up side, springs are cheap and easy. No real parts to go bad, nothing that will leave you hanging. The only thing is that new springs will settle after about 2-3 months and your ride will drop ever so slightly as a result.

I would expect to pay between $300 - $350 for a good set of new Goldlines retail, and you can most likely find much better deals on EBAY or Craigslist if you keep an eye out.

That is pretty much my take on suspension options. I hope that pretty much answers any questions you may have, but if anything else comes up, or you ever have any more questions on this subject, please feel free to get in touch with me anytime and I would be more than happy to help out anytime. Go easy, and I will catch ya later.

Candyman

[NoDecafPlz]

Thanks so much again Candyman. So if I only lower 2" in back and 1 1/2 in front AND switch to the T blues, I'll be in much better shape?

Do I use a different kit for those new heights? What is the best quality?
Sorry for all the questions.

PS I have an accessible van as well, this cruiser will never see salt/snow/ice.

Hey Guys, after reading the other thread, I just decided to go safer than sorry with the H and R Sport Cup I got it for 665, free shipping.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Goldmember]

The only way to do that and drive in Michigan would be use air bags, in that way you can raise it for pot holes