BTG vs Eibach Springs

[earringboy]

...yea that's the ones I used and the 1" brings the stock 17" turbo wheels right out to the edge of the fenders both front and back. I don't know of another mfg. except H & R... the spacers are really quality. The ride is as new without spacers, if you find others make sure they're hubcentric.

[IRPT]

If you use wheel spacers you should be aware of the following:

Spacers will increase your effective wheel offset, therefore loading up your wheel bearings more, and affect front suspension/steering geometry. Maybe not much, but it will. Meaning more wear on bearings, and more tendency to react to road bumps etc. This additional load on the bearings and CV joints, leads to premature failure (not cheap to repair).

Spacers can be incredibly dangerous, mostly due to the now-to-short wheel studs you have to bolt on to.

[earringboy]

..IRPT, no offense but you might want to get a new education on wheel spacers. The H & R's aren't the old "MR Gasket" style we used to use in the 70's that just slipped over the studs. The new hub centric's are made on a CNC machine and creates an exact duplicate of the wheel spindle with it's own new wheel studs. It bolts on the original spindle and studs and is perfectly centered on the hub snout with it's machined center, it's held on with new supplied lug nuts that are recessed into the spacer, new wheel studs are made on the spacer that the existing wheel is mounted on. I would bet these are stronger than the original wheel spindles. As far as CV joints, I can't see how they're effected being on the inner side of the front wheel spindle bearing. As far as offset load increase on the bearings it's no more than changing to a wheel of different offset... your just keeping the original wheel and adding offset. I have H & R spacers on many vehicles and never have heard of a failure or increased mechanical failure of the vehicle. We have a 4-wheel drive Ford F-350 wrecker with these spacers that are 2 1/2" offset. We use it for over the road transport and pull a 24' enclosed car hauler. It's got over 100,000 miles on the spacers, that's test enough for me!

PT Daddy as I noted, my ride improved with the change to BTG. I've tried Eibachs over and over and always eventually change to another brand because of the jarring ride, way to stiff. If you add enough shock/strut to control the Eibach's proper then it is even stiffer! I only have 3,000 miles on the GT but have never scrapped the chin or bottomed out the suspension. Just remember to cross dips and humps diagonally and with a little care and you'll be fine. Even with the spacers and the tires close to the fender they have never touched.. make sure you don't cut off to much bump stop, I only cut 3/8" off the rear and none in the front. I had rather hit the stop than have other components of the car doing the stopping... chin, tires, fenders, exhaust, oil pan and so on. As close is the pricing is nowadays on these parts... please don't allow price to make your decision. Being confident driving and enjoying the mods you make will pay off much more than the money you save by doing it twice from an incorrect choice the first time.

[PtDaddy]

thanks for all the input / personal experiences...

earringboy, one thing about BTG that concerns me is that their kit drops the front slightly more than the rear... wouldn't that increase the rake and rear fender gap appearance?

[earringboy]

..well you might want to call Maier Shadi at BTG, he knows what he sells.. he'll take all the time he needs to answer any question he can. My thoughts with the every day commuter ride quality is that the BTG setup actually improved the ride. OEM setup has some major problems in my opinion. Way too tall and jerky, I don't know what they were trying to accomplish.. I guess with a full load and then factoring in the usual oem cushion is how they got to that point. My car improved so much with the suspension modification I really see the factory flaws it had now. Lowered with a better ride are two things usually not associated with each other. I have never scraped the front of my car, just remember your lower and do the diagonal crossing thing. What I finished with is the top of the front fenders being almost even with the tire tread, the rear having about 1/2" gap. The rake is made into the body then also magnified by the suspension for loaded situations making the stock appearance looking like it has over-load truck springs... it has. I measured a bunch, I'm very anal about wanting it all the same... when I stopped measuring and started looking, it looked right. The rear suspension has more travel than the front so it just about has to have a little more gap to work right. Theory is that most spring combinations where developed before the Turbo, all PT models share the same basic setup so they remain the same springs for whatever level PT we have. The GT has added weight in the front and pulls the front a little lower given that extra weight. The front chin is already lower for enough room for the intercooler so it wants to drag more. All said you just have to plug your usage into your decision for your particular PT Cruiser. Some want and can use the 'slammed' look others want more of a utility use preserved. I personally wanted the best handling emphasized but my car sits 99% of the time in the garage. But when I do drive it's right. The thing about the PT is it's ability to be what every individual wants it to be. Make a list of the cars priorities and make your modifications match the list. I'll get some pictures if you need to see the gaps.

[Rolo]

quote:Originally posted by earringboy
...All said you just have to plug your usage into your decision for your particular PT Cruiser...Make a list of the cars priorities and make your modifications match the list.

That's good advice, e.

I would like to see some pics of the all-BTG setup. I still hashing details over how I want to do mine. I am thinking 1.75-2" drop all around; I do not want the wheels to look jammed up into the fenders and stock looks like the car is suspended in air and the axles are falling (the rear is not wheel-gap, it's wheel-gape!).

Question: I like the look of the original rake. If you lower it, say two inches front and rear, will the rake appear more exaggerated since proportionally to the car's new height, the rake is larger? Stated another way, would you have to lower the rear a bit more than the front in order to keep the same raked look?

[CHROMEDCRUISER]

I'm in the same boat as PTDaddy; Eibach -v- BTG. Earringboy, you recommended changing out the struts and shocks as well to allow for the best ride possible. What about adding just shocks? Or adding shocks and springs? Which would give me better control and handling?