lowering springs / lowered f430

mine is lowered with h&r springs. rides much much better than stock without a drop. now the front end does not bottom out as much and the ride is more comfortable in some ways. novitecs come with adjustable spring perches as well so it may be a better value.

 

Am I missing something, guys; isn't the stock suspension is adjustable?

 

Mine was lowered 22 mm with the factory springs. I noticed no problems at all with driving or handling. This was done over 3 years ago. You will scrape the front especially on poor roads. No way should it be lowered more than 22mm.

 

y have a new set of h&r spring $650

 

You are better off lowering on Novitec or other if they are designed for the car- NR is expensive but they've got it sorted out. You can lower it quite a bit so long as you are careful with your driving. You should get the car aligned after the lowering and if you can Id recommend putting spacers on (before the alignment). I like the NR spacers as well. Try 10 or 15mm spacers for the 430 (I prefer the 10mm). Id also invest in a skid plate for under the front bumper. Your car will look and drive even better but there will be times that you will scrape under there a little bit. I wouldnt lower too much on the factory springs. I looked into this and found they are really not setup for too much lowering- maybe the 22mm number above is correct- thats almost 1". I just found that the NR springs and spacers give a better ride and allow the car to look like it should have from the factory. You are sacrificing some ride quality with this but it will be worth it if you use your car as a sports car. I think the NR springs are 15% stiffer than stock. I also think they are progressive springs vs the stock constant rate.

 

A 22mm or 3/4 inch drop is Euro ride height or so I was told by my indie mechanics who used to work at our local dealer. They are back at F of Ft Laud last I heard. It really transforms the look of the car.

I would think they would have told me if using the stock springs was not the best setup. Also they would have had a greater financial interest by selling me new springs plus the extra labor. They did a front and rear alignment afterward.

Do what you feel is best but I have had absolutely NO problems at all using the stock springs and that seems to be the consensus on this site. I have 16K miles on mine now. (2007 430 spider)

Do not even think of going lower than 22mm.

 

Novitec uses a progressive rate spring? How is the stiffness compared to the CS spring rate?

 

The problem with lowering is that often you make your car Slower! There are many bad things that can come from lowering each would take its own thread to discuss. An example is bump steer,or chassis rake, or shock travel just to name a few. In experienced people loading control of their car under spirited driving may look like fools but really introduced a fault and never knew it. Even real shops make this mistake. Remember that Ferrari tested your car as delivered. If you change things you really have to understand what effects the changes can make. if Ferrari thought the car more botch!n lowered, they would have lowered it. There is no free lunch.

 

For the above comment. Euro and North America have different ride heights. Same car, different heights for safety standards. Bring a NA car back down to Euro specs is the best route imho. I dropped my North America car 18mm to bring it closer to euro height. (stock)

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430/452677-pics-lowered-cars.html

 

I dropped mine w stock springs but as they are relatively soft it did bottom out at times. Switched to H&r and rode much better, stiffer spring with the lowered height made a big difference. On Long Island I would prob leave ride height stock, u'll enjoy ur car more because u won't have to worry about scraping the under tray. But they look soooo much better with 18-22mm drop...
+1 to alignment and above comments