Lowering Springs for a 2010 California

I had mine lowered 1.5" with Novitec Lowering Springs and it's been great! Great looks and handling.

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Adam...Do you have 19 or 20 inch tires?...T

 

20" Wheels.

 

Any problems with tire rub? How about your undercarriage do you have any protection? Any scrapes yet? Ive been thinking about getting it done, only thing I dont like about my Cali is the gap in the wheel wells.

 

Zero tire rub. I did get some under panel scrape when I hit a large expansion joint at 130MPH one day on an expressway. We put it on a lift and there wasn't any damage just some light concrete dust on the rear left aero tray underneath in front of the rear axle. Talk about pooping your pants LOL.

 

I also have Novitec sport springs on my 2013 Cali 30.

My Cali30 was originally non-HS and then I added the HS Pack as an upgrade because I kept bottoming the suspension on spirited drives over country roads. I also upgraded the stock 20" wheels to wider HRE lightweight forge 20"/21" FR/RR rims. And then finally, after other upgrades I also added the Novitec springs.

With the non-HS setup I bottomed out quite often on the back roads. With the HS Pack which includes stiffer Eibach sport springs and lowered suspension that no longer happened but I could still induce a slight catch on the undertray if I hit a tight corner really hard and the car handled signficantly better. Now, with the even stiffer Novitec springs, the car is lowered even more and I haven't had any bottoming out (yet) and the car handles even better.

Here are a series of photos showing my car at 3 stages. Stage 1 is stick non-HS, Stage 2 is HS with HRE wheels and Stage 3 is with the Novitec springs. Notice the suspension was progressively lowered. I have not had any issues with ride comfort but on crappy roads, the Novitec springs can cause the car to pitch a bit as it flies over from one bump (frost heave) to another but the Cali already has a decent length of wheelbase and is not a short car so IMO it's just part and parcel of having stiffer springs.

You do have to decide on the ride height to use for the Novitec springs as well as re-adjust the alignment. You cannot change springs without doing a 4-wheel alignment, or there will be problems.

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I lowered my Cali with Novitec springs and then placed wheel spacers. It improved the handling and the car looks much better.

 

I did mine as well...Novitec.
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Quick question. How much would you like to lower the car? If you don't want the stiffer ride and don't want a massive drop,you could lower the car to Euro spec height or perhaps 10 mm below that. This your dealer could do on the stock springs. I believe that should net you around 20-25mm of lowering.

Just some food for thought.

 

I lowered mine by 1.3" (approx) via H&R Springs. Perfect in my opinion. Zero rub. Ride quality is perfect in my opinion. Actually, I feel it's a little too bouncy and borderline uncomfortable in comfort mode (w/ springs), but in sport mode, I find it's perfect! Not "stiff", but firm.

I have 20" Lexani Competition Series on it, w/ lower custom offset for a wider stance (equivalent to 11mm front spacers and 18mm spacers in the rear). I love the look and ride.
Not excessively low, but on the streets of Chicago, it definitely requires even more attention to speed bumps, parking ramps, pot holes, etc to minimize scraping .

First pic is stock
2nd pic is H&R springs only (I really hated how the wheels looked so sunken in the wheel well)
3rd pic is H&R springs w/ wheels

 

It bounces in Comfort because there's too much spring rate for the damper. This means it cannot control the rebound. This could actually cause a potentially dangerous situation as it's a symptom of the rebound not being under control.
The original Cali was already a wee bit underdamped from the factory, and a bit busy and bouncy at times.
That's what I like about Novitec. They do progressive springs really well. The H&R springs tend to be more track oriented and in need of stiffer struts.
Honestly, a set of springs that worsens the comfort mode in a GT like a Cali, I can only consider a downgrade, as one woould lose the GT aspect of the Cali which is an important part of its personality.
I've been behind the wheel of quite a few modded cars over the years on both road and track, and nothing ruins the experience and scares me more than an oversprung car.

Not trying to knock your setup. I'm just really against oversprung cars, and will advise anyone from running an oversprung setup.

Yes you can choose to keep it in Sport always, but that turns a GT with a fun split personality into a bit of a one trick pony.

To the OP: Novitec springs are somewhat expensive for what they are. But that's in part due to the fact that they have spent quite a bit of time getting the progressive rate right for each specific model. I don't think H&R make bad springs, but they are less vehicle specific and much more tuned towards track/sport only use.

Just my honest opinion.

 

While the dealer can do this on stock springs your car will almost surely scrape or bottom out due to compression of the already soft suspension - this will happen for any excuse, like when your car transitions the small bump from the driveway onto the pavement. You will also do real damage if you do that at speed. I would not lower the Cali without using stiffer springs, preferable the progressive rate type of springs, not the constant rate which you also argued against.

The progressive Novitec springs are actually 2-springs-in-one. I wrote up quite a long message, technical discussion with photos on this issue many months ago.

 

If the roads in the area are okay, or depending on how the OP uses the car, I don't think Euro spec will pose an issue. Lower, perhaps. But it kind of depends on the conditions. I've experienced the 458 and 488 knock its diffuser into the road on a few occasions when the cars were driven hard in bumpy road mode and a few times in Race, but can't remember being in a Cali in Sport where it happened.

Not saying it can't happen and it can't be an issue, just saying I've yet to experience it in a Cali that was in Sport and with Euro ride height.

All in all, I think you have more experience with the Cali than me in this area, and I think if you advise against lowering a Cali to Euro heigh or lower on US roads, that's probably the way to go.

I like the Novitec design. What I rind is that they do the transition so damn well. With other progressive srpings, you go from soft to rock hard, and the car ends up being all over the place. The Novi springs are super smooth. Unlike stiffer linear springs or poorly desinged progressive rate springs that just ends up making the car feel nervous and underdamped.

 

I believe the terms “Euro spec”, “Euro ride height” and “Euro heigh(t)” you are using are your personal terms to indicate the car being lowered as I have not come across those terms assigned to the Cali or a Ferrari before. I think ride height issues are the same in Europe as there are driveway exit/entry ramps and bumpy roads in every country.

I was referring to the soft springs of the stock Cali as being too soft to control the suspension travel when the car hits a bump, like when the car enters the roadway from the driveway, even when just driven at normal speeds and also when the car goes over bumps, frost heaves on country roads, at legal speeds. This always happened to my car when it was still stock and it was very annoying. Stiffer springs fixed those problems.

So if you lower the Cali on stock springs you are almost surely going to bottom out or scrape. The stock springs are not designed to perform in a satisfying manner if you lower the stock ride height. The car will look better but you’ve just made the car even more likely to touch ground. Springs resist suspension compression (dipping down) while shocks resist rebound (popping up). You want to resist compression so it’s the springs that determine that.

 

Euro and US spec ride heights are not my personal term. Ferrari set the cars up differently due to different road conditions. As an example, a 488 is set 15mm lower from the factory when delivered here in Europe compared to the US. Can't remember when they started this, but I believe it was around the F355 or 360 period. Your dealer will probably be able to tell you what the difference is.

 

While I understand what you are saying I would be very surprised Ferrari specs a different ride height for their cars in Europe vs the US. The simple reason being that damage from too low a ride height correlates with road conditions and not countries. To do otherwise is to unnecessarily expose the company to numerous complaints and lawsuits. If you look at the 488/485 front overhang, they are designed to provide higher than average clearance. This has been frequently noted and complained about on FChat.

I have immediate family in Germany and have driven there, stayed at various towns there, north south east and west, quite a bit. Germany has many many homes and houses that are very old, in crowded old urban locations that are often preserved the way they were many years ago, with steep driveways and all. Old homes may be beautiful and charming but their driveways can be incredibly steep. Germany has many hills, rivers and mountains. As I said, cars are generally designed for road conditions, not countries. Rather, I suspect any difference in ride height was/is specified by the owner who ordered or bought the car, set up specifically by that dealer.

If a 488 owner in Denmark or Germany does a lot of Autobahn driving, especially in unrestricted zones, it does make very good sense to lower their cars. But if they often have to negotiate roads and driveway ramps in urban areas, due to crowded city lots, even a hydraulic lifter wouldn't be able to overcome a lowered suspension. I have one on my LT and it's a challenge even safely getting into many gas stations, with the car raised. I try to only use gas stations I "know".

You also state you "have access" other people's Ferraris in your bio but that is very different from actual ownership. When you finally have your own Ferrari, live with it 24/7, you will come to appreciate what I mean.

 

I may not currently own a Ferrari. but I have countless of hours and thousands of miles of experience. I am well aware of the implications and concerns of Ferrari ownership.
If you don't know that there is such a difference between how Ferrari set up cars, that's not the same as it is not so. It's been debated on these boards before, especially in the 458 section. Your dealer may or may not be aware of this, some are, some are not.
When I post a suggestion, I don't do so based on sheer theory, I do it based on real world experience, both from track and road driving. I have driven many Ferraris in my 40 year long life, set them up for track and worked on a few.
When I say Euro xpec vs. US and suggest that the op looke into it, it is because I thought it was a viable option.
I may not know as much as some, but I also know more that others, being it owners and non owners. Please refrain from such a condescending approach. I've been here in the past, and I'm no stranger to the cars, the expectations, the obligations and the ins and outs of Ferrari ownership.

 

Dear “co-driver”, I would be happy to concede your point about Ferrari spec’ing lower standard suspension heights for their cars in Europe if you can show clear proof of this on official Ferrari material; like official webpage, news article or printed media.

The concept of shipping all Ferraris in Europe with lower ride height is not logical because as I said, ride height must match the demands of the road conditions and road conditions vary depending on the terrains. I have also traveled and stayed in your lovely country of Denmark and it is very, very flat and has no major rivers or lakes I am aware of. It is very different from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and Austria, just to name countries that have obviously hilly inland terrains, even coastlines in some. And then you have countries like Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, the UK, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, Czech Republic...etc. I have been to old towns in some of these countries and you need very high clearance to just drive on some of the cobblestone roads in their beautiful old towns. The undulations on some roads are like little hills.

A lowered suspension is not a standard for particular countries or continents. Ferrari makes cars that are set up to perform properly for their cars so all their customers can appreciate their cars by using reasonable precautions. You can change the setups but you must accept responsibility and higher risks for damage when making those changes. I am a businessman by profession and it is very foolish to assume additional business risks for no reason or gains. Not all Ferrari drivers drive these cars like we do. Not everyone wants to lower their cars’ suspension to look more slammed. Lowering suspensions significantly increases the risk of damage to these cars if you ignore the fact that road conditions can vary greatly on roads that Ferrari owners have to drive on. If Ferrari were to actually ship their cars in Europe with lower suspension settings than in the US then their European cars would all have springs with higher spring rates, there would then be no HS versions of their “Euro” cars. Novitec and Eibach would likely not sell any lowering springs to Ferrari owners in Europe.

 

can I just say... you Jaguar XJ is a seriously cool car

 

Looks angry and badass. I did the same to min

 

Nice set up. Are these with the stock wheels?

 

No, custom wheels.

 

I recently had my Portofino lowered with Novitec springs (made by Eibach) with great results. Ride height can be adjusted even with the base (non-Magneride) suspension even though the base suspension is "non-adjustable". I will have a write-up here shortly.

 

If you don’t mind my asking what was the total cost of the lowering springs with install?