Here is a comparison of our purple Opel to a completely stock one. I don't know the intended lowering amount (@RallyBob would know, he shackled it) but measured at wheel arches, the front is 3" lower than stock and the rear is 1" lower than the stock green GT (we called it the off-road version when we parked next to it). We do have to be very careful with speed bumps and driveway transitions but other than that, we love both the look and the driving.

 

before and after 1" lowering spring

 

before and after 1" lowering spring

Terry is that 1" lowering in front and back, using parts from OGTS?

 

With all the different tire, wheel sizes, and types of shocks, used by Opelers, plus whether the tank is full or empty, battery in the front or rear, shackles, and other front end lightening methods, it would be really hard to say from the 1000's of Opel pics out there that one GT has a 1" or a 1.5" lowering spring.

 

Which is why I wanted pics from owners who could say what they did to their car. I couldn't find a thread that really helped you decide what mods to do, to achieve your desired ride height and possibly handling goals.

 

My GT with 1.5” lowering rear and 1” lowering front. The rear is still 0.75” higher than the front

 

So the one inch lower seems to give the car a more interesting/cooler look, however I already feel like I am dragging my ass down the road and ready for some sereious road rash, and wonder just what kind of problems this may potentially cause if in fact the car is lowered an inch or inch and 1/2.. I was recently driving my wife's car and not being familiar with it hit a curb while turning into a paking lot, a lexus sports coup that is very low to the ground- not pretty and I was just caught off guard, just a couple of bad scrapes and a bit of damage but not sever, however would most likely be a couple or three of thousand if fixed as the body shop recommends - less if bondo is used. Anyway what is the sacrifice of the 1 inch lower compared to possible damage. I many times, while driving the GT, feel like I am just on the edge of OMG look what I have done as compared to staying where I am, height wise, and for the most part being safe from the unexpected scrape or worse. The belly pan is already low and subject to, well you know.....Just my two cents worth.......

 

Ya I do think about the issue of scraping the front end. Kyler, do you ever have to worry about that with your 1" lowered front? I do like the way your car looks.

 

I never hit at 1” drop except when I jumped a curb, but let’s not discuss that.

Now I have 2-3” less clearance because of my strut rods though. I scrape them occasionally but not
badly.

All of my belly pan damage is from floor jacks. My belly pan has always been smashed so I don’t take an effort to protect it.

 

I was told by the PO who did all the suspension mods to my car that it has the lowest front spring ogts sells and FBRX7 rear lowering springs.

 

That is a good point about the jack and the belly pan. As it is now I have about 1 inch clearance and must just slightly jack up the car for the first few inches because of the lack and lack of clearance. One inch lower and I could not slide my jack under the belly pan.

 

I originally built this for my dad’s GT, but it fits all Opel chassis. Stocks out far enough and it’s offset ‘up’ just enough to get a jack underneath nearly any ride height.

 

This is stripped pretty far down, so it’s lighter than stock by far.

Tires are 225/50R15 (23.85” tall) all around in this pic.

Ride height is 2-7/8” lower than stock in front, though the bigger tires offset that somewhat.

The ride height was accomplished by one of my old composite leaf springs, plus Chrysler lower ball joints.

 

This is stripped pretty far down, so it’s lighter than stock by far.

Tires are 225/50R15 all around in this pic.

Ride height is 2-7/8” lower than stock in front, though the tires offset that somewhat.

The ride height was accomplished by one of my old composite leaf springs, plus Chrysler lower ball joints. View attachment 450852 View attachment 450853 View attachment 450854

My car also has the Chrysler lower ball joints. I love the Revolution RFX/Schmidt Modernline. I had a set of 15x8 et20 in immaculate condition and stupidly sold them. I've been trying to track down another set for years.

 

I live in the land of road dips at intersections and speed bumps and I have always had 1" lowering springs and stiffer than oem shocks, like KYB heavy duty's and such, but not as horrible stiff as Koni yellows. Bottoming out the belly pan is an everpresent danger. Air dam in my neck of the woods? Learn to drive like a pussy over all road dips or you'll tear them off. You'll have noticed that all my cars have air dams. I have to use fairly short ones, like the Mirage kit on my signature pic has, or trim them back at the nose like I did to the Steinmetz one on my GTX.

You were, I think, talking about aerodynamics. The best way to prevent your GT from lifting off the road at 100+mph is to have an air dam.

Now, you live in New Mexico I recall, so road dips and speed bumps aren't at every intersection every 100 yards like they are here in the Northeast, so maybe the belly pan hitting thing isn't so much of an everpresent threat for you. But you probably do a lot of highway driving out there, so an air dam is a very good thing to have.

The looks of a car and it's stance have a word to say, but function can speak louder. My mantra is "Function first, form second". I see all sorts of tuner "city cars" that have been lowered where I live. They're all destroyed on the bottom or their owners drive around really slow like wusses when navigating dippy roads. It's great to have a car that looks cool and you can't see any light under the car, but they suck to drive. It's no fun to have a cool looking GT sports car, but then have to drive it like a grandma. I have to drive my basically stock Solstice like a wuss over dips because the nose hits.

 

I know the GT’s aero improved once you lower it but I’m glad you talked about airdams because that hasn’t been discussed yet. An airdam or front splitter really could impact your ability to drive around town. I have been thinking about getting one, but this is the design that is more horizontal than vertical.

 

The floor jack for the front is a bit of an issue IF your jacking it up from the cross member and not one side at a time.
I needed a new one ( mine started leaking ) so I went with a low profile jack of the H.F. flavor, and it just barely clears and I mean barely clears the nose pan
I made the mistake ONCE of lowering the front first while the rear was still on the wheel dolly's OOPS. that won't happen again
My nose pan has been, let's say refurbished via what looks like bondo and or fiberglass at some point before I bought it.
In fact this last time I pulled it out for a bath and run through the community, 3 or 4 days ago, I had to drill a small hole because the original drain hole was floated over during their repair and holding a ton a water.

 

I thought maybe this was a better angle

 

Man I really love those wheels......... 😆

 

You guys talk about lowering. How do you measure it? It seems to me that the best way would be to measure from the axle centerline to the lip of the wheel arch, otherwise tire and wheel size enters in...

 

The tire size does impact it. But you would measure it that way. To see a change in ride height, it would only be a before and after measurement when you changed the springs.

 

1" lowering spring infront , stock rear.

 

It's very interesting to see Kyler's setup with 1" lowering in the front vs Vincent's. Kyler's wheels just fill out the wheel well more but it has a big impact visually compared to the stock rims.

 

Keep in mind my tire diameter is the same as stock. But the tires are lower profile because of the 15” wheel.

 

Also full/empty tank and spare tire yes/no can change the apparent height a lot. Just having a 100 lb girl in the passenger seat can change the car's driving characteristics, height, and tendency to bottom out on dips and such.

 

My GTX car. 1" lowering front and rear, KYB's, lighter hood, most of the headlight hardware removed, no spare tire, 8"x15" with 205/50's, flares/air dam/other things that affect apparent height, a bit heavier auto tranny:

With my Solstice, both appear to be the same height off the ground

 

Someone asked about measurements? front is 14" from center of hub to center wheel well and the rear is 14 1/4" If I pull the crap and stereo out of the rear it probably is closer to 15"
KYB low pressure shocks 1" drop in front and original suspension in the rear
Both have new bushings, ball joints, spring caps Etc.

 

Here's mine with 245/40-15 tires on 9" wheels . Front hub center to wheel arch is 13.25" and the rear is 13.75"