I'm assuming most people are lowering for racing or driving fast, and I want to start out be saying that is NOT what i'm intending on doing. (though added control never hurts lol)

I notice that a lot of the sunfires sit noticeably higher in the back than in the front when your standing back from them. idk if these are stock parts wearing out or stock replacements just on the backs(ive seen it an awful lot though and can't find info on how high the front vs the rear actually is.)

ANYWAYS. What I want to do is level the car. Meaning just drop the rear so it is even with the front height. I know a cars stance (i think its called rake?) is built this way to some degree for aerodynamic reasons to generate desirable down force at highway+ speeds. But I'm thinking this would give me a little more control with the aftermarket suspension, as well as help fix some of the coefficient drag which is ridiculously high (ive seen it listed from .35-.38 and average in the late 90s in the industry was .32. Plus it looks like theres excessive clearance in the wheel well and it bugs me >.<

SO knowing what I am doing, what would you recommend for the back? (Yes I get the no Ebay point lol) Ive read the FAQs and was hoping to get feedback on handling improvement from stock for users to base my decision on rather than just looking at numbers.

Cadillacin wrote:I'm assuming most people are lowering for racing or driving fast, and I want to start out be saying that is NOT what i'm intending on doing. (though added control never hurts lol)

Not really.. handling improvements and/or cosmetic reasons are usually the reasons anyone lowers any car.

Cadillacin wrote:I notice that a lot of the sunfires sit noticeably higher in the back than in the front when your standing back from them. idk if these are stock parts wearing out or stock replacements just on the backs(ive seen it an awful lot though and can't find info on how high the front vs the rear actually is.)

That is normal. That's so when you have a trunk full of groceries you still have suspension travel. Plus the engine is in the front.

Cadillacin wrote:ANYWAYS. What I want to do is level the car. Meaning just drop the rear so it is even with the front height. I know a cars stance (i think its called rake?) is built this way to some degree for aerodynamic reasons to generate desirable down force at highway+ speeds. But I'm thinking this would give me a little more control with the aftermarket suspension, as well as help fix some of the coefficient drag which is ridiculously high (ive seen it listed from .35-.38 and average in the late 90s in the industry was .32. Plus it looks like theres excessive clearance in the wheel well and it bugs me >.<

.. Its ok to admit you want to lower your car no need to justify it with drag coeff. numbers haha

Rake on a cav/sunfire is more for the grocery/passenger issue stated above, these cars were meant for 60 mph respectively.

Cadillacin wrote:SO knowing what I am doing, what would you recommend for the back? (Yes I get the no Ebay point lol) Ive read the FAQs and was hoping to get feedback on handling improvement from stock for users to base my decision on rather than just looking at numbers.

I would recommend a full set of properly matched struts and springs, or possibly coil overs (adjustable) front and back.

It is not generally recommended to mix stock and aftermarket suspension components front and rear.

Best I can say is look at other peoples cars and then check there profile and see what they are riding on.

I made the fast driving/race analogy because thats when I guessed most people would even notice the lack of control in the back caused by the mediocre stock J setup.

lol but i don't want to 'lower' my car. The splash guards(which I can take off) and the tip of the bumper cover(which im stuck with lol) already scrape on everything half the time because its all back roads and potholes and driveways back here.

I just want to lower the back to match the front(maybe an inch?), and to have less body bounce all around without lowering the front. I don't use the trunk nor do I use the back seat(which I was actually thinking of taking out).
I guess I should've been more specific with my question. ---> Is there a company that makes a stiffer suspension for the front without changing stock height, and on the back with a 1" drop. Like a whole kit to do all 4 corners? Or do I need to look for front and rear separately because of the height I want to achieve?
I get the don't mix stock/aftermarket point of view lol I didn't intend on leaving the GM/replacement ones on the front. That is kind of why I was asking.
I guess you can say I want to upgrade the front, then lower AND upgrade the back?.... :/ I really don't know, I'm new to suspension upgrades. Ive only dealt with stock replacement on things that Ive worked on.
All I know is I have a huge gap above my back wheel that looks like crap, and my ass end bounces like crazy(always has), the Monroe stock replacements on the one car, only has like 10-20k on it and its almost just as bad as the beat STOCK stock setup with like 90k I have on the other one lol. >.< There has to be a better way!

If you're looking to reduce your bounciness, just get a good set of aftermarket struts, like Tokico Blue. Or if you want rebound adjustment, the D-Specs. As for lowering the back to match the front, that's not an easy one. Any lowering spring will drop beyond level if you don't drop the front at all. The way to do this is something you MUST know what you're doing, so I will not even recommend it. Talk to a spring shop with your questions.

Depending on your budget, you could order coil overs with custom springs(order them with 1" longer springs for example so you can keep it at stock ride levels) I think most coil overs are 1-3" of drop or something, someone correct me if I am wrong. but I think there was a thread on here, a guy ordered ground controls with longer springs so he can raise his car back up for winter. Another thing is just trying aftermarket struts to make the bouncing go away. Another option is to look into OEM rear mounts, from what Ive heard, they lower the rear 1/2" I know its not the 1" you want but its halfway there.... You could also get custom springs made, just give them all your specs on the rear springs(sometimes rockauto has specs of springs listed on the website so you dont have to take the spring out and them tell the spring company what you want, it may not come out exactly how you want it but they should be able to get it close. Let us know what you do, I wouldnt mind leveling it out too( actually a small lowering kit would be nice) but I dont have room in my budget for it.


2000 Cavalier Z24 5spd - Intake, Dynomax muffler, Hawk Pads, Powerslot rotors, Sportlines/Koni reds, Neon Coil, MSD 8.5 Wires - **SOLD**
2014 Kia Forte Koup SX 6spd - 1.6L Turbo - My new car
2015 Kia Sorento EX V6 AWD - Wifes Car

You could check out Hypercoils. They make custom springs for pretty much any application. You're going to need what size, inner/outer diameter and spring rate.




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Still not low enough for a signature.

I'm going to reduce the weight before I dive into the suspension, because If I take weight out from the door back, it'll probably raise the rear up even more off the wheels, so any height measurements I take now will pretty much be useless when I actually do it.
As of RIGHT now, I need to delete 7/8 of an inch-1"(yea i know, not gonna happen without custom work lol)

I determined this this be putting a level (little ruler thing with the green liquid and bubble) on the front control arm facing front to back.
I then took a starting measurement wheel to wheel well, and added 20lb weights to the trunk until the bubble in the level fell between the 2 lines in the cylinder on the level at the front.
Then I measured again and 7/8" was the difference where the bubble is just barely fully in between the lines(just entering). At 1 3/8th" it touches the rear line on the level (exiting) so 1.5" would probably be where the rear starts becoming lower than the front. I didn't go any further because at that point measurement wise, i wouldve just been wasting my time.
.....like i said though,(and i didn't realize til after all this hassle) all of this is meaningless because im measuring it with a body weight higher than it will have in the rear when im doing the work.

I'm still researching, but I think what I may do is, depending on the final measurements, get the ST 1.2" or Eibach's 1.4"(I doubt it but maybe they'll just sell me the rear rather than the set of 4 as a custom order?) and install them on the back, then find a stronger stock replacement for the front, or even just new ones if the lb rating is going to be the same.
I think if I do this it'll be close to what i'm looking for(front control arm, parallel with the ground) without the rear being lower than the front. Then of course go for an aftermarket strut.

Several people have recommended the Tokico blues, and even though id be keeping stock springs in the front, I would upgrade them there too because im not trying to half ass this stuff.

Before I do anything, I have to measure between the wheel and body(wheel well) AFTER I take the weight out to see just how much I need to drop. For instance the back seat. Both pieces combined have to be at least the weight of a small adult. I think that will definitely have an effect on which spring drop I need to select to not screw this up. I'm just trying to gather the appropriate information for now. Now that I have the money, I have 2 cars that I need to do this summer, and i'm making lists of all the modifications I want to do so I can do things in a desirable order.

Why is this such a difficult question to answer?

Go with coilovers, BUT- ignore pretty much everything you have read on here about them, except for the basic parts breakdown. All you need are threaded sleeves, springs and perches. You can do whatever you want for all those pieces. There are literally thousands of different rate and length springs from all sorts of manufacturers you can use. 2.25" and 2.5" diameter springs are the most popular sizes. So, buy the sleeves and perches, then order some springs to match. Or buy them all as a package. I know Ground Control will set you up with pretty much anything you want for the normal package price. They are height adjustable, and they don't have to be slammed to the ground either. Start with the basic GC kit, tell them you want to match the stock ride height in front and lower the rear. They will recommend what they think will work, and go from there. None of this has to be "custom" or modified, or whatever. You can get all this stuff right off the shelf.
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You have all def gotten me pointed in the right direction to at least make an educated decision. I'm going to read more, and then read again. And when I get my white car gutted i'll be ready to address the suspension.

Thanks for all the help(and patience guys)