GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hi! I just wanted to ask if lowering my vibe will affect my speedometer, braking, or anything else?Thanks.Ryan

Lowering your Vibe will not effect the speedometer unless you install different sized wheels/tires. Lowering could effect braking but probably in a good way with a lower center of gravity. The only real concerns when lowering a car are ground clearance, suspension travel and alignment. Whatever you do, get it re-aligned after you lower it.

I haven't lowered my Vibe yet, but I did drop my Sunfire with Eibach springs when I owned it. Lowering with springs or coilovers won't affect your speedometer since it doesn't change the overall diameter of your tires. Braking distance won't change but your car will stay more level during stopping. Aftermarket springs are usually stiffer then stock and won't let the car "nosedive" so much when braking. Take-off squat (when the car leans backward under acceleration) is also controlled, so the weight stays over the front wheels, increasing traction.The only thing that is really affected is your ride quality. People on GenVibe have said their cars handle and feel much better after lowering. Lowering can be detrimental to shock/strut life as the shorter spring keeps the shocks/struts slightly compressed all the time and can lead to earlier then normal failure. It's not as bad as it sounds, I had my stock struts on my Sunfire for about 35,000 miles after lowering before they were blown.Hope this helped.

Any idea if anyone is making aftermarket shocks for our Vibes? I was always "taught" in a sense, that when you replace springs, replace the shocks at the same time - the ride will be MUCH better, and it's just better to match springs/shocks. It makes sense to me, driving around with compressed shocks all the time can't be that good for the ride of the car. Just throwing that out there...

thanks alot guys! I think I would go with the eibach cause i've heard good things about them in some forums on here, and a friend of mine lowered his z28 with and he was very happy with them. I'm not sure what height I should go down? 1.5-2.0"? I dont want to slam it cause it wouldn't be practical for my needs, I want it to look close to stock if someone didn't know the car. Any input on what height i should do?ryan

You need the Eibach Pro-Kit not the Sportline

any of you guys know if they're are any aftermarket dual or single spoiler's for the vibe? I know you can get them from GM but i was wondering if there was a company that sold the same style. Might be cheaper!?!?Thanks

quote:Any idea if anyone is making aftermarket shocks for our Vibes? I was always "taught" in a sense, that when you replace springs, replace the shocks at the same time - As far as I know, there aren't any aftermarket manufacturers making struts for the Vibe/Matrix yet. I'd also like to put some springs on mine, but I'm going to wait till KYB or someone comes out with some decent struts so I can do them both at the same time.

I think tein and tanabee have true coil over systems available, and TRD has a simialr system.