How would someone go about lowering a Geo Metro?
 

I'm seriously considering to lower my Geo. My old Fiero had a ground clearance of around 4.5 inches (with the tiny P185 70 R13 tires) and wouldn't mind if the Geo was the same.

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What is the least expensive method of doing so (without throwing out alignment to the tires)?

You'll throw out the alignment a bit no matter what...I wouldn't cut your springs, because it will affect the spring rate...you can always buy lowering springs, the GT version might be lower?

You could also try to find other cars with same radius springs and try to find some lower...?

The GT version does appear to be lower, but finding GT springs at a decent price will be difficult.

Waterboy lowered their metro by 2":
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I'd give them an E-mail of how she/he did it, but this member hasn't been online since December 2006. The front wheels seem to be aligned ok, but the rear ones look a bit wonky.

Maybe I should just stop the next lowered vehicle I see on the street and ask them how they did it.

I cut the springs on my car and have it sitting within 1/2 inch of the bump stops. I am not sure how much it is lowered from factory but probably at least 2 inches or so. It rides much better, the factory springs are way to soft and could use a bit of stiffening.

I guess I could always try finding springs from another Metro, cut them, and try them out. That way if there is a big tire-wear issue, I can always put the originals back on.

If and when I do lower the car, it's going to be a considerable drop (just measured the ride height and it's 9 inches! :eek:). 1/2 inch from bump stops might be in order.

Yeah our gen 4&5 cars are odd in how much ground clearance they have.

Also, the later cars had stiffer springs. I talked to Waterboy (it might have been someone else with a chopped spring mk5) and he said his car is pretty harsh after the chop. If he could undo it, he would have cut less.

It has been said at teamswift that the mk3 cars had softer springs, so you might want to see if you can get a set of those to cut. The ride won't be so brutal afterwards.

Thank you for the advice MetroMPG!

Sure thing. Might want to verify the spring rate & intergenerational swappability though. Don't believe everything you read ;)

theclencher -

Here's one :

Best way to do a lowering experiment?
https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=1776

CarloSW2