andy535xi

Lowering your car, does lower the center of gravity, and it (in theory) does create more downforce. Lowering a race car is more than just snapping on new set of springs ... shocks, suspension geometry, anti-roll bars wider tires etc ... all play a vital role. I'm not saying you're ignorant, its just some people think that by lowering the center of gravity, the car will automatically handle better. By installing lowering springs ONLY, you are compressing your factory shocks, and don't allow them to travel in their normal parameters ... rebound and compression setting are affect immediately. I think BMW has done a pretty good job with factory suspension (especially the M suspension components - part of our Canada package) and adjusting ride heigh/stiffness through springs alone will not yield a better handling car.

Another point is that if you lower your car, it will be stiffer and a pain in the ass (literally) when travelling over bumps and uneven roads. Given the firmness of factory settting, I'm pretty happy with the car as is, but to each his own. When we used to track civic (modified civic), many people would get a better (car) rotation through a corner by simply upgrading an anti-roll bar on an ITR, rather than dump the car with springs. S2000 owners also had a more predictable and easier to control car with factory setting + upgrade anti-roll bar.

Often, when properly upgrading the suspension (coilovers with tunable settings) the car would handle much better than stock, but all of this took time and trial an error practices. In return, that car was very unlivable on the street - some STi boys would forget to tune down their shocks, and they would knock out the headlight bulb fillaments (sp) on the way home from the track because the car was so stiff.

Personally I would not want to sacrifice the comfort and performance settings I got from the factory.