Regal GS Lowered on Eibach Pro Kit Springs - Review & Pics

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Handy_Andy

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I thought I would post up some pictures of my '12 GS with the Eibach Pro Kit springs installed. I've gotten a few questions on them recently, and I know there aren't many pictures of them online (the H&R's seem much more popular). Just to give some background, these are of course "designed" for the Opel Insignia 2.0T, which as we know is the "same" car. The specs on them were:

Eibach PN: E10-65-019-15-22
Drop F/R: 30mm / 30mm

I purchased them online from Tunershop.com, who seemed to have the best prices and shipping rates. Overall I got the set shipped to Canada for about $250 USD.

I went with the Eibach's because I wasn't liking the "reverse rake" that a lot of people had been getting with the H&R set, and I was hoping these would be better. You can be the judge for yourself, but I definitely think the Eibach Pro Kit delivered a more even drop. I think due to the quarter panel / fender / wheel arch design of the car you're going to have the "illusion" that the rear is lower than the front to some degree no matter what you do, but these springs do help mask that.

I've had them installed for a few months now, so these pictures are fully settled in. I noticed very little difference in ride quality / stiffness in "normal" mode, but in GS mode the car rides very nice and stiff - obviously uncomfortably so on bumpy roads, but it handles like it's on rails. Very similar stiffness and cornering ability to my previous car, a Honda Civic lowered on coilovers, which was a much lighter car.

I also have Eibach Pro Kit 20mm wheel spacers installed on all four corners, which has brought the wheels out flush with the arches. I personally like the look, but 20mm is definitely the most I would - the fronts are almost poking out a little. Those who want a slightly less aggressive look could likely go with a 10mm or 15mm spacer.

The pics (sorry for the cell phone quality / poor lighting):

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Re: Regal GS Lowered on Eibach Pro Kit Springs - Review & Pics

Awesome. Thank you for the pics. Car looks real good. I just bought some spacers to see which length is go with. Front would be 5mm and back is 10mm... but yours looks real aggressive with the 20mm. Thank you sir. I've made up my mind

- - - Updated - - -

No rear camber correction correct? .. say that 10 times fast
 
Thanks! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

I did get an alignment done a week or so after I lowered it; I don't think they had to make any major adjustments, but I was mostly worried about toe being out and wearing out my tires.
 
Lookin good brother!!!! Did you have to cut the factory studs for those spacers? I have the H&R spacers at home and didn't end up putting them on because I didn't want to do that to the studs, just asking maybe they changed the wheel design on the '14 + but I doubt it
 
I did have to cut the unthreaded "nipples" off the ends of the studs to make the spacers work, yes. With the 20mm spacers just cutting them back to where the threads start gives enough clearance for the wheels, but I would assume you'd have to cut more off with narrower spacers.

I was a bit worried doing it, but it was a piece of cake with an angle grinder with a cut off wheel on it. I had no issues with burrs or damaging the threads, but if you were really worried you could buy an open ended nut, thread it on before you cut each stud, and then when you remove the nut it will chase the thread.
 
wow. Eibach knocks it out of the park again. I had their prokit on my legacy and I loved the drop. Subtle but not enough to get in trouble around town. I've avoided them on the buick because I like the ride. I know eibach's are a good choice because they use progressive spring rates, but thought they'd be too stiff. I may have to think about this.

Did you install them? Any difficulties or surprises?
 
Yes, I did the install myself, and it wasn't too difficult. I more or less followed the method another member, GTXgp, outlined in his thread:

http://buickforums.com/forums/threads/28309-Lowered-GS-finally!

The only additional feedback I'd give is that I had some difficulties getting the LCA to line up with the knuckle when reinstalling the front strut/knuckle/hub assembly. I think this is because the LCA was bolted to the car at a position where the bushings wouldn't be stressed at rest/ride height, so you either need to push the LCA down to line up the bolt holes, or you need to compress the spring a little and lift up the strut/knuckle assembly.

The first side I had a buddy around who was able to push down on the LCA while I lined things up, but he had to leave after that so I was on my own for the other side. I didn't have a spring compressor, so I ended up using a 24" clamp/spreader to hold the LCA down. It's not super clear but here's a couple pics below. I put one side on the LCA and jammed the other end into the top of the wheel well/fender rail, and then just pumped it down slowly until the holes lined up.

Screenshot_2016-11-10-20-58-32.png

Screenshot_2016-11-10-20-58-38.png


The only other small annoyance was the electrical connector for the wheel speed / ABS sensors. I can't remember the exact details right now, so this won't be too helpful, but there's basically a grey collar that locks 3 plugs together, and it doesn't have what I'd call standard clips. Once you get the collar off the plugs just pull out, but I managed to break the collar on one side before I got the hang of it.
 
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Also here's a quick article that Tire Rack did comparing the Eibach's and H&R's on a BMW. Obviously not our cars, but still somewhat useful in comparing the two springs back to back. Their test also found the H&R's had a bit more "reverse rake" than the Eibach's, which backs up what a lot of people have been seeing.

The testers seem to think there is only a minimal compromise in comfort, which I can agree with. However coming from a car that was lower and stiffer, I may not be the best judge of comfort.

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/tests/eibach_hr_rd.jsp
 
Yes, the hi-per / Stabilitrak struts, and yes FWD. I haven't looked at an AWD rear suspension too closely, but I believe the general control arm geometry is shared, so the process should be very similar.

The Insignia came in all the same variants (and more) that NA got, so Eibach should have a spring that will work for any model.
 
Anyone have the stock rear springs laying around?

Looking for a rough diameter measurement of the inner/outer-top/bottom.... Tape measure will do, micrometer would be better.

Thanks Fam.
 
nizerims said:
Anyone have the stock rear springs laying around?

Looking for a rough diameter measurement of the inner/outer-top/bottom.... Tape measure will do, micrometer would be better.

Thanks Fam.
Click to expand...

Top and bottom of the spring are the same measurements. The coil spring itself is 48mm nominal ID (with a min of 46mm), and the perches the spring sits in are 45.8mm nominal OD (45.3mm min). The coil is 10mm in diameter, so your spring OD would be 68mm nominal. These are all straight from CAD so these are the exact design dimensions.
 
Thank you very much.
 
IMG_1147.webp
I pulled the gun and got the Eibachs has well.. I did 15mm spacers in front.. 5 in front. Still debating to go 10mm front.. I love it!
 
dmr02 said:
Lookin good brother!!!! Did you have to cut the factory studs for those spacers? I have the H&R spacers at home and didn't end up putting them on because I didn't want to do that to the studs, just asking maybe they changed the wheel design on the '14 + but I doubt it
Click to expand...

Hey! I have a 16 Regal GS and I was wondering which intake you have? I think the 2014+ engine compartment is the same. Can you please share the brand and where you buy it? Thanks!
 
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