Perfect Stance? ...opinions

Been ridin on Koni shocks and H&R springs up front and wagon Swifts in the rear. Ive given it about a week to let everything settle and in that time ive almost clicked the buy button on some 1/4" spacers for the rear a few times but it's starting to look pretty good. Just want some opinions on whether or not I should bring the rear up just a bit. Im looking into some aggressive wheel fitment pretty soon too so take that into account, let me know what you think

At first glance it looks like it's sagging. But looking at it closer and your surroundings, thumbs up. My lowered Forester would play this game all the time. Sagging, fine, sagging, fine. I've only had coilovers on my Legacies to fix this. The longer body of the Legacy gives this impression.

Have you checked out front camber plates? I think RCE ones lower the front a little.

Thanks guys, I agree with it sometimes looking perfect and other times looking saggy. Rolled and possibly pulled fenders are in the plans for when I get a new set of wheels as well as whatever ill need for getting the right camber. I have future plans pretty well mapped out, its just when they get done some fine tuning is involved, like this ride height! Here are some close ups with the car in the same position and from these it looks like the back could go up a little but the rubber edge protector is still there too.

Front: wheel is not perfectly straight

Rear:

From the looks of these I think the back should go up 1/4"

The back from a distance is deceiving with the shadow of the wheel being further into the fender it makes it look like there is a larger gap than there is. Maybe ill reposition the car, remove the rubber protectors and check again. Am I being too anal?

The "perfect stance" is of course opinion, I hate these car where the tires bow out and the body of the car is just inches from the road. The stock stance is good for driving in an area where we get more than ten feet of snow a season but it doesn't look great.

I think the wagon the thread starter posted looks awesome, not to low and not too high. But on a road that has not been plowed? Not for me.

The "perfect stance" is of course opinion, I hate these car where the tires bow out and the body of the car is just inches from the road. The stock stance is good for driving in an area where we get more than ten feet of snow a season but it doesn't look great.

 

I think the wagon the thread starter posted looks awesome, not to low and not too high. But on a road that has not been plowed? Not for me.

Exactly as you say - it's all opinion. I'm lower than I originally planned now and I love it, and while the car turns into a snowplow in the winter it still gets around just fine with some good tires. I do, however, avoid driving into snow deeper than 7 or 8 inches unless it's really light.

Thanks guys, I agree with it sometimes looking perfect and other times looking saggy. Rolled and possibly pulled fenders are in the plans for when I get a new set of wheels as well as whatever ill need for getting the right camber. I have future plans pretty well mapped out, its just when they get done some fine tuning is involved, like this ride height! Here are some close ups with the car in the same position and from these it looks like the back could go up a little but the rubber edge protector is still there too.

 

Front: wheel is not perfectly straight

 

 

Rear:

 

 

From the looks of these I think the back should go up 1/4"

The back from a distance is deceiving with the shadow of the wheel being further into the fender it makes it look like there is a larger gap than there is. Maybe ill reposition the car, remove the rubber protectors and check again. Am I being too anal?

Park somewhere flat, and measure from the ground to the bottom of the body at the rear of the front fender and front of the rear. That'll tell you if you have even ride height.

I was really happy with my koni/epic setup with 18x8 +50 wheels. The ride height was still practical, and they didn't look too tucked with my moderate camber settings.

Now that I'm lower with more aggressive camber, when I run an 18x8.5 +45 wheel with 225/40R18 tires it looks sunken into the fenders. Search around the forums, decide what you like and go for it.

One thing that throws most people off is that the front fenderwell opening is always bigger to allow more space for the front wheels to turn. So,it gives the illusion of the stance being off because of the bigger gap in the front. Which means if your gaps are even front and back,your car is actually lower in the front.

Zack K.

Thanks guys, I agree with it sometimes looking perfect and other times looking saggy.

 

From the looks of these I think the back should go up 1/4"

The back from a distance is deceiving with the shadow of the wheel being further into the fender it makes it look like there is a larger gap than there is. Maybe ill reposition the car, remove the rubber protectors and check again. Am I being too anal?

It's YOUR car, you should be happy and confident with how it looks.

If you're constantly looking at your own car and saying "Shit is it sagging? Nah it's fine. Oh it's sagging again" then you're not comfortable with how it looks. Seems like in your post you're seriously debating going up 1/4" in the rear. It'll probably help, you're not being anal. It won't look bad with an additional 1/4". Not like the back will be jacked and the front is slammed. If that will make you more confident with the look of your own car then go for it, either way is not bad it's up to what you want.

Personally I am not a fan of slammed cars (I have lowered a few cars but never by more than 1-1.5" just for handling purposes never looks) nor do I like the body lines of wagons to begin with so I might be a bit biased, but IMO yeah it does look a little too low in the rear. I know there's the whole pressure from the lowered car culture to go as low as possible, but it shouldn't get in the way of you trying to make your car look reasonable.

Sure you could probably get away with going even lower in the rear but judging from your own posts it doesn't seem like you would be happy with that. I'm not saying it looks like it's scraping ass or anything but I think that if you don't like it and think you need to go up just a tad, then go up (you've mentioned 1/4" that's nothing to worry about). At the very least you won't be second guessing yourself every time you look at your car. And FWIW, IMO a car should never be lower in the rear than the front. Make it as slammed as you want, but if it's raked backwards it looks saggy. Being raked forward looks more aggressive than anything. Even if it's perfectly level now and you just have an optical illusion based on wheel well shape, at least going with a slight forward rake you're sure to never get that illusion and overall be more confident with your car's looks.

One thing that throws most people off is that the front fenderwell opening is always bigger to allow more space for the front wheels to turn. So,it gives the illusion of the stance being off because of the bigger gap in the front. Which means if your gaps are even front and back,your car is actually lower in the front.

Exactly what I was getting at in part of my post. Sure technically it's the same height, but if the different size of the wheel openings produces a look you do not like, then it doesn't matter what the physical height of the car is. If it looks off in your eyes, then it looks off, simple as that. You own the car, make it look how you want it to look. Unless you lowered this car was purely for physics then who cares what it looks like, function over form. But nine times out of ten it's a style thing, so if you want it to look good and you think it doesn't look good then do something about it. At stock height you might not notice the different wheel opening sizes, but now that it's lowered if you don't like the way it looks don't keep it that way! Make it look good to YOU since you're the one who has to look at it every day.

Wow, someone who likes to talk as much as me, nice. I appreciate your opinion man, this thread was started by me a while ago now so the car is a little different but a lot closer to where I want it. Here are some pictures of how it sits right now that I took literally 2 minutes ago outside of work. I like it but I also have a lot more plans for it. Its going to the body shop next week because someone dented the door so ill be holding off until then. I will eventually be making a thread dedicated to my wagon with pics from all different stages. 202,000 miles and going strong. A rare 5mt wagon with factory installed sti pedals and factory installed short throw shifter with momo knob so ill link my build thread here once I get that going. Thanks for all the opinions guys.