I would like to lower the overall height of my 2003 Honda Element to something similar to that of a regular sedan. I am not looking to turn it into any sort of “low-rider”. I simply would like for it to be several inches lower to ground and thereby easier to get into.
Any suggestions?
If you just want a lower car, you should sell the Element and get something else. Properly lowering a vehicle is quite involved. Basic lowering can be achieved by switching out the springs with lowering (shorter) springs. Again, lowering is involved, and can lead to all sorts of un-thought of issues with alignment, wheel/tire combinations, rubbing the ground entering and exiting parking lots, noises and shortened tire life.
Several inches lower ???
If you drop an Element 7" you will be ON THE GROUND, thereby immediately qualifying for low rider status ~ which you are trying to avoid I believe.
1", maybe 2" might be possible, no more. Better to sell and buy something more to your liking. I just looked at tirerack.com, you can get springs that’ll lower it 1.4-1.7", that’s all. If you need shocks/struts anyway, it might not be a bad thing to try. Is yours 2wd or awd?
I have to ask - why? Do you want it to be a 2-door Scion XB?
Smaller diameter wheels, and low profile tires would be good for two or three inches lower.
Could you install a pair of side steps instead?
As a general rule, this also lowers the load carrying capacity of the tires. Folks who have done this report greater tire failure rate.
Not a good idea!
Several inches?
Options:
Chop the top
Section the body
cut a few coils from the springs.
The first two are for the very highly advanced custom body shop people with big bank accounts. The third option is only for the experienced and knowledgable that are also willing to spend a few bucks with other suspension work. Done improperly it can be very dangerous.
There are no easy, cheap, safe ways to lower the Element several inches.
I saw an Element drive by with side steps today. The side steps are a Honda Accessory. The steps are not cheap, but more feasible than lowering.
http://automobiles.honda.com/element/accessory-detail.aspx?Accessory=ELEME10052
Ed B.
[b]"Several inches lower ???
If you drop an Element 7" you will be ON THE GROUND, thereby immediately qualifying for low rider status ~ which you are trying to avoid I believe."[/b]
Ummm…Scudder…You do know that “several” and “seven” are not synonymous, don’t you?
“Several” means a small number of things–in this case, a small number of inches.
That is a far cry from seven.
I think that the OP most likely wants to lower his Element by 2 or 3 inches, perhaps 4 inches, as that would conform to the usual definition of the word “several”.
That being said, the OP should really just buy a vehicle that meets his/her needs, rather than spending this much money on a vehicle that is at least 6 years old.
What he/she wants to do will actually lower the vehicle’s resale value more than its height.