I drive my car all year and in all conditions.
This summer, I am considering lowering it by 1" or so and am wondering if going with a coilover would be better than doing a straight drop.
I want to be able to raise the car for winter.

has anyone on here run a coil-over system all seasons without having it seize up due to salt and corrosion?

 

I'd like to know this too.

 

i have had coil overs in my other two other cars... and they work fine!!!! just got to spray the dirt off before lowering it or raising it

 

I've got the KW Variant 3 coilovers that GoFast sell on the site. Although I don't drive the car in winter, this is the first time I've seen one of selling points was the "salt spray test". The coilovers are stainless steel so at least this brand would be OK. Here's the ad.

http://www.kw-suspension.com/en/20_Technol..._Test/index.php

Oh yeah they are a pretty good street/track coilover too.

 

Would you need an alignment every time you raise or lower the car?

 

Technically yes, but in theory all you should throw out is the camber... and a little extra negative camber when its a bit lower is probably not a huge deal unless you're concerned about excessive tire wear.

 

I don't know about you, but it bugs me when the alignment is slightly off. The height change also changes the toe. The rear toe actually changes quite a bit for older stock suspensions.

 

Ah, good point.

 

I don't mind getting an alignment every spring and fall as long as this does not wear anything out.

 

There was a discussion about this on a local Winnipeg board, but I can't find it. From what I remember, you just have to be religious about spraying inside your wheel wells regularly in the winter. The cleaner you keep them, the easier they will be to adjust in the spring.