I'm thinking about lowering my car 1" mainly to eliminate the gap between the fenders and tires. I'm running Axis 18x9.5 rear / 18x8.5 front, with 225/40's and 255/35's (F/R). If I install a set of Eibach springs to lower it, will I need to modify anything else to keep from rubbing?

And are the pro kit springs a good choice for this car?

 

Eibach is good quality, probably the best choice for a spring with a subtle 1" drop. It's hard to say for certain without the wheel offsets, but I can almost guarantee you will need a fender roll.

 

Not sure if I trust myself or anyone I know at the shop to touch my fenders, a fight may ensue if it turns out bad lol

What would be a good place near VA to have fenders rolled? I may discard the idea entirely unless I can find someone who for sure has done this without error.

And I think the offsets are 45 front, 50 rear, but I could be wrong. Axis Halo, going by what the site says.

 

Post in your local subforum for where to get them rolled. What offset are the wheels? I feel like you need to roll them with those widths but it all depends on offset. If anything I'd say roll the fronts.

 

Rear bumper tab may need to be moved back. Mine did when I had 255/40/17 in the rear on an Eibach pro kit.

 

My fronts rubbed when I had Eibachs and 18" BBS RGR wheels. From a performance standpoint the entire combination sucked. Went back to 17" and coilovers, much better.

 

Not what I was hoping to hear... If the geometry change affects this car negatively that bad I'm not gonna do it period. I don't want any compromise in handling. And I don't want coilovers. So I guess I'm stuck stock

^ Car looks nice btw.

 

I'd be willing to bet your wheels are significantly heavier than stock... that might affect performance a bit as well. Wider, quality tires obviously means more grip, but heavy wheels might make the car feel a bit sluggish.

I have 17x9 +65 (255 tires) in rear and 17x7.5 +48 (225 tires) up front, lowered an inch (Swift Sport Machs, now Tein S Techs on stock shocks), and have never rubbed. They're lightweight Volks too, so that helps.

I think the potential issue with your setup is more wheel size related than it is lowering an inch.

 

My BBS RGR wheels were 18x7.5 +50 front and 18x8.5 +53 rear.

You Axis wheels are wider and have less offset so you'll probably rub. And they're a lot heavier than forged BBS and Volks.