[CL9] Installing lowering springs on stock struts? What has your EXPERIENCE been?

I know there are plenty of existing threads that talk about suspension and lowering etc. But after spending about a couple of weeks searching through them and reading most of the comments, I can say that there is no consensus on whether installing lowering springs onto stock CL9 struts will work out OK or not. Of course I understand that the general rule of thumb is that it will shorten the life of the struts which is why a lot of people choose to buy new struts (Koni seem very popular) or coilovers and have the lowering done once and done "properly" etc etc.

But there have been many who say that if you only lower your car by about 1 inch (which is what I'm looking for) and you only use the car for normal day to day driving on reasonable roads and your struts are in good condition etc etc then it should be fine for quite a while. Furthermore, with just a 1 inch drop there will be minimal camber issues that affect tyre wear and minimal impact on ride comfort etc etc.

I'm hoping that this is correct because that would mean I wouldn't have to spend upwards of 1500 dollars to buy and have installed new struts + springs or coilovers.

Yes I know there will be those who suggest that I should just go the full hog and get new springs/struts or coilovers and not have to worry about premature failure of stock struts, but rather than hearing these assumptions again (no matter how sound they are), I want to hear from those who have installed springs (such as Tein H-tech or S-techs, Eibach Pro Kit or Sportline, King Springs, Lovells, whatever) onto stock struts or at least those who personally know someone who has done this... what has been your experience?

Cheers!

If you're short on cash. Go springs now, and struts when they fail (usually 20-30k km down the track, depending how how many miles they've already done and how low you want to go etc). Then you'll have time to save up for some that have been designed for the lowered height, e.g. Koni Yellow.

I did have lowered Eibach Pro Kit springs on stock shocks. I drove like this for about 30,000kms with no problems with failing stock shocks. The main concern was that the stock shocks did not perform well with lowered springs and gave quite a rough ride. Just installed Bilstein shocks to match the Eibach springs and wow what a difference in ride smoothness and handling. If you want a better handling and more comfortable setup go for a well regarded spring/shock combination such as Eibach and Bilstein, you will be happy in the long run.