Wheels came in today, springs come tomorrow.

[ThePumpkin]

The 315 tires and rims just came in today.
I knew they would be big, but HOLY **** these things are HUGE!
There goes all those traction problems I've been having.
Sheesh.

I also ordered 2" lowering springs last week, which are due to come in tomorrow... or later today to be technical.

I am doing the spring swap myself.
I already have the spring compressor.
other than that, any suggestions/tips?

Here are some pictures of the wheels.

My old rear tire next to the new ones.
My old ones were 235/45-17
New- 315/35-17

 

[ThePumpkin]

I guess this should be in 94-95 talk..
Oh well... move it if you want.

 

[inphiniti]

looks like you needed some tires bad huh? they look awesome man... get pics of them on the car..

ive never lowered the rear of my car because at the time i was too lazy to do so lol... but 315s will prob rub, so you might have to beat in the inner fender, and roll the fenders and u might have to take the quad shocks out

 

[BlackVert]

There goes all those traction problems I've been having.

lol ... unless you drive when it is cold out. when it gets cold, tires like that have terrible traction. i know because i just had to replace my wheels and tires after my son lost traction in my car and went over a curb. it was 25 degrees out. it also bent my k-member and it is in the shop right now to see if they can straighten it with a frame machine.

i had fr500s 18x9 with toyo r-888 summer tires. great traction when it is warm, terrible when it is cold. now i have hot wheels 17x9 with falken 452 all season tires

looks great though and i hope you love them

I also ordered 2" lowering springs last week, which are due to come in tomorrow... or later today to be technical.

heh ... i used to have 2" lowering springs. with them, the car scraped on every speed bump and bottomed out way too often. that caused my struts to fail. they also made it impossible to align the car with stock plates so i got some used caster/camber plates from a fellow stangnetter. they made the front end rattle like a mofo. i am now back to stock springs and stock CC plates. if i were going to lower it again, i would go 1" max.

the car looked awesome though sitting in a parking lot

sorry to be pointing pitfalls, but i have been there and have learned that it is not for me

 

[BlackVert]

looks like you needed some tires bad huh? they look awesome man... get pics of them on the car..

ive never lowered the rear of my car because at the time i was too lazy to do so lol... but 315s will prob rub, so you might have to beat in the inner fender, and roll the fenders and u might have to take the quad shocks out

i have read and heard that taking the quad shocks out causes the car to be much more susceptible to wheel hop

 

[KamiKaziDK]

It can....but generally buying some aftermarket control arms will fix that

 

[94-302-vert]

You will still have traction problems... I have those tires in a 315 and they are OK... even OK in the winter but defnitley not what is going back on the rims once i wear these out.... trying to do that 2 gears at a time...

 

[inphiniti]

It can....but generally buying some aftermarket control arms will fix that

exactly... i forgot to add that...

 

[Adam95GT]

You shouldnt need a spring compressor... i just had someone push down on the a-arm with their foot... and i popped the spring in place... its way easy... i also pulled out the old ones by tieing them to a rope and running away from the car...

 

[XxFaceYourFear]

i also pulled out the old ones by tieing them to a rope and running away from the car...

That paints a funny picture in my mind. I used a long crow bar to pry it out slowly so that it wouldn't shoot out and hit me or the car.

 

[BlackVert]

That paints a funny picture in my mind. I used a long crow bar to pry it out slowly so that it wouldn't shoot out and hit me or the car.

I'd be extremely nervous doing it that way. Seems to me spring compressors are a good thing to use for this project.

 

[1987Rock]

I just sold my old 2" drop springs. You definitely wanna look into getting some Fox struts and shocks because they're about 1" shorter than the ones for our cars. Loved the way the car looked and it handled great on a SMOOTH track, but on any kinda public road, it was like a buck board.

Definitely not good for dates either

I've got 1.5" drop springs now with Fox struts and shocks and it's an awesome setup. Looks great with aftermarket wheels, just low enough, but still clears speedbumps.

Hopefully the roads around you are alot smoother...enjoy!

Seeing those makes me wish I'd gone 17s w/315 instead of 18s w/275...oh well

Post up some pics when you get em installed!!:SNSign:

 

[95BlueStallion]

I have the same size wheels and tires sitting in my spare bedroom waiting for winter to come to an end. They are huge, and Im kinda glad I didnt stick with 275's! Should look awesome!

 

[99FiveOh]

When you let the A arm all the way down, the spring will have little to no load left on it, so prying it out with something is not dangerous whatsoever! Now, don't try to pry it out of there until the A arm is ALL THE WAY DOWN!!! Meaning, when you can remove the floor jack from under it with ease.

The rear can be kinda tricky, but a come along can really simplify the process of reinstalling the lower control arm after you swap the new spring on. Good luck!

 

[ThePumpkin]

I just sold my old 2" drop springs. You definitely wanna look into getting some Fox struts and shocks because they're about 1" shorter than the ones for our cars. Loved the way the car looked and it handled great on a SMOOTH track, but on any kinda public road, it was like a buck board.

Definitely not good for dates either

I've got 1.5" drop springs now with Fox struts and shocks and it's an awesome setup. :

They're actually good for 1.5"-2" drop... so we'll say 1.75" to be fair.
it said 2" but when I read the reviews it said that some poeple had 1.5 inch drop... Could that be because of engine size?
The springs are for a large number of year Mustangs including ALL engine types.
LoTech (spelling?) is the brand.
I know they're not the best brand, but Im trying to get my tax refund to stretch as far as i can... Plus they come with a lifetime warranty.
So if I dont like them, they're going back


As for the spring compressor, Im gonna go ahead and use it anyway. hell, its free... so why not be safe?

The weather in Missouri is looking like snow for today.. which is the day I picked to put on the springs and tires. But if its going to snow, Im just going to leave the stock rims on for now. I guess its going to have to wait a week
and i'll definitely have pictures up
Hopefully the tires wont rub, rolling the wheel-well doesn't sound like fun.
Thanks for the input.
And more would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ThePumpkin]

... i also pulled out the old ones by tieing them to a rope and running away from the car...

HAHA!
I'll pass.
That sounds like some fun though
Back in my shop class in High school, there was a kid who completely forgot about the compressor (we were required to use one)... and when he undid the center bolt on the strut, the spring went clear up to the roof, and made a good sized dent.
After seeing that, Im too hesitant to be that cavalier.

Maybe after I toss down a few.... I mean hell, thats what the whole college experience is all about
doing the dumbest **** one can think of while trashed.
HA!
I love my car too much for that

 

[ThePumpkin]

sorry to be pointing pitfalls, but i have been there and have learned that it is not for me

Thats the exact advice Im looking for.
Thanks!

We'll see how the springs go

 

[deftsound]

haha, you'll still have traction problems if you are making any kind of decent power. Even with my 315 BF dr's i still spin in my 99, of course its s/c....

I have 315's on my 94 and they don't seem to rub at all....

 

[99FiveOh]

I'm telling you from experience, the spring compressors are a waste of time. They're very cumbersome devices and you'll be there all day trying to get them to fit in there good and it's just a big PITA. I rented a compressor from Autozone and was out there for 30 minutes fiddling with it and my friend came out and had the spring out and on the ground in 2 minutes. It didnt' come flying out or anything like that. Once the spring is decompressed, all the stored energy is released, so there's nothing to make it fly out at you.

If you afraid of it flying out, tie a rope or wrap a chain around it while working with it. That's alot quicker than messing with the spring compressor.

Just my .02

 

[ThePumpkin]

I'm telling you from experience, the spring compressors are a waste of time. They're very cumbersome devices and you'll be there all day trying to get them to fit in there good and it's just a big PITA. I rented a compressor from Autozone and was out there for 30 minutes fiddling with it and my friend came out and had the spring out and on the ground in 2 minutes. It didnt' come flying out or anything like that. Once the spring is decompressed, all the stored energy is released, so there's nothing to make it fly out at you.

If you afraid of it flying out, tie a rope or wrap a chain around it while working with it. That's alot quicker than messing with the spring compressor.

Just my .02

The last time I did anything with springs was about 2 years ago in shop class back in highschool.
I know I know Im young, but I have done it multiple times before.
The spring compressor just seems like a matter of opinion.
Im sure I could do just fine without it.
And I will try to, but if I need it, its going to be right next to me the whole time.


Myabe i can get my car buddies together, toss back a few , tie a rope to the spring, and run like hell, see what heppens.

Honestly i dont see how you can do it without the compressor. How am I supposed to take it off the strut without it flying off?
I thought the front was coil on strut... or mcPhrearson (spelling?)
and I thought that needed a spring compressor.
Even if Im wrong, Im not worried about it. I've done work with all types of suspension without any problems thus far, but I've always used the compressor.
Getting it done is not what im worried about... just after, like the wheel rubbing. Which apparently has a great chance of happening.
If you can provide pictures or a play-by-play of how to get it done without the compressor, that would be nice.

And just in case anyone was wondering, I am a College at the moment.
My major is Areospace engineering At Mizzou
I've only had the car since the beginning of November so I still have a lot to learn about it.
Although i have done a good amount of engine work in my time, so dont think too down of me. im just not that familiar with my car yet