Looking For Opinions

[Gunny87]

Back in November I picked up an 87 GT AOD and have been really enjoying it.
So far I've spent more money on replacing broken, ugly, and warn out parts than I originally paid for the car but its been fun.
Car is completely stock in fact the only aftermarket part I've found is an "Autozone" replacement fuel pump everything else still says Motorcraft on it.
Well so far I've fixed the brakes, AC, 130 amp alternator, replaced as many lights with LEDs as possible, new fog lights (were missing) new seat belts, MM sub frame connecters, all new weather stripping, outside door handles, door lock actuators, (still don't work bad switches and nobody sells switches for none power window cars) bought everything except the computer to do a MAF swap, and replaced a myriad of interior trim pieces.
My next area I want to focus on is the suspension which is what leads me to my question
There's a lot of choices and what I'm looking for is a lower stance but I don't want it to ride any worse than it does now (stock) and with prices varying from under $200 for springs to $2600 for coilover systems I'd really like to hear your opinions of what works and what doesn't including struts, springs and control arms.
I would like to keep it under a $1K if possible and end up with a nice riding, great handling long lasting suspension so I would highly value your opinions
BTW the car is mostly used for DD and weekend road trips and the older I get the more I value comfort, not building a drag car or autocross car just a fun street car.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Are you talking about 1k for both front and rear?

There are gobs of control arms to pick for the rear end, adjustable ca's are nice to have depending on how much you intend to lower the car. That will at least keep your pinion angle lined up.

You can really go fairly cheap since you say you aren't intending to go hard toward either spectrum (road racing or drag).

You will notice an immediate improvement just from getting rid of your old bushings.

A coilover kit for the front doesn't cost that much, the rears will run about $600 though if you want to go that route. I guess, thinking about it, the fronts will be about the same.

I don't know if I would go as cheap as a set of SVE control arms on the rear, but, even then, it's a great improvement over stock.

Just snoop around, new springs and shocks won't bleed your bank account very much.

$1k won't really cover the front and rear for everything you'll need IMO. Get some new shocks and replace the bushings first for an immediate improvement.

Go to LMR and look at what they have to sell.

it's tough to give you more specific recommendations simply because there is so much stuff out there that would suit what you are saying you want.

I like bilstein shocks, though I have strange coilovers in the front and QA1's in the rear. Strange 10way adjustable shocks for the rear are really good as well, and very reasonable in price.......Like I said, you have lots of choices with your stated desires.

 

[stpete]

I wanted similar out of my suspension. The most popular recommendation was to use Eibach Pro-Kit springs and the inexpensive KYB shocks. So far I've found them to be good riding. I have some SVE rear control arms, but not installed yet. I suggest MM caster/camber plates also. Shop around and it'll easily be under $1K.
The other thing you want to look at is the rag joint in the steering. Mine looks good, but doesn't feel good. I am going to replace it with a MM steering shaft. But, that's only because I have loftier goals in the future. Otherwise just replace the $10 rag joint as part of the front suspension upgrade. Front springs are bastards. Get the MM spring tool. Oh, and don't forget spring isolators.

 

[Gunny87]

So what I'm thinking is this for shocks & struts
https://lmr.com/item/EIB-35148/79-04-Mustang-Eibach-Pro-Damper-Shock-And-Strut-Kit
and for springs either this
https://lmr.com/item/HR-51650/H-R-Mustang-Sport-Springs-79-93-51650
or this
https://lmr.com/item/HR-5165077/H-R-Mustang-Super-Sport-Springs-79-93-5165077
but for caster camber plates will the SVE work fine or should I pop for the MM's or BBK's?
I really like the look of the BBK's but they are the priciest
then in the rear are adjustable upper control arms a must? or for what I'm looking for will any set of the name brand tubular arms work
To me both form and function are important I want the car to not just look good but ride & handle nice for years to come

 

[Davedacarpainter]

The eibach shocks sound pretty sweet. Look at bilstein and strange as well, koni are nice too.

The two sets of springs sound pretty close performance wise, I would go with the second set simply because it drops the car a small amount more. Steeda makes some nice springs as well.

I have MM cc plates. I understand BBK's are nice as well. Again with steeda, they have a nice set. It is better to spend a little extra here.

Adjustable uca's aren't really that important for the kind of drop you're talking about. You'll be fine with a stock length control arm. Unless of course you intend to do more later, then the extra money now will save you later. There is a little binding issue that you could have with the uppers if you have eurethane bushings, especially on the chassis side. A hiem joint on that side is a good thing, due to it's flexibility, it basically removes the binding issue.
Your pinion angle will change with the drop from the springs, but will be negligible with just an inch like the springs you mentioned, so the adjustability will be really unimportant. BUT, they'll look nice, and be there for later modifications.

Look into getting bushings for the front control arms.

New bushings for the steering rack are beneficial as well.

At least replace the rag joint on the steering shaft (It's the rubber wafer that is at the joint where the steering shaft attaches to the rack). If you want to spend the extra $240, a new steering shaft is beneficial in all sorts of way, and eliminates the rag joint completely.

 

[stpete]

I'm going to generalize here a little. On other car platforms, the Eibach shocks tend to be mediocre. They work OK, but don't have the longevity. They also tend to work best with stock spring rates. I don't know for sure on the Mustang version. Bilsteins tend to work well with a variety of spring rates, last a long time but be on the stiff side. On some cars H&R springs are one of the best, on others they aren't well liked. Not sure for Mustang.
When I asked the question, the Eibach springs were recommended highly. They can be had pretty cheap, I think I got them off e-bay for $190 or so. If I didn't hope to do an IRS/coilover upgrade someday, I would've gone Bilstein. I have them on most of my other vehicles and they do last a long time.

I got some generic caster/camber plates and wasn't impressed. Returned them and sprung for the MM, they are nice.

I did zero research on control arms. When I looked at the back, my car clearly needs bushings. It was not much more to buy the SVE control arms on sale. I'm hoping they are good enough to allow me to lose the quad-shock so I can put some bigger wheels on the back. They were on sale for $99 last I looked.

 

[A5literMan]

I've ran the eibach springs with stock struts,KYB,eibach,and strange adjustables. The strange adj were by far the best IMO. The best setup I've had is the present parts. This consists of MM coilovers,cc plates,strange adj struts,and a UPR bumpsteer kit(you're probably going to need one also). By far the softest riding. My spring rate is to soft for any corner carving but for everyday use its fine(I'm running more of a drag rate-150#). I would recommend a 175-200# rate for the coilovers for your intended use.

The H&R springs you linked to are a good choice. Lots of former/current members have recommended those in the past. I've never used them so have no personal opinion. As far as rear suspension goes-you don't need an upper control arm "improvement". Just throw some new bushings in. Buy a good lower controll arm. I like the MM units the best but some of the cheaper options are ok(better than stock at least lol).

 

[Black1987]

Give Maximum Motorsports a call and they can talk you through springs rates and different options for ride quality. Go into the conversation for information and not to buy. Be warned you may end up breaking the budget because you realize good quality comes at price.
.

Strange and Bilstein are great choices. I have the Strange 10 ways all the way around my car and love the adjustability.

Not saying not to go cheap because a driver is better than not. I actually have the SVE controls on my coupe but prefer the MM weight jackers I have on my old hatch but $$$.

Raceland coilovers may fit your bill also.

 

[wells1989]

Ok i can not stress this enough. Contact maximum motorsport. I started emailing jack H. Over there about a year ago. I described to him what i wanted and he gave me a parts list. I am slowly working my way through it. So far i have bought about a 1/4 of the parts and everything has been a huge improvement. He even called me one night just to get a better feel of what i was wanting to achieve. My main concern was ride quality as well.

A5literman is the one who told me to check out maximum motorsports and i thank him for that my car is now headed in the correct direction. Remember with suspension you cant have everything so you have to decide what is important and come up with a good compromise. Also people have a lot of opinions and most parts for our cars are geared toward cost and performance. For a good street car you dont always want the most high performance parts because they might be to extreme and for track purpose only. You can drive them on the road but they will suck. Lastly check out this threadhttp://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/lowering-setups.883171/#post-8891911

I promise a year ago i was so confused now i am addicted to how well i can make my car handle and ride.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Ok i can not stress this enough. Contact maximum motorsport. I started emailing jack H. Over there about a year ago. I described to him what i wanted and he gave me a parts list. I am slowly working my way through it. So far i have bought about a 1/4 of the parts and everything has been a huge improvement. He even called me one night just to get a better feel of what i was wanting to achieve. My main concern was ride quality as well.

A5literman is the one who told me to check out maximum motorsports and i thank him for that my car is now headed in the correct direction. Remember with suspension you cant have everything so you have to decide what is important and come up with a good compromise. Also people have a lot of opinions and most parts for our cars are geared toward cost and performance. For a good street car you dont always want the most high performance parts because they might be to extreme and for track purpose only. You can drive them on the road but they will suck. Lastly check out this threadhttp://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/lowering-setups.883171/#post-8891911

I promise a year ago i was so confused now i am addicted to how well i can make my car handle and ride.

Man, he's right, Jack is a great guy who is nothing but helpful.

I think we, in general, like MM. Can be a bit pricey for a car not strung out one way or the other (strip/track). They are worth it if you can swing it.