Lowering and jacking

[ponysarepretty]

Will ford C sprigs make it so that a jack cannot fit under the car... never thought of that before I bought them =/

 

[281pony]

probably be pretty close depending on what kind of jack you have.

i have this little pos from walmart, it fits under my car with inches to spare. stock ride height, but fms springs will drop it less than 2 inches for sure.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

You can always jack. You just might have to drive up on some pieces of wood or something to initially get the jack under there. Also, Craftsman has a real nice lightweight aluminum floor jack that is pretty low.

Do not lower your car more that 1.5" or 2" at the absolute max. I do not recommend > 1.5" though really...

 

[281pony]

You can always jack. You just might have to drive up on some pieces of wood or something to initially get the jack under there. Also, Craftsman has a real nice lightweight aluminum floor jack that is pretty low.

Do not lower your car more that 1.5" or 2" at the absolute max. I do not recommend > 1.5" though really...

why do you say this, just curious?

assuming its reasons other then getting a jack under it.

 

[ponysarepretty]

I'm probably goign to do springs and 1 isolator... so about 1.5 i would think

 

[1low03gt]

Do not lower your car more that 1.5" or 2" at the absolute max. I do not recommend > 1.5" though really...

What up with that!?!?! Please do explain.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Well, if you go more than 1.5" or so there is going to be a lot more involved and a lot more to replace in order to get proper and safe suspension geometry. I guess what I am really saying is if you are going to go more than 1.5" know what you are getting into and spend the money to do it properly and safely. It is easy to lower improperly and get a car setup so that it cannot be aligned or is unsafe in rain, gravel, snow, etc.

 

[Nater]

I have the C springs and don't have any problems with getting a floor jack under it. In fact, I did it last night when I did an oil change.

 

[ponysarepretty]

I have the C springs and don't have any problems with getting a floor jack under it. In fact, I did it last night when I did an oil change.

do you have all the isolators in?

 

[DerekStangGT]

Well, if you go more than 1.5" or so there is going to be a lot more involved and a lot more to replace in order to get proper and safe suspension geometry. I guess what I am really saying is if you are going to go more than 1.5" know what you are getting into and spend the money to do it properly and safely. It is easy to lower improperly and get a car setup so that it cannot be aligned or is unsafe in rain, gravel, snow, etc.

Kilgore, why you spreadin bogus stuff like this? between 2" and 1.5" is no problem, except you need C/C plates for over 1.5", and shocks/struts are really recommended for a 2" drop. however, i know a guy who has sportlines (2"+) with no C/C plates and stock shocks/struts who has driven fine on it for over 1.5 years. of course he had to get an alignment. yes, the suspension geometry will be changed, but it wont not be able to be aligned. a set of c/c plates will greatly help in aligning it. i wouldnt go anything much over 2" though. thats when you start to have things fail on you like ball joints and tie rods get too "stretched"

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Ok, I can agree with problems >2" instead of problems >1.5"...

 

[TrueBlue03]

my 2" drop with the sportlines isnt enough for me ...i'm takin out my front isolators today for more of a drop and a raked stance. i just drive mine up onto some pieces of wood when i need to use a jack.

 

[tomustang]

I don't have problems jacking and i'm on sportlines, i don't even have a racing jack, just a sears one from 20 years ago

 

[MyEarsHurt]

Will ford C sprigs make it so that a jack cannot fit under the car... never thought of that before I bought them =/

I have C springs on my vert and I can't get a jack under it, its a real PITA. I cant even find a ramp that will work cause they are all too tall! I have to make a ramp out of some spare lumber when I get a chance...I love the way it looks and handles, but when I realized I couldnt get my jack under there I was pissed.....It might not happen with your car though cause mine is a vert and its heavier.

 

[mpe331lx]

Sportlines and a mach 1 chin spoiler here. It's tight, but the jack fits. I personally would like the car to set down a bit lower.

 

[Nater]

do you have all the isolators in?

Yep

 

[FalconGuy016]

Kilgore, why you spreadin bogus stuff like this? between 2" and 1.5" is no problem, except you need C/C plates for over 1.5", and shocks/struts are really recommended for a 2" drop. however, i know a guy who has sportlines (2"+) with no C/C plates and stock shocks/struts who has driven fine on it for over 1.5 years. of course he had to get an alignment. yes, the suspension geometry will be changed, but it wont not be able to be aligned. a set of c/c plates will greatly help in aligning it. i wouldnt go anything much over 2" though. thats when you start to have things fail on you like ball joints and tie rods get too "stretched"

Thats not bogus information. The suspension quality will get worse past 1.5 inches (understeering will increase among other things).

The picture above shows a 1979-2004 Mustang that has been lowered about 1.5" by installing aftermarket (shorter/stiffer) springs. Before it was lowered, this car's front control arms were parallel to the ground. Lowering the ride height by changing the springs caused the control arms to angle upward. This has a negative effect on front suspension performance. It lowers the front roll center, which increases the car's natural tendancy to understeer. It reduces the range of strut and control arm compression travel. It changes the alignment of the sway bar with the lower control arm. And it changes the alignment of the tie rod with the lower control arm. If the car is lowered much more than 1.5", this misalignment may produce bumpsteer, which occurs when the tie rod pulls the steering arm left or right as you go over a bump.

http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/t_suspension.htm

Read up if you wanna know about all that stuff. Basically you need matched shocks/struts to prevent negative effects, and of course that actually gives you many positive effects.

 

[DerekStangGT]

Thats not bogus information. The suspension quality will get worse past 1.5 inches (understeering will increase among other things).

http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/t_suspension.htm

Read up if you wanna know about all that stuff. Basically you need matched shocks/struts to prevent negative effects, and of course that actually gives you many positive effects.

ok, i would have to agree with that site, however, a normal daily driver will not feel the effects of a 2" drop. rarely do normal people on the street take their car to the limit to even be able to tell whether the car understeers, oversteers, or is neutral. bumpsteer is a maybe as well. i had some for a while, but it turned out to be just the poor road quality. now i have none

 

[1LowGT]

Get some rhino ramps fellas,every car i lower i use them and love them.

 

[FalconGuy016]

Well, I push my suspension to the limits all the time so I guess it would matter to me more.