Lowering Questions + Pics

[CALYP50]

Hey Folks,

I've been around here for some time, lurking and learning and finally decided it was time for a post.

I've gotten all of the recommended upgrades out of the way, save for lowering the Stang. With the addition of 20" wheels, it became apparent that springs would be a necessary future upgrade, however, I'm not sure which avenue to persue.

Sportlines were my initial thought, but after some research I think the install will be too involved, too expensive (all at once), and impractical for a daily driver. I'm now leaning toward the Eibach Pro Kit or the FRPP K springs. Following are my concerns:

1) 1.5" Seems to be the ideal drop. It's low, but not too low to impact daily driving. With this type of drop, is it a simple spring replacement or does it require the adjustable panhard bar, the adjustable tower plates, new shocks, etc? What is absolutely needed (not just "nice") for this mod?

2) Eibachs or FRPP-K? I'd like to keep the warranty, so I'm leaning toward the Ks, dealer installed. There was, however, a post here recently where a member did not get the full advertised drop. Is this a common problem and should it be a concern?

3) If caster/camber plates are installed, will this affect the installation later on of a strut tower brace?

Let me know. I'm hoping to be rid of the rear fender gap sometime soon. I appreciate the help! Something else to consider in your response is the addition of a CDC "classic" chin spoiler. Potentially dangerous with a lowered car? Below is a pic of how she sits now.

Thanks!

 

[KemahGT]

I've been asking myself the same questions. What about Granatelli Motor Sports lowering spindles? Has anybody used them? If so, where do you get rear springs only?

 

[blackgt460]

First I'd like to say thats a real nice car! I'm thinking about springs and also have no idea what to get. What I've been doing is looking at everyone's pics(2005 Talk forum I think) and seeing what I like. When I find a car like mine with the same wheels that sits how I'd like mine to I will attempt to find out what that person has and what was involved....just an idea

 

[DarkFireGT]

I went with the Pro Kit. It's on the way. To get back into spec, you'll probably just need camber bolts (usually about $30). An adjustable panhard bar is a very, very good idea. I purchased all that at stangsuspension.com and it came out pretty reasonable. I also opted to go with an adjustable upper control arm and Tokico D-Specs, but neither are necessary.

 

[walter]

Roush makes separate spring and shock kits. I bought just their lowering rear springs at a dealership for 95 dollars and they'll probably go in this week-end.

It lowers the car 3/4 of an inch which tightens up the rear ride a little and eliminates some of that excessive rear fender gap. I also asked Roush about the pinion angle change with this kit and they told me that with this setup it won't go out of spec.

I've been asking myself the same questions. What about Granatelli Motor Sports lowering spindles? Has anybody used them? If so, where do you get rear springs only?

 

[iskwezm]

Hey Folks,


Sportlines were my initial thought, but after some research I think the install will be too involved, too expensive (all at once), and impractical for a daily driver.

whats wrong with sportlines???? Although i didnt pay for them what so involved or costly on them??? I drive about 400+ miles a week and they are fine(excuse the stock wheels, my fastback comes first ) View attachment 330730

 

[CALYP50]

Thanks so far for the replies (and the compliment blackgt).

I've looked at many pictures and I have read many posts, but what people do and what is necessary are two different things and has me asking these questions. Adjustable panhard, caster camber plates, shocks, etc. are all on the way eventually. I'm just ready to get the thing low and worry about the rest later. Bad way to approach, I know, but if it can be done...

whats wrong with sportlines???? Although i didnt pay for them what so involved or costly on them??? I drive about 400+ miles a week and they are fine(excuse the stock wheels, my fastback comes first )

And absolutely nothing is wrong with the sportlines. They would actually be my first choice. I have read too many posts that claim these are bad for daily drivers, and I fear that with the number of speedbumps, RR tracks, steep driveways and other hazards I may encounter will tear up my car. The cost of the springs themselves aren't the issue since they're very similar in price to the others, but it's the cost of the other mods that turn me away. It's my understanding that with the sportlines, CC Bolts will not cut it. Figuring I'll have to have CC plates and adjustable panhard bar - those alone will set me back several hundred. And that's not counting the number of bumpers and chin spoilers I'll have to replace from the suggested learning curve of driving with sportlines.

What mods did you have to make to your Mustang to run the sportlines? If I can run them with small initial mods, I'll definately have to reconsider.

... And no worries, I'd put the fastback first as well. If I had had the stock wheels you had, there would've been no reason to get new. I really like the lower stance of your stang on sportlines.

 

[Stang_It]

Hey Folks,

I've been around here for some time, lurking and learning and finally decided it was time for a post.

I've gotten all of the recommended upgrades out of the way, save for lowering the Stang. With the addition of 20" wheels, it became apparent that springs would be a necessary future upgrade, however, I'm not sure which avenue to persue.

Sportlines were my initial thought, but after some research I think the install will be too involved, too expensive (all at once), and impractical for a daily driver. I'm now leaning toward the Eibach Pro Kit or the FRPP K springs. Following are my concerns:

1) 1.5" Seems to be the ideal drop. It's low, but not too low to impact daily driving. With this type of drop, is it a simple spring replacement or does it require the adjustable panhard bar, the adjustable tower plates, new shocks, etc? What is absolutely needed (not just "nice") for this mod? You can get away with just an ajustable panhard bar cause the rear end WILL shift when you lower the rear.

2) Eibachs or FRPP-K? I'd like to keep the warranty, so I'm leaning toward the Ks, dealer installed. There was, however, a post here recently where a member did not get the full advertised drop. Is this a common problem and should it be a concern? Adding any aftermarket part will not void your warranty UNLESS the part itself causes a problem(s) and that Ford can prove 100% that the springs were the cause of the problem.

3) If caster/camber plates are installed, will this affect the installation later on of a strut tower brace?You can get away with camber bolts from Eibach. They are the cheapest way to correct a camber alignment.

Let me know. I'm hoping to be rid of the rear fender gap sometime soon. I appreciate the help! Something else to consider in your response is the addition of a CDC "classic" chin spoiler. Potentially dangerous with a lowered car? Below is a pic of how she sits now.

Thanks!

I answered your questions all in bold type. This is what I did with my car and is just my .02 cents. You may want to go all out and get the caster/camber plates, new coil overs, shocks and what nots if you have the cash to do this. I went the cheap way and I never encountered a problem. The choice is all entirely up to you which way you go.

View attachment 330717
View attachment 330718

 

[stangdude2000]

CALYP50, nice car! Is your car alloy metallic? Its rare that you see pictures of our color looking so grey. They usually photograph so close to black, most people think I have a black car.

 

[kooldawg6]

What size are your tires? The size of your wheels has nothing to do with ground clearance, only the overall height of the tire. If they are near the same height as OEM, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to drop it 1-1.5" and have any worries.

I bought springs($190)that dropped my car 1.6" in the front and 1.25" in the rear(advertised is 1.75" front/1.5" rear). I have the CDC Classic Chin Spoiler and run a 27" front tire/28.3" rear tire. I've scraped the spoiler a few times, but at very low speeds and it has only roughed up the underside, nothing that can be seen from the front(whew...). I installed a Steeda heavy duty upper strut mounts($300) which can be adjusted 1 degree camber both negative and positive further than the OEM strut mounts. The CC plates/strut mounts for these cars mount from underneath so there is no obstruction for a STB Also I installed the Steeda adjustable panhard bar($175)to center the rear end back under the car. Much more than 1" rear drop and your rear end is more than likely going to get pushed to the driver side. Mine got pushed over about 1/4", not that big of a deal, but my tires were already even with the fender so that made the passenger side pull in and make the driver side stick out

 

[blacksheep06]

And what size are those wheels, they look bigger than 18.

 

[Steel]

I live in italy , so I study and plan all my mods deeply before going for it . I informed myself on this and other forums, studied suspension geometry and live-axle suspensions . In our car the rear is very important for handling !!

I went on the BMR setup :adj uca , lca , adj panhard , tokiko d-spec and bmr springs (1,5 front and 1,75 rear drop) , camber bolts , caster adj , front A-arms , front and rear swaybars , safety loop for DS - all from BMR at stangsuspension .
I have the 18" bullitts with 255 yokohama advan for track .

My first issue after assembly : with full steering , the internal of the front rims touched a reinforcement plate on the A-arms , so I had to mill it a bit - nothing serious .
The car has been professionally aligned and rides well.
NVH has increased a bit , but I liked it .
Since I have aluminium DS and flywheel , tranny is very reactive (and a bit more noisy than stock with one piece DS in parking manouver) .

I had a first session of road racing after which I had to go to the workshop to tighten some bolts . On road racing I set the Tokiko hard : 2 front and 3 rear ; for me is the best . Front swaybar was set medium .
After another couple of weeks , a self locking bolt on the front swaybar got a bit loose : I tightened it with no further issues .
The car handles very well now and keeps up with porsches in twisty tracks - which was (for me) impossible before .
On public roads I drive without speeding and the car is near good as stock with the tokikos set on 5 front and 6 rear (soft) .
Estethically the drop is fantastic , you cannot say it from a photo , especially in the rear .

Good luck , whichever your choice

Steel

 

[iskwezm]

What mods did you have to make to your Mustang to run the sportlines? If I can run them with small initial mods, I'll definately have to reconsider.

... And no worries, I'd put the fastback first as well. If I had had the stock wheels you had, there would've been no reason to get new. I really like the lower stance of your stang on sportlines.

When i was loking for springs, the Pro-Kit wasnt cutting it for me.My buddy just had his C6 vette R&D'd by Eibach.They didnt have a Sportline kit for mine, so I gave them my car for a couple of days and they used the hardtop springs for testing on my car.As far as I know,nothing else was chage or modified.The panhard bar was never changed becasue it didnt need it.The car drives good enough that my g/f drivs it.I dont have a chin spoiler and it had never rubbed a parking block.My choice in wheels is going to be the same thing you have but in grey and as soon as I find a deal, im getting them.Front wear is the usual inside wearing, but its so minimal at 33K miles you cant even see the tread wear.The car doesnt bottom out with 4 people in it but on a big enough dip, it will hit the snubbers but still comfortable.Hope this helps

 

[PUNISHER RACING]

nice vert !

 

[CALYP50]

Thanks guys for all the replies. I've finally got an idea of the route I'm going to go. Not sure what springs I'll go with yet, but I will probably invest in the CC bolts and a panhard bar to start. Steel has a very nice write-up and has gone the direction I'm trying to go. While I don't race my car, I do like a taught suspension that allows the corners to be carved! I'll piece it togther one part at a time. Not only is it easier on the pocketbook to stretch it over time, it's also intriguing to feel the difference each component makes rather than an all-at-once difference. I'm weird like that, I know...

I have had problems rubbing the bumper on curbs and parking blocks as it sat stock from the factory. I think I've got myself trained not to pull forward over curbs anymore and believe I am ready to lower with no ill effects.

And in response to stangdude2000, yes, my car is Alloy. I'm assuming it's just the camera and abundance of light that made it look more grey than black. At night it looks black, but during the day it appears much lighter. The color has changed (to my eyes) with the addition of the black rims as opposed to the charcoal bullitts I had on it prior and I see the car everyday!