Lowering springs and CC plates - they needed?

[2002GreyGT]

I am thinking about putting a set or lowering springs, probably steeda or Ford racing springs on my 2002 GT.

I had a accident a few years ago, and the best the body shop has ever got my car alligned again was all measurements in spec except my Caster's. They are both over spec. The car drives perfect.

I am wondering if I lower the car, will I need CC plates and will my caster get worse or better?

I can post all the specs if an expert wants to know them.

Thanks..

~K

 

[exindust]

General rule is 1" or lower means youll prolly need CC plates...

 

[tomustang]

you might as well get them since your caster is off.

 

[bdcardinal]

i would go with the Maximum Motorsports ones. they have 4 bolts instead of the usual 3, and are very well made.

 

[tomustang]

i would go with the Maximum Motorsports ones. they have 4 bolts instead of the usual 3, and are very well made.

^ this guy get's paid under the table to support MM

 

[bdcardinal]

haha i wish. when i was at Howlin at Buttonwillow last year, the guys from MM were super nice to me. they answered any questions i had, even when i said i didnt have a stang. ive installed their products on some peoples cars and they are very very nice.

also the guys from MM werent talking smack about other peoples products. Griggs Racing was there and MM had nothing but good things to say about Griggs stuff.

 

[tomustang]

haha i wish. when i was at Howlin at Buttonwillow last year, the guys from MM were super nice to me. they answered any questions i had, even when i said i didnt have a stang. ive installed their products on some peoples cars and they are very very nice.

also the guys from MM werent talking smack about other peoples products. Griggs Racing was there and MM had nothing but good things to say about Griggs stuff.

So true man, They are the best. And they will help you out with any combo.

 

[2002GreyGT]

My Caster is over spec, will lowering bring it back in or make it worse?

If it will bring it down and within spec I won't need CC plates.

~K

 

[bdcardinal]

generlly lowering a car does not effect caster. it will affect camber though, generally there will be more negative camber(tire tilted in), and you will have inside tire wear.

 

[2002GreyGT]

So from what others have said and some more reading this is what I have came up with.

A positive Caster is caused from the front / rear not being at the right hieghts. Since I have an audio system in the trunk I could see that my trunk my sit lower then stock, which might be causing my over POS Caster.

Are there lowering spring sets that might let me drop the front more then the back (more then normal as most springs drop the front more then the back as a standard).

What would you suggest to get a good drop and not make the ride too stiff.

~K

 

[tomustang]

You might as well look at Adjustable lower control arms because looking for a specific spring is very hard and they will settle so you can't tell the difference once they're installed.

There's also the coil-over option

 

[bdcardinal]

you having weight in the rear should not affect front caster (note there is no rear adjustment on solid axle mustangs).

 

[jasonh_86]

I just had to replace a set of tires because the front tires were eaten away on the inside down to the wires, but the rest of the tire was like brand new. They had about 25k on them, so do i need the CC plates as well? because the ford stealership told me that it was my allignment that caused it, they know its lowered

 

[bdcardinal]

well that wear is to excessive negative camber. you need to get an alignment, i would suggest getting C/C plates, to help with the alignment.

 

[53BigDog]

Go wit the Pro3i plates, same design as the MM but cheaper. Have the fouth hole too.

http://www.partshopper.com/shop/Pro3-Caster-Camber-Plates-79-04-m134.html

 

[Thundermouse]

So from what others have said and some more reading this is what I have came up with.

A positive Caster is caused from the front / rear not being at the right hieghts. Since I have an audio system in the trunk I could see that my trunk my sit lower then stock, which might be causing my over POS Caster.

Are there lowering spring sets that might let me drop the front more then the back (more then normal as most springs drop the front more then the back as a standard).

What would you suggest to get a good drop and not make the ride too stiff.

~K

Please read this:
http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/t_suspension.htm
It should answer all the questions that you are asking.

 

[bdcardinal]

Go wit the Pro3i plates, same design as the MM but cheaper. Have the fouth hole too.

http://www.partshopper.com/shop/Pro3-Caster-Camber-Plates-79-04-m134.html

about the only thing those have in common with the MM plates is the 4th bolt. i installed a set of those on a car and they are really poor quality. besides if you look at the maximum ones, they have a seperate plate for caster, those Pro31 ones dont.

 

[nemo69]

I've got a set of eibach sportlines on my 02 gt. They dropped my car about 1.7 inches in front and 1.5 in the back. I don't have any alignment problems and i am still running stock cc plates and shocks. If you are seriously considering upgrading your suspension, go with coil overs, JIC makes a great set that lets you set rebound/damping independet of ride height (which avoids that embarassing bouncing when you drop your car to the ground). They also come with built in cc adjustment allowing you to avoid an extra cost. If you stay with springs, and think you need cc plates, go with MM plates, I have lots of friends who run them and swear by them.

 

[Seraphitia102]

I've got a set of eibach sportlines on my 02 gt. They dropped my car about 1.7 inches in front and 1.5 in the back. I don't have any alignment problems and i am still running stock cc plates and shocks. If you are seriously considering upgrading your suspension, go with coil overs, JIC makes a great set that lets you set rebound/damping independet of ride height (which avoids that embarassing bouncing when you drop your car to the ground). They also come with built in cc adjustment allowing you to avoid an extra cost. If you stay with springs, and think you need cc plates, go with MM plates, I have lots of friends who run them and swear by them.

Wow you're running sportlines on stock shocks?

 

[2002GreyGT]

So will I need to get new Shocks if I drop my car?

The car has about 54K miles on it.

~K