Strange struts;C/C plates installed*pics* and a ?

[S/CBlack95GT]

I installed my Strange struts and Maximum Motorsports C/C plates today. The install was very easy and only required a little drilling for the 4th base plate hole. I test drove the car with the struts on the stiffest setting and WOW, that thing will handle. It had no nose-dive under braking and stayed super flat even under hard cornering. I backed the struts off a few clicks though b/c the ride was a little rough for everyday street use.

Here are my questions: For those of you that have C/C plates, who did you have perform the alignment? Can a regular Ford dealer do this? Have any of you had a Ford dealer do it and was their work good? Thanks.

Here are some pics of the installed C/C plates. I apologize for the poor quality, I just snapped some pics real fast in my dark garage.

<img src="http://www.mustangmods.com/data/393/p4111110plates.jpg">

<img src="http://www.mustangmods.com/data/393/p4111119plates1.jpg">

<img src="http://www.mustangmods.com/data/393/p4111113plates2.jpg">

 

[swingline]

Give me your car. Now. That is all.

 

[S/CBlack95GT]

Give me your car. Now. That is all.

$40,000 and its yours

 

[swingline]

HaHa. I don't want it that bad. To answer you question, I wouldn't take it the dealership. Call around some shops and get a "feel" for the type of work they do. If you call and ask about the alignment with C/C plates and they ask you what those are, go somewhere else. I am lucky because I have a GREAT alignment shop here in town that has been around for like fifty years.

 

[VibrantRedGT]

Where did you buy the Strange struts? I need to order mine soon. Seems like they can only be purchased directly.

 

[S/CBlack95GT]

Where did you buy the Strange struts? I need to order mine soon. Seems like they can only be purchased directly.

I bought them directly from Strange.

 

[maypo59]

When you get it aligned, try to find a shop that doesn't wrinkle up when you ask about C/C plates, and that you may want some settings different then the Ford factory settings, read this: http://www.steeda.com/PR/Mustang/Alignment/alignmentbasics.htm that can help you tell what you might want, and then you can tell the shop, and see what happens..

When I did mine, the first two shops I went to said something along the lines of "we put the car model in the machine and it tells us how to do it, what do you mean you want something different?" run away when you hear that. If possible find a shop that has at least ONE real car guy there. I found a shop that has 8 people there, and five of them are racers, only one is a auotcrosser like me, but, they knew what I wanted and hooked me up.

 

[S/CBlack95GT]

When you get it aligned, try to find a shop that doesn't wrinkle up when you ask about C/C plates, and that you may want some settings different then the Ford factory settings, read this: http://www.steeda.com/PR/Mustang/Alignment/alignmentbasics.htm that can help you tell what you might want, and then you can tell the shop, and see what happens..

When I did mine, the first two shops I went to said something along the lines of "we put the car model in the machine and it tells us how to do it, what do you mean you want something different?" run away when you hear that. If possible find a shop that has at least ONE real car guy there. I found a shop that has 8 people there, and five of them are racers, only one is a auotcrosser like me, but, they knew what I wanted and hooked me up.

Yea those are great directions and that is exactly how I would do it. MM sells a mechanical caster/camber gauge for $50, so I think I will buy that to set my camber and caster. Then I can use a tape measure to set my toe. I trust myself more than those fools at the dealerships and most shops anyway. I can always use that camber tool in the future as well.

 

[BlueOvalStangGT]

tire kingdom did mine but after 1 hour of them trying to figure out how it worked i jumped up there and took the air tool,loosened the bts and showed them how its adjusted. then they set it to what i wanted it at but the had to use a STEEL hammer on my ALUMINUM plates. i told the manager and they said they'll pay for it so i got my magazine that said they were 169. i only paid 129 so i got paid 40 bucks to have some new plates with a few dings that i got out with some sandpaper. : )

 

[S/CBlack95GT]

tire kingdom did mine but after 1 hour of them trying to figure out how it worked i jumped up there and took the air tool,loosened the bts and showed them how its adjusted. then they set it to what i wanted it at but the had to use a STEEL hammer on my ALUMINUM plates. i told the manager and they said they'll pay for it so i got my magazine that said they were 169. i only paid 129 so i got paid 40 bucks to have some new plates with a few dings that i got out with some sandpaper. : )

I think that is reason enough to do it on my own.

 

[sixty9boss302]

Blueovalstanggt - what brand did you get for $129?
Wheres the least expensive place to buy Maximum Motersport's from? How much is that gonna run me?
On ebay Steeda's run 150 ish but don't seem as good as M/M's.
S/Cblack95Gt - If you end up tweaking those yourself let me know how it went because i'd be interested in doing this also. I hate shops because I don't personally know anyone working at one to trust.

 

[S/CBlack95GT]

.
S/Cblack95Gt - If you end up tweaking those yourself let me know how it went because i'd be interested in doing this also. I hate shops because I don't personally know anyone working at one to trust.

I just bought a toe gauge for $70 from Longacre Racing and a camber/caster gauge for $40 from Behrents. The toe will be a little tricky because the tie rods must be turned exactly, but the caster and camber will be a breeze.

 

[sixty9boss302]

Not bad. How much for those M/M plates? And from where? I wanna get this taken care of ASAP before I ruin the tires I just put on.

BTW - "*All modifications performed by the owner*" - Mad props for that. That's my goal too.

 

[S/CBlack95GT]

I bought mine directly from MM for 199.

Oh yea, I didnt install my gears. Ford did that and guess what, after 4 years my rear is noisy as hell I should have just done that myself as well.

 

[BlueOvalStangGT]

sorry for no response from me. i got a guy i found who hooks it up with some great deals. i got upr cc plates from him for 129 shipped, subframes from upr for 55 and a shifter from them also for 129. hes an online dealer for vortech,steeda,upr, and tons more but i cant remember them right now