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Before asking questions about which part you should get do yourself and us a favor and decide exactly how you're going to want to use the car. Also, don't forget to tell us what mods you've done to your suspension already, if you're using non-stock rims, axles, etc... and what kind of money you're prepared to spend.

In large part, there are a few basic stages of spring and shock (struts will be called shocks too right now) which correlate to performance potential as well as ride quality. When you up the handling potential you usually decrease ride quality to a similar degree. Some of the more expensive setups get largely around that but nobody escapes it entirely.

Stage 1: Often called "sport" when referring to springs and almost never properly described when talking shocks. This is what you'd use if you're a street driver, sensitive to ride quality, live in areas with really nasty roads or just don't need to bump it up to the next level. Be honest with yourself if this is the level you NEED. Wanting higher rated parts doesn't make them right for your car and is almost always a bad idea. Common front spring rates in this class for standard lowering springs are 450-550 lb/in.

Stage 2: Often called super sport or something close to it. Spring rates in this class are much higher than in stage 1 and shocks need to be a little hotter valved to dampen these properly. This kind of suspension will ride notably rougher than stock and will not be super pleasant over rough roads. It will offer you the capacity to make faster corners on a SMOOTH track than stage 1 but isn't really appropriate for about half the people that use such a setup. If you are a super aggressive driver, this may be the ticket for you but you'll have to come to grips with the ride. Common front spring rates in this class for standard lowering springs are 550-675 lb/in.

Stage 3: This is race level. Race parts are no good on the street for the most part. Race tracks don't have potholes and so they're great places to drive really stiffly suspended stangs but the street isn't usually as good an idea. If you have a race suspension in place then you need really stoutly valved shocks and must live somewhere with reasonably smooth roads or like being beaten around the inside of your car. Don't use race parts unless you know you need them. Common front spring rates in this class for standard lowering springs are 650-850+ lb/in.

Rear spring rates vary depending on lots of other things. Generally whatever set of springs you buy has correct rear rate springs to go with the fronts, sometimes you'll need to spec out 2 different parts, front and back, to balance it properly.

For shocks, you can use this as a rough guide to what's what:

Stage 1: Tokico HP/Blue, Tokico Illumina, Eibach, Strange, qa1, Bilstein HD (MM HD spec), 03 cobra stock

Stage 2: Koni Yellow, Tokico Illumina, Bilstein HD & Sport (MM spec)

Stage 3: Koni DA, Bilstein Race & Sport (MM specs), tokico d-spec

There are others in each category and some of those above belong in more than one category but that's the system I use and it's generally correct.

Above all else, if you don't know then call Maximum Motorsports and ask. Those guys are always ready to tell you what parts will work best for you and they'll build you a shopping list that's going to work for you.

Now you just have to learn to be honest with yourself about how and where you drive.