a few questions before i lower the stang next weekend.

3.8for the win · 06-16-2008, 03:02 PM

i never lower a car before so im all new to this. to start is this a good wright up on lowering or not?http://www.americanmuscle.com/h-r-ss...4-install.html

and whats the LCA?

after i lower my stang i was going to let the springs settle for 2-3 weeks before having it aligned. after i have it aligned should i see if it says aligned before i buy cc plats?

and how long will my shocks and struts last with the isolators in before i need to replace them to?

stanger00 · 06-16-2008, 03:19 PM

LCA is the lower control arm and it connects to the rear axle.

the springs will start to settle in a few hundred miles of regular driving.

if the aligment shop can get your car into the green with their machine than you wont need C/C plates...if you want to save some money all you really need is camber bolts i forget where you can get them but its a nice compromise to getting your tires to wear evenly without having to spend 200 bucks on C/C plates.

if i were you i would just buy new struts and shocks now since the ones you have are still probably stock back when the car was new so chances are they are already worn out. replace them as money comes in.

spike_africa · 06-17-2008, 09:55 AM

depending on how big of a drop you do the stock ones will last a short amount of time. Its ok to do springs then shocks later on thats what i did.

TNell · 06-17-2008, 11:45 AM

you can get the camber bolts lots of places. NAPA, stangsuspension are 2 that come to mind immediately.

i talked to the guys at MM about the camber bolts and they pretty easily convinced me to go with the CC plates. but, i really think i could have waited. talk to them and then make your choice. bolts first and then cc plates if necessary may be a reasonable and budget prudent way to go.

i put eibach pro-kits, tokico blues, and the cc plates 2 weekends ago. my 04 GT has just 24000 miles and one of the rear shocks was completely gone ( i didn't know it until i removed it; the car seemed to drive fine) and the rest were very weak compared to the tokicos.

if you've got very many miles, i'd bet your original shocks/struts are near the end of their life and the new springs will finish 'em off pretty quick.

Now, i am no expert on this stuff. this is just based on my very limited experience and a fair amount of research.

ShaggyGT · 06-17-2008, 09:55 PM

Lowering my stang was not a "bad" decision, but I went about it the wrong way. I first went with the Eibach Pro-Kit springs, then later switched to Ford B-springs. I thought that was that. While neither had a "severe" drop (I'd say only 1"-1.5"), and neither of them had overwhelmingly stiff springs rates (which would wear out the shocks/struts faster), I should have just replaced the shocks/struts from the getgo, and ran into some major bump-steer issues. Bump-steer is when the car basically steers itself over bumps (and sometimes even in hard corners) because the suspension geometry is incorrect now that the car has been lowered. Not everyone complains about this, but I was very upset when my car no longer handled like it should. There are "band-aid" solutions to this problem, but I just went all out and did it the right way (like I should have from the beginning). This included getting three things:

1) Steeda X2 ball-joints
2) Steeda bump-steer kit (aka adjustable tie-rod ends)
3) Maximum Motorsports C/C plates

My car is still in the air right now (and has been for the past 5 months, it's hard to find time to work on it when you're in school and have a messed up wrist), but I'm hoping that this combination will completely eliminate any issues that have arisen from lowering the car. Again, not everyone has problems, but my bet is that given enough time, most will. I'm not trying to scare you, but just keep these things in mind. Whenever you modify your car, there is usually more to it than there appears to be at first. The Steeda and Maximum Motorsports websites have some good information on them about all of this. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask or send a PM.

06-17-2008, 09:55 AM	#3 (permalink)
spike_africa Administrator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Orlando,Florida Posts: 7,965	depending on how big of a drop you do the stock ones will last a short amount of time. Its ok to do springs then shocks later on thats what i did. __________________ Dustin 2002 GT Mustang 5-Speed Drag Radials,Sprayed,Powershifted WOOO HOOOO!

06-17-2008, 11:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
TNell Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 51	you can get the camber bolts lots of places. NAPA, stangsuspension are 2 that come to mind immediately. i talked to the guys at MM about the camber bolts and they pretty easily convinced me to go with the CC plates. but, i really think i could have waited. talk to them and then make your choice. bolts first and then cc plates if necessary may be a reasonable and budget prudent way to go. i put eibach pro-kits, tokico blues, and the cc plates 2 weekends ago. my 04 GT has just 24000 miles and one of the rear shocks was completely gone ( i didn't know it until i removed it; the car seemed to drive fine) and the rest were very weak compared to the tokicos. if you've got very many miles, i'd bet your original shocks/struts are near the end of their life and the new springs will finish 'em off pretty quick. Now, i am no expert on this stuff. this is just based on my very limited experience and a fair amount of research. __________________ Silver 04 GT Shorty antenna, Black bumper letters, black rear spoiler, MM SFCs, eibach pro springs, Tokico blues, MM C/C plates chin spoiler, side stripes, grill delete next SMR 402 Last edited by TNell : 06-17-2008 at 11:47 AM.

06-17-2008, 09:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
ShaggyGT Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Central Jersey Posts: 48	Lowering my stang was not a "bad" decision, but I went about it the wrong way. I first went with the Eibach Pro-Kit springs, then later switched to Ford B-springs. I thought that was that. While neither had a "severe" drop (I'd say only 1"-1.5"), and neither of them had overwhelmingly stiff springs rates (which would wear out the shocks/struts faster), I should have just replaced the shocks/struts from the getgo, and ran into some major bump-steer issues. Bump-steer is when the car basically steers itself over bumps (and sometimes even in hard corners) because the suspension geometry is incorrect now that the car has been lowered. Not everyone complains about this, but I was very upset when my car no longer handled like it should. There are "band-aid" solutions to this problem, but I just went all out and did it the right way (like I should have from the beginning). This included getting three things: 1) Steeda X2 ball-joints 2) Steeda bump-steer kit (aka adjustable tie-rod ends) 3) Maximum Motorsports C/C plates My car is still in the air right now (and has been for the past 5 months, it's hard to find time to work on it when you're in school and have a messed up wrist), but I'm hoping that this combination will completely eliminate any issues that have arisen from lowering the car. Again, not everyone has problems, but my bet is that given enough time, most will. I'm not trying to scare you, but just keep these things in mind. Whenever you modify your car, there is usually more to it than there appears to be at first. The Steeda and Maximum Motorsports websites have some good information on them about all of this. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask or send a PM. __________________ -Will 12s OR BUST!!!

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