You're not going to need new shocks/struts if you get lowering springs. It is nice if you really want to overhaul the suspension, but isn't necessary. You can also get away with not using CC plates too. Again, nice, but not necessary. I'm dropped 1.7 in the rear and 1.5 in the front (I have a vert) and nothing needed to be changed in terms of shocks/ struts, etc. No rubbing and no bumping. I am happy with my eibachs and they are a vast improvement over the stock springs. A set of Eibachs or H&Rs will run you around $250 - $300 or so with install. If you're handy around a tool box you can even do it yourself and save the money. Make sure you get an alignment when you lower it though. For cost effective, just get the springs.

 

you'll know when you get your car alligned if you need caster camber plates or not. if they come out saying "we couldnt get it perfect, its a little off" then you need caster camber plates. shocks and struts will improve the ride quality and handling but they're not needed, until your stock ones blow out. im not sure if the bullit suspension kit will work on your car or not but that includes everything for a very reasonable price, might be something worth looking into.

and please... do the work yourself, its really not that hard at all and the money you save can be put towards other good parts for your car. there are soooooo many good write ups out there that show you step by step how to lower the car as easy as possible.

 

"shocks and struts will improve the ride quality and handling but they're not needed, until your stock ones blow out."

I dont know if its the wording or what, but having my stock ones blow out sounds kind of, well scary i guess. would that happen for sure? would it be after a certain amount of time? i want to lower, but i figured i needed new shocks/struts.

 

i know some cars that were lowered that lasted 100,000 miles on the stock struts and shocks. and a couple cars had the struts and shocks blow out after 500 miles... its not scary or dangerous. the car will just ride like total chit until you replace them (if they blow out, i mean). the shocks and struts are dampeners, without them your car would just bounce and bounce.


edit: i kinda worded that sentence wrong, i should have put UNLESS your stock ones blow out.

 

Shocks blowing out on our cars isn't terrible. You'll know they're about to go and your springs probably aren't so compressed that you will bump or rub unless you take it over some big dips. It is like looking at one of those ghetto Cadillacs bouncing up and down on the freeway when you know it isn't hydraulics making it do that. You'll feel every bump from that point on, that is the time to change them. You can even tell by pushing down on your fender and seeing how easy it is to compress. If you can hit metal, its time to change them.

I believe what Floppy is saying is that when the stockers go, why wouldn't you upgrade. I agree. When my shocks go I plan on upgrading them just to stiffen up the ride a bit more, not that it is necessary but always helps in the long run. When I warped my rotors, it was just as cheap to do the Mach Upgrade rather than buy new rotors from Ford (that is sad but true, but who can complain about some bad a** 13" rotors)!

 

actually my eibach pro kit i bought improved my 95 alot the springs that came with the car suck there not tight enough haven't done struts yet but plan on doing those red konis

 

im confused... what was the point you were making? springs are supposed to improve the handling... but springs alone with stock struts and shocks will not ride as well as a car with upgraded struts and shocks. when a shock or strut blows out your car will NOT ride well.

 

i've never heard of maxspeed and honestly i wouldnt trust them. try not to buy any ebay "specials"... stick with some good names like eibach, h&r, frpp, steeda and others like that. or even the mustang tuning springs. you can even buy used springs, i know i saw a some people selling springs not long ago on the forums. back to the question, if you're dropping the car around 2" then more than likely you would need some caster camber plates as well. but it always depends on the car. good luck!

 

I wouldn't go beyond 1.5" unless you do some other mods that get expensive. The car handles like a sled when you drop it below 1.5". It messes up the roll center (places it below the ground) and gives you unmanageable camber and bumpsteer problems.

Avoid ebay specials and off-brand parts like the flopster said. MT has a great selection of good springs and you'll have someone to call if there's a problem. I'd probably use something like an FRPP B spring on a 6 or a C spring on a V8. Replace your stock shocks and struts or you WILL be underdamped and it'll handle poorly compared to how it would with an upgraded set from Tokico, Koni or Bilstein. I like Bilstein myself. You never adjust them and they're top quality.

Since you're lowering it you might as well get some Maximum Motorsports CC plates. You may not NEED them but you'll have a helluva easier time getting a decent alignment if you go ahead and pop for them, plus they look really cool and allow you to do a coil over conversion later on with minimal effort. If you don't get them you will have a hard time getting a good alignment that doesn't wear the tires excessively. I've tried dozens of combos on gobs of cars and it always seems to work out like that.

You mentioned that you're trying to do this cheap. Well, don't. This is the foundation of your car's handling and a major component of safety is doing it right the first time. I've done the cheap-skate thing and it only causes problems. Do it right, get the shocks & struts, get the CC plates, get good springs from Eibach, Steeda, FRPP or H&R and have it professionally installed if you're not 100% on what you're doing. I've put 15K in my suspension over the years. If I'd have listened to my own advice (that would have required someone to give me that kick-azz advice) it would only have been 10K... see the benefits?

EDIT2: Come to think of it, I'm going to have to bark at this bit for a second: You must understand the basics of suspension before you go selecting parts. Dampers (shocks and struts) are supposed to be valved to control the spring rates you're using. Not replacing the stockers which were designed for REALLY pedestrian spring rates while jacking the spring rates up is silly. You end up with poor handling in corners and rough roads are irritating beyond belief. You asked for advice and as one of the very few guys here that actually knows what happens when you dork with it improperly, I'm giving it to you. Do the plates, do the shocks, do the struts, do get good expensive springs and you WILL be satisfied. Don't do those and you'll certainly have handling that's not up to par and potentially dangerous.

FWIW, if you blow a strut or shock, you'll hate life and might just damage something since it's unlikely that you'll realize they're going bad until they're all the way bad. You'll wait till it's bouncing like jell-o and then you'll fix it and then something will be bent or broken or just more of a PITA to fix.

 

Eibachs Pro-Kit seems pretty good. Thats what i am looking into.