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I got some 17" wheels with the proper backspace...they weren't my first choice but I think they are good compromise between what I wanted looks wise and what actually works with out machine shop or 3x price for custom work.
The new tire combo I have not driven much yet but I can tell already they are a significant improvement over the one set of tire they make for 14" Despite being 45 series vs 60 series the PSS are smoother riding in almost all cases...some bumps you do feel more. Traction and cornering are significantly improved as well...but I dont know to what degree yet...but its a lot.
The rear tire fit is good. a 245/45/17 Pilot super sport
The front fits well too but has lots of extra clearance height wise a 235/45/17 Pilot super sport
My front ride height is about 1.5" more than it was with the 195/60/r14
There is enough room to tuck them away some if not all of the 1.5" worth of drop I would like.
I have not done the shelby drop yet that would get me about .5"...What is the best way to go about lowering the front another inch? The vehicle already has lower springs in the front...Do you cut them a 1/2 coil and check for proper ride height? I hear one coil is about 1"
Im looking for the most proper way of doing this although I'm not opposed to trimming a spring down a bit.
i am running the same size tires and wheels that you have. I did do the shelby drop. it lowered my car 3/4 of an inch. I also run 1" drop springs.
be aware, if you are running long tube headers, you will beat the hell out of them if you go any lower. my car had bad upper control arms for a couple years and sat about 3/4 of an inch lower than it is now. i would bottom out my headers all the time on even small speed bumps. after the new control arms and a new alignment it sits a little higher and i clear more stuff. i still need to replace my long tubes though.
My opinion would be to do just the shelby drop first, get it aligned, take it for a spin and then see how it look.
If you still want it lower.....given the height you are at now...I would take 1/4 of a coil at a time because once you take it off...you can't put it back on. It takes longer since you have to take it all apart, trim, put it back together, drive it to settle and then decide if you want to do it again...but the good news is with the drop spring and the shelby drop most people can generally get the springs in and out without the need for the compressor which speeds things up a bit. Trim the coil with a sawzaw or cut off wheel, not a torch.
If Im going to do the UCA drop should I go with the global west system? The UCA are at least 15 years old on the car now maybe way older. The global west system also wants you to run a slightly different hole location.
What about shock travel? Right now there is only about 3" of shaft above the shock...
Doing the shelbly type of drop would increase this amout of shaft above the shock correct?
If I start cutting coils I will further reduce shock travel right to the point where I could bottom the shock out? Is the shelby drop the primary way to increase this travel?
The shelby drop moves the arm 1 inch down and slightly back....anymore with stock arm/ball joint and you run into a ball joint binding issue.
The GW west arms mount lower 1 3/4 (I believe) so overall your car would get lower with GW than just Shelby.
Yes lowering the arm will increase the amount of arm out of the shock at rest. Removing additional coils will also do this. You can add 70 model bump stops to help mitigate concerns about shock travel. I have not done this and have not had an issue...however...I run IAS shocks which mount inverted to normal mustang shocks.
If you going to replace your upper arm...global west is certainly an option...there are others. I know that I have been extremely happy with the arms John at opentracker makes. He also has a version where he relocates the ball joint that would allow you to run the GW specs in terms of mounting location which is supposed to provide the 'optimum' location. He also installs reinforcements in the upper arm.
GW is also working on a drop spindle for the mustang that maybe available in a few months that would be an option too.
It looks like removing 3/8 of a coil will get me to where I need to be ride height and still be barley within limits suspension wise...this will be okay for now until I feel motivated to spend the money for some cool solutions to this issue.
I can reiterate my opinion here....if you are doing the shelby drop do it first and reassemble, align, drive prior to deciding to cut coil.
If you are just trimming coil to make it work...going slow is always advisable. When I trimmed the coils on my 67 I did 1/2 coil at a time and ended up with a full coil off when I was done. 3/8 is a nice small step.
Im still trying to figure out what the shelby or shelby type drop is going to do to suspension travel at the shock.
If you you cut a coil the spring is shorter and its the only thing holding the car up so the front end comes down lower but because the shock shaft is bolted to the inner fender it slides into the shock to eat up this extra gap and now you have effectively reduced shock travel and there is less shock shaft sticking out above the shock body.
If you lower the mounting point of the shock body to the UCA by moving the UCA down with the shelby drop the shock must extend to make up for the increased distance between the top of the tower and the perch on the UCA...but the spring wont touch the top of the tower because the distance is greater so the shock shaft will have to retract back in so I dont know where shock travel ends up but the top of the UCA will be closer to the bump stop at rest it looks like.
I have never had an instance in any of my cars or my family cars where the spring was no longer in contact with the upper and lower mount points with a combination of lowering springs and shelby drop in use prior to installation of the shock (this is with the lower arm out and the upper arm just hanging to lowest possible point and making contact with frame rail).
Who is indicating/why do you think your springs will no longer be in contact with the upper tower?
Some road racers who trim their springs much more aggressively than we are talking about have been know to extend the caps (opentracker did this on his 65 track car) for improved shock travel.
01-21-2016, 09:18 PM
new 17" wheels ride height question.
