Rylay

I had my car up on my lift and I was poking things and drinking martinis and other things that people do under cars and I noticed a dark spot at the rim of one of the rear struts. I took it off and it had a pretty inconsistent rate and a gurgle-e noise so I thought instead of paying ford oodles of cash for an oe replacement,(why the hell are shocks a wear item, they should last forever!) I would splurge a little and buy some performance struts/shocks and lowering springs. (only looking for an inch or so as far as drop).

But as the title says, I don't know a whole lot on the subject of suspension. I was looking at those koni yellows and steeda sport springs. I like the idea of adjustable struts/shocks and would prefer them.

Will I need anything else as far as steeda hd upper strut mounts or a panhard bar? polyurethane bushings? Any special tools for the install? (I've got any basic tools and air tools you can think of). I want the back to be symmetrical and I read about rear wheels being outta whack. I would asume I would need an alignment done after all of this?

My car's suspension is stock with 235/55/ZR17 all around on 17x10" rims I believe. Some parts have been replaced but all are ford/motorcraft.

She's "not" going to see a road course but has seen the strip already and I'm planning on getting some upper control arms to help this(right?/suggestions?).

I'm willing to sacrifice more ride comfort than most.

Also this shouldn't put any more wear on the tires or chassis or anything? I can't see how it would but I think that's a legitimate question. Thanks.

Forty-two

I've been reading a lot here about suspension, and the bottom line was mostly Koni yellows

I put them in a week ago with Steeda Sport Springs. An inch drop front, rear a little more and I love it. Ride quality has improved over stock I would say. A little stiffer but better. Not to talk about handling. Huge difference!

You should consider some adjustable strut mounts/camber plates/camber bolts. I put in Maximum Motorsports. They seem to offer the most adjustability but are also the most expensive.

In the rear you could need an adjustable panhard bar, as the wheels aren't centered anymore if you lower your car much. I got one but didn't have time to put it in yet. Honestly my wheels aren't much off center with the Steeda springs. Hard to see with the eye, maybe 0.25 in?

You will need a spring compressor to get those things changed

Rylay

Is the spring compressor something I could rent from an autozone? Possible part numbers for it?

I would be the one to notice a 1/4 inch and it would bother me. Sooo no alignment needed or what?

Whiskey11

Any autostore should have them to rent. I know O'Reillys here does anyway.

You will need an alignment, either do it yourself (requires maths) or find a place that can deal with camber plates. Speaking of, if you don't ever see yourself cornering hard in the future (be it autocross or a road course) the Steeda HD plates work pretty dang well. Gives you the option of a little more aggressive camber should you want it or dial it back to factory specs, otherwise if you do see autocross or road course in your not too distant future, I would get camber plates now rather than later. Maximum Motorsports, Vorshlag, Ground Control all make solid plates.

An adjustable PHB is recommended for lowering, or a watts link (pricey but worth it IMO). You will have to do that adjustment yourself as most places that do alignments don't touch the rear axles on live axle cars since there is nothing to adjust.

Don't forget that the most important bit of suspension are the tires... OEM all seasons are not good at anything except daily driving and that is only because daily driving doesn't require much...

ZPounds07GT

I used a spring compressor from O'Reilly's Auto Parts, it required a refundable on return deposit of $50 or you could just keep it if you want to seeing as that is how much it is to buy one.

In general an alignment is needed, unless you get a CC plate, the only thing they can adjust is toe. But the alignment will let you know if other things need to be corrected.

The Panhard bar will help center the axle but from what I hear on here, most people say they don't make much difference performance wise. I do not have an aftermarket one on mine and it is off a little bit but I don't have any negative effects that I can notice. If I correct this rear alignment then I will do it right the first time with a Watts link.

Rylay

Thanks all! I may just buy a spring compressor and use it as a company write off seeing as all the company cars have McPherson struts in the front anyway.

I might just hold off on the PHB for a little depending on how much the axel is off CL.

Not sure exactly whats involved in an alignment but me and maths are pretty good friends so im willing to learn. Watts links may be out of the question, I'd rather save the money for power over control.

My tires have too much tread life to replace and they aren't stock. (cooper zeon sports if anyone cares) and I have no complaints.

Any info on brands of UCAs? Looking at those and some MTs for the rare strip trip.

Norm Peterson

Shocks are mechanical devices and mechanical things experience wear.

The way shocks work is by forcing fluid at controlled rates through small openings. This can create at least a couple of "wear mechanisms" by which the openings open up a little (the result being that the damping slowly goes away on you), and the seals that contain the fluid will age over time (and may allow seepage).

Even up to occasional autocrossing or open-tracking, the Steeda HD mounts should be sufficient. A more serious effort would do better with C-C plates along with (much) firmer control arm bushings.


The rear axle will shift slightly as you lower the car. You can re-center it in the chassis using an adjustable-length PHB, or a Watts link.


The OE wheel for the 235/55-17 tires was 8" wide, at or only 1/2" below the maximum recommended wheel width for that size tire. It is unlikely that aftermarket wheels are any wider than 9" at most, and a 235/55 tire is going to look decidedly "stretched" even at that point.

BTW, wheel width is measured inside the flanges where the tire beads seat and is somewhat cumbersome to determine with the tire mounted. But it is possible to do so indirectly, and will be about 1" less than the overall wheel width as measured between the exterior (visible) faces of the inner and outer flanges.

As far as alignment effects are concered, front tire wear is going to be tied to inflation pressure and the toe and camber settings - particularly as camber and inflation match up to your typical driving (read cornering).

"Chassis wear", or more accurately fatigue, isn't something tied specifically to alignment. This is going to be a consequence of how you drive (i.e. how much cornering and/or braking loads are going to placed on the wheel bearings, ball joints, etc.). Not a concern for the vast majority of owners.


Norm

Rylay

Oh I said that as in they should be under an extended warranty(which they arent) not that they should be indestructible. And thanks for the rest.

Rylay

So I buy koni struts and shocks, a set of steeda sport springs, adjustable PHB (I'm guessing all brands are pretty much the same) and Steeda HD upper strut mounts.

rent/buy spring compressor depending on quality of boss's breakfast.

read all over the chiltons manual suspension chapter

Wait a week after install (pretending I'm going to do it all in one day) and have it professionally aligned once new parts "settle".

be ok with .75-1.4° camber (good for dd, right?can adjust later)

before and after pics

Am I missing anything?

Forty-two

I think that's it

I've read that some PHBs have that adjustment screw at a rather disadvantageous position. People said BMR should be fine, and since I already have some BMR stuff on my ride I got this one.