twisttwist

Hello, I have a 1999 V6 Mustang that had Ford Racing M-5300-B lowering springs when I bought it. I love the stance, but hate the ride! It is so stiff that I cringe when approaching unavoidable bumps in the road. I know you lose a little ride quality when your car is lowered, but not this much. It just passed 100k and has stock shocks and struts, and want to replace them with ones that match my springs, but don't know which ones to get. The springs installed have a front drop of 1-1/8" and the rear is 3/4". I believe the ride is so firm is because the stock shocks/struts are constantly being compressed a little since the springs are shorter, essentially making the ride stiff. The car had 18x9/10 Saleen wheels on it when I got it, and thought going back to stock rims would help out the ride so I got 15x7's all around. There was only a minor improvement in ride quality over the Saleen's, so I will be getting some 18x9/10 GT500-style wheels in the summer.

Which shocks/struts should I get to match my springs for a not too hard/not too soft ride? My car is a daily driver, so I don't want racing or firm shocks/struts. I'm not trying to break the bank, so I don't need top of the line parts. Should I get new bushings too since I will have everything torn apart in there? I am looking at the polyurethane ones on AM. I think mine are the stock ones.
Any advice is appreciated.

Mustang795

Many have said these are a huge improvement over the stock shocks and struts, and that they are a must have if you have lowered your car. They are a little tricky to put in though.

http://www.americanmuscle.com/eibach-shocks-7904v8.html

twisttwist

While I'd like to have a nice brand like Eibach, I just can't afford it. I actually stopped by my local O'Reilly's last night and asked them if they could look up parts to match my springs, but didn't have much hope of them having anything besides stock replacements. After talking for a good 25 minutes, they gave me two choices.
The first option was to go with Monroe's Sensa-Trac line, which the models are 5968(shocks) and 71962(struts). The shocks are $30.99 each and the struts are $86.99 each, totaling $235.96 for a pair of each. Also, Monroe has a $60 rebate going on now if I were to buy this package, which would bring the price down to $175.96. It doesn't matter where I buy the parts from, the rebate will still be valid.
The second option was to go with KYB's Excel-G/GR-2 line, which the models are 235060(shocks) and 344433(struts). The shocks are $104.60 each and the struts are $64.41 each, totaling $338.02 for a pair of each.
So after I was told all this, I had them write down the models of both brand's parts. I went home and did some research(a lot more than needed, I even made a table which I'll attach a picture of) to find who had both packages cheapest. I found the complete Monroe package from Amazon for $166.28($106.28 after the rebate, with free shipping of course) and the complete KYB package, also from Amazon, for $179.08.

I like the prices of both packages, but can't decide! I know the KYB's are a little bit better parts, but would it be worth it for a car I plan on keeping for 4-5 years?

Also, I see AM has polyurethane front and rear isolators for $60, should I get those when I decide on shocks/struts? There are no isolators on the rear bottom of my car, and I do hear a groan or creaking occasionally.

warthogdriver

first off, thank you for doing all that homework, i am going to be in the same boat soon so all this will be very helpful. the isolators i dont think will matter to the ride quality but the creaking will be gone. i am adding the because my stock ones are all shot. i would think the monroe would be good, only because they may be geared towards the average daily driver vs the KYB. just how i would look at it. i am sure others will chime in, i have read where alot of others do like the KYB but i have never read alot about the monroes in the forums..but i have ran monroes in the past on my previous daily drivers and liked the ride.

twisttwist

No problem, I hate buying something(anything) and a few days or weeks later see the exact same thing being sold cheaper than what I paid. So now I do all my research beforehand Glad I didn't buy everything from O'Reilly's, I would have spent $70 more for the Monroe's and over $158 on the KYB's! To me, I would put noise under the ride quality category also. I read the reviews for the isolators and everyone says there are no noises and would highly recommend them for anyone replacing their shocks/struts, especially people lowering their cars. They do add about a quarter of an inch to the ride height, but I wouldn't mind it if they make my ride better. I agree with your point about Monroe's. They basically are a stock replacement, but if you look at shocks and struts on O'Reilly's website, there is another type of Monroe offered(also cheaper). So I am thinking the cheaper ones are the basic Monroe's and the ones I mentioned above are premium ones. I read reviews for the Monroe's and the KYB's, and they are both liked by people. I am still undecided lol.

rwpuz

Check out AutoZone, they sent me a 20% off any online order, so i went with the KYB's