classj

Over the weekend I finally installed the H&R sport springs, Bilstein shocks, GT500 rear LCA's, GT500 strut bearings, and stripped all the parts off the rear axle and gave it a nice coat of black rust killing paint to clean it up (what a difference, less rust is always good).

I only took the car for a short ride today being it is easter and all. But so far, the stance looks great, a nice mild 3/4" drop so far with the same rake. The ride is 10-15% stiffer around town with a lot less clunks in the suspension.

Things have to settle, but first impressions are that the car is handling better with less pitch and roll under accel and braking, less wheel hop.

But also, the suspension may have lost a little of its feel, and the car may have a bit more push on initial turn in. New springs and shocks are always a bit mushy and numb when new, I will report more when I get a better idea on my normal roads to work, etc. I just hope I am not feeling the progressive nature of the springs with the initial turn in feel. But the H&R sports are supposed to be stiffer than the eibach, so who knows. Bilstein claims that the shocks were designed to be a great street shock. But if you are looking for a track beast they may need to be re-valved.

To be honest, I am still processing this install. I expected a really stiff ride with improved handling. What I got was a slightly stiffer ride with I believe better handling. Time will tell. Initially I was disappointed but then I tossed the car into a couple corners and the car was just flat.

One thing is for certain, if I can accomplish the handling I want without the teeth rattling ride, I will be happy since this is my daily driver.

Initial alignment looks good and within spec with a little more neg camber which is what I wanted. After car settles and I know I am keeping the setup as is, I will align it fully.

More thoughts and pics to come soon.[/align]

05 Mustang

any pics?

classj

Pics are coming soon. As long as the weather stays nice, I will wash her and snap a few this week.

RodeoFlyer

I don't know how the sports are but my race H&R's dropped quite a bit more once they settled.

Trez83

Is therear axle centered? Did you need an adjustable panhard bar with this minimum suspension drop?

Jays Mustang

Hi, did you concider your car as a "thunker" before? (suspension) You mention suspension noise quite now. I always wondered if the Bilstein struts worked. Were these the Heavy Duty ones they offer?

classj

By eye, the axel looks centered. I still have to pull it in the garage in a week or so and do my final alignment. To be honest. The camber looks reasonable (about -.75 to-1degree) , and the car is tracking perfectly.


I actually just posted into the clunking thread about this, check out that post. I had some clunks. I don't know if it had "the clunk". But she is quieter by FAR now.

I drove the heck out of it today for a couple hours to work and back and around at lunch. It is an amazing difference. Just perfect for what I wanted. I may have to fiddle with tire pressures or sway bars or something. But that is just little stuff. As I said, shocks and springs usually have to to settle, shocks bleed in the upright position a bit, etc. It has become nice and stiff, but nothing harsh IMO. It certainly does not have the lowered car poor ride syndrome. It is very BMW ride like.

Handling seems greatly improved with less nose dive and rise. Stance looks perfect. Much less axel tramp over rough pavement mid corner.

Overall, so far I am really happy with the mod.

Forgot to mention, springs are H&R sports. Shocks are Bilstein HD.

Jays Mustang

That sounds like a nice setup. Bilstein told me last fall how good those HD struts were, but I didn't have the money. At this point I'm hoping on the "fix" from Ford to take care of my noise problem. If not I'm getting those Bilsteins myself.