tboucher

Search finds lots of hits on Eibach but not much else.

Anyone looked at the eibach pro system plus?

There are a lot of twisty roads out west in the Appalachain mountains especially the dragon which I'd love to play on. I'd like to get it a bit lower and tighten it up a bit and this looks like a good kit to do all that.

Any thoughts? I've not taken it through it's paces (break in) but typically stock suspensions could always use some tweaking

nickbrace

Here is a picture of mine - I put on the Eibach Pro last week and they rock! I still can't believe how much better it is around corners and with all due respect to American driving a better test is driving over here in Europe as we have roundabouts every block or so and all the roads are twisty and tight as hell - it is so much better suited now to driving on smaller roads with corners all the time, etc!



[IMG]local://upfiles/16568/763DDF7046B240D6B597C0BD4A14FBE9.jpg[/IMG]

F1Fan

That kit doesn't exist, there is a part number but no struts or dampers yet. I'm holding out for the rest of the Eibach Pro System Plus, I already have the ProKit springs installed and it really needs the struts and dampers, the bars would be nice but the struts and dampers are what's really needed to make the springs work well. The stock front struts have almost enough dampening to work OK but there do need more and the stock rear dampers are WAY TOO SOFT making the car bouncey over many surfaces, almost dangerously so if driving quickly. Steeda has their struts and dampers and they should be very good too. They work with Tokico and are releasing a D-Spec line strut and damper for the '05 GT's. They should be out now. Koni and Bilstein are waiting for the '06 cars to release to see if they will need to make changes or not fo you won;t see them until this winter or early next year in 2006!

HTH

VistaBlue 06 GT

I would just wait, H&R will have thier cup kit out soon. If you just have to have the eibach springs go with the Tokico D-Spec struts and shocks. They are dampening adjustable and should work well with the pro-kit or sport line springs. H&R is also bringing out the full coilover kit if you are willing to spend $1300 for suspension. That is the way I have decided to go. Fully adjustable dampening and ride height.

F1Fan

H&R "Cup Kits" are just marketing B.S. brought over from Europe for those motorsports fans who prefer style over what works in the real world. The cup systems work on race cars great, everybody has them, but for a street car they are a style statement and a waste of your money better spent on any one of many better, proven performance parts like lightweight forged wheels or long tube headers or a blower even.

Usually H&R's "research" is just to copy the other spring makers designs. BTW, the stock '05 Mustang chassis is not designed to take the load from a coilover kit in the rear so if you decide to add coil overs to the rear of the car a well engineered solution would include chassi renforcement to the top mounting areas in the form of a welded in plate to spread the load into the chassis. Becareful here, you can easily end up with ripped out upper rear shock mounts in the chassis down the road for a fashion statement made today.

Unless you regularly RACE your car on a closed road course or autocross event adjustable ride height is a waste of money for a real world car without race wheels and race or at least "R" compound tires. If you can't make this level of commitment save your money and buy something that works in the real world, otherwise your making a fashion statement and you will pay a lot of money and get a all of the compromises built-in to a track oriented design. Use your head, not that other organ to make these decisions.

HTH

VistaBlue 06 GT

Actually I autocross frequently and go to "open track" days at various courses. I have many years of suspension work under my belt so I think I can make my own decisions. For me the variable dampening is because I may be on Road Atlanta one day and driving 400 miles back to Memphis the next.

It all depends on what an individual wants from the car and how much $$$ you are willing to spend. To me handeling is the 2nd most important aspect of a vehicle, right behind braking. As I have stated before I have a drag car so this car may never see a drag strip. That means either a cup kit, coilovers, or the eibach sport line springs w/ tokico d-spec shocks & struts wrok best for me.

If all you want is a little lower look and you don't car about how well it handles, throw on some pro kits and call it a day. It will still out perform stock and save you a lot of $$$. My advice was based on my view of the vehicle and what I want out of it. Adjustable ride height really isn't that important, but some people like it.

Oh, and on the track I usually opt for the Hoosiers or Victoracers.

Basically, if you don't know who you are talking to, keep your mouth shut until you find out.

tboucher

Thanks for the info. I was wondering where Bilstein was in their deal. I'll probably hold off anyway since I bought the extended maintenance that covers the shocks/whatnot. Though I have felt a bit bumpier/lack of control on one road near our house at 35 MPH so was wondering if ti was the sport suspension vs. the luxury suspension or if I had some issues with what comes standard.

rrobello

what about the pro-street coil over set from eibach?

or the sportline kit from eibach?

any takes on these? or any info? thanks.

F1Fan

Hi rrobello,

The Eibach Sportlines basically ruin the suspension geometry by lowering the car too much as do ALL of the spring kits on the market that lower the car by more than about an inch. It's not just Eibach that's not telling you about this little tid-bit of info, ALL of the other spring makers with any kind of suspension engineers know this but for the buyer of a Sportline spring this is percevied by the marketing people as not that important. Eibach and the other spring makers with extreme lowering springs for the '05's also fail to supply a way to fix the problems caused by this extreme level of lowering, problems like staggering the rear axle, bump steer, lowering the roll center etc. This is all minor stuff for people who don't know the difference and can't feel it because they don't have the tires or drive the car hard enough to have to deal with these problems. The truth is Eibach Sportline springs are too low for the street and too soft for serious track use. For good all around street handling in a daily driver with no negatives to ride and handling Steeda's, Eibach's ProKit springs or something like them are going to be hard to beat for the '05 Mustangs. If you are really going to autocross or run the car on a road course look elsewhere for springs and dampers. SHM comes to mind as does Maximum Motorsports, they can supply you with real competition level suspension components for your '05 once they become available, which at the moment they just aren't. Of course you could always spring for Moton to build you a complete set of custom remote reservor struts and dampers but this would set you back more than the cost of a good supercharger kit. Given a choice I'd buy the blower, there are going to be plenty of good strut/damper options out there soon.

There are no "street" coil overs from Eibach yet and even if there were there is always the problem of moving the rear suspension loads from the spring pads built into the chassis to the rear damper mounts. Doing this WILL damage the chassis eventually unless you re-enforce the chassis side pickup points to carry this new, much higher load. There is also the problem of the axle side mounting of the rear dampers, they may not be strong enough to carry the loads from a coil over damper either. The new Mustang race cars have a different, stronger mount on the axle side too, not the stamped steel of the production car, this tells me that even for racing you'll need a better, stronger mount on the axle side too. Jack up the car and go look at it like I did when I was considering what would need to be done to get the rear end to work better without ruining the nice handling traits of the stock suspension geometry. Ford spent a lot of time designing that geometry into the car for a good reason, nice reliable, predictable handling at the limit with nice breakaway characteristics. When you start lowering the car you change the geometry and alignment and are making changes that will change the way the car handles. The stock '05 GT is a nice easy to drive fast car that is predictable and forgiving, change the geometry and you alter these characteristics in a negative way unless you add other parts to correct for these unintended changes. Steeda has done the most work in this area and for a driver these fixes improve a lowered car's dynamic traits and make the car handle more like is was when stock but with the added dampening, lower ride height and higher spring rates you want for better transitional responses.

Once you get past a setup like the Eibach or Steeda springs and shocks you will need sticky tires and wider, lighter wheels. Actually in stock form the tires are a little weak but for the street they are a good overall choice. Here in SoCal summer performance tires are the norm on the street because it only rains once or twice a year except when it doesn't! Then we stay indoors. Be realistic with what you buy and don't get suckered into buying racer parts for a street car and wind up hating your new Pony. I had a very nice factory upgraded 911S that I adored driving in the canyons and on route 1. Then I got a bug up my but some years ago and I inadvertently built my 911S into an autocross monster but also ruined the car for the street. Fabricated hemi-jointed suspension arms and bar-ends made for a very responsive chassis on the track but made the car too harsh and noisy EXCEPT for the track. I wound up selling that 911S because I missed what the Porsche factory already knew about street cars. I've been there, learn from my mistakes, it's cheaper.

HTH

F1Fan

Vista,

I worked for major US based import motorsports equipment company that designs, builds and distributes German performance auto parts. I've helped develop both street and race suspension components for BMW, Porsche, VW and Audi vehicles. I also developed the in house engine management tuning program there. I've known the principals for 30 years now and we remain friends even though I've left the company. I don't have a dedicated drag car, I don't have a use for one, I'm into road racing mainly with production based chassis cars.

I have an opinion formed from my street and race chassis development experience. When a guy is looking for help I try to help if I can honestly contribute to his thread. I don't know where you are coming from but you aren't helping much.

I've known Roland since he came here from Germany almost 20 years ago. Good luck with your H&R Cup Kit, Roland would thank you for your money.