UpTo11

I'm going to do something major with my car in the next couple of weeks, and it's either going to be lowering 1.5" with new shocks, struts, and sway bars, or a one-piece aluminum driveshaft with 4:10 gears. Some of you folks have done both, and if I may ask, which one of these have you enjoyed more? I am at a crossroads, so don't tell me to go with whatever I want or anything. Looking for opinions. Thanks.

grabber blue gt

Depends on what you are using the car more for. Are you going to take it to the drag strip or a road course type? For the strip you would want the 4.10s and drive shaft and everybody that installs the 4.10s loves them.

siggyfreud

Yeah it really depends on how you enjoy driving it.

UpTo11

Daily driver, mostly speeds under 80mph.

Cal26Stang

Get coilovers lol

Nuke

Tough one. I personally would go with the DS and gears but those suspension mods are tempting. If you're hooking up acceptably right now, I'd do the DS and gears first.

Argonaut

My car came with 3:55 gears, I first installed 4:10 and then a year later 3:73. At one time I also had Eibach Pro springs, Tokico D-Specs, J&M Camber plates, Sphoon PHB, LCAs and UCA in the car.

This was my first performance car. After buying it my first mods were Pypes Violators, CAI and Brenspeed tune. Next came the 4:10 gears. Looking back, I was very happy with the gears at the time, as are most folks. But then I got interested in performance driving: first autocross and then road tracks. So I went for the full suspension package as my next set of mods. After gaining a little experience what I quickly found out was 4:10 gears are horrible for my type of use - most AX courses are tackled in 2nd gear and I was hitting the rev limiter all the time. Most road courses are 3rd and 4th gear and my top speed was limited (for those who are going to say "just shift to 5th", its an overdrive and useless on a road course). So I switched back to 3:73 as a compromise - still has good torque but a little higer top end. Not only was this a better choice for my usage, having used both I like it better on the street also. With 4:10s you are out of first so fast its like...why bother, just start in 2nd. Bottom line is - I wasn't a big fan of the gears for my driving style and usage. In retrospect I would just stay with the 3:55.

On to suspension: As you can guess, I'll take suspension over driveline. The two "biggies" in suspension are the springs and the dampers. For a street car the other stuff (PHB, UCA, LCA, sways) has less impact on street handling (i.e. not at the limit) while adding harshness, noise and vibration (note that control arms along with reloc brackets do have a big effect at the drag strip but the OP stated his is a DD). Springs and dampers will significantly alter the feel and ride - mostly in a good way. The car handles better and inspires much more confidence, allowing you to drive more aggressively while still feeling in total control. On the other hand - any lowering spring is going to be stiffer, you feel every little bump and joint in the road surface...some like it, some don't.

So my advice is go for springs and dampers as your next mods.

kenthicken

For everyday driving, I'd go with suspension.

grabber blue gt

I dont get why anyone is saying suspension. If hes driving the car everyday its going to have a much harder ride, and hes not racing on a AX track like Argonaut. Also for daily driving I dont recommend dropping the car, cause my 2010 is at the stock height and its still a pain in the ***, and I also have a friend who lowered his roush and just ripped his front splitter off pulling into a mcdonalds parking lot. But just like everyone else I have my own opinion