lanej2

My goal is to not lower the ride, but to just give me a little softer impact on the bumps. I don't drive it for racing or anything like that. I just want a smooth ride. When I have rear passengers it feels like the thing is about to bottom out.

lanej2

My goal is to give me a softer ride in the rear. I have two kids that still ride with me in back and when I hit a bump it feels like it's bottoming out. I don't need a high performance setup. I need ride quality. I don't drive it real hard. It's a dd.

WannaBeGearHead

I really like my Tokico D specs. They are adjustable that range from much softer than the stockers and extremely firm. I have them almost as soft as they go for DD and they are great. I'd highly recommend them. You really will notice a difference if you get the shocks AND struts.

Plus if you decide to go racing you can adjust them to meet your needs.

lanej2

I truly appreciate each response. I had not looked at the adjustable shocks as an option but that sounds interesting. I have been told that if you replace the front struts then you have to have an alignment. It's ridiculous what they want to charge for that service.

wcgman

You will need an alignment with replacing the front struts. Front struts are not as easy as rear shocks, but it is definitely doable at home to save a LOT of money. So you put the new struts on at home and then take it in for the alignment only.

I dont know if you have Firestone repair shops in your area, but you can get the lifetime front end alignment for about 175. That way you can get aligned every time you want whenever you want.

If you dont think you'll need an alignment after this one, then look for a reputable mechanic in your area. The one I use I didnt think had alignment gear but he did and he only charges 60 dollars.

wcgman

PS - the shocks will help with the bottoming out over bumps. If your ride is sagging a lot, then you might consider spring replacement too but generally those should be fine for many many miles.

WannaBeGearHead

You DO NOT need an alignment after replacing your struts.

lanej2

I have 61,000 on it so I think the springs should be good. I don't think I have any sag. It still appears the same height as usual. The adjustables are out of my price range. I don't want to spend over 80.00 per shock. I did see the lower priced Tokico's that looked like they had some good reviews on. I am thankful for the "gearhead" community on here who can help guys like me that want to try and do things at home on their own so I can have some ownership of my beautiful 'stang.

wcgman

Really? I always thought you did...I must have fallen pray to that myth decades ago. What kind of suspension changes would require an alignment?

WannaBeGearHead

You don't need an alignment when changing the struts. The struts bolt into the same exact place as the stockers.

You would need one if you changed just about any other part of the suspension.