SlideWRX

Installing springs/struts first may still be a good idea. I'd definitely try out poly/poly stuff first if you go to LCA/UCA's. Camber bolts on the front to correct the alignment from lowering.

Tom

shooter23

I used the eibach, which from what i see and hear, will drop it more than the ultralites...and I didnt need the camber bolts.

My tech had my alignment done in about 45 minutes...even after having all my parts installed.

You shouldnt need the bolts, especially only with a 1 inch drop, there is enough movement in the stock suspension to correct the drop.

Talk to the shop doing the work, and ask them what they think. A good tech should have no problem doing the alignment without the bolts.

F1Fan

Hi MUSTANGLOVER73,

For a simple upgrade to your daily driver car you can't beat the Steeda Ultralites and a set of D-Spec dampers. The Ultralites don't lower the car as much as as such don't require you to go to extremes to correct what was lost when losing ride height so the carcan still give you plenty of suspension travel and a great ride. But you won't get the big boost of having a lower center of gravity which feels fantastic on these cars which is why I recommend bigger anti-roll bars. Here is my take on abudget $1,600setup for a DD street car with bad roads or if you have to drive in the snow. You do the labor or get some local Mustang nuts to help you do the work. Allow for $65-$100 for a good alignment and to get the rear Panhard bar adjusted on the alignment rack.

Steeda Ultralite Sport Springs, 1" drop all around, improved CG, less brake dive, less roll
Tokico D-Specs, adjustablefor big time handling performance or better then stock ride, yeah!
Eibach Camber bolts,too few good alignment shops, the more you do to help the better the results
Steeda Street Adjustable Panhard bar, adjust to 1/4" shorter than stock PB to start
Steeda HD Panhard Bar brace,VERYimportant part,just ask Saleen PJ owners with frame cracks!
Steeda 36mm adjustable front anti-roll bar,allows adjustment of handling balance, use middle hole
Steeda adjustable street end-lnks,optimizebar angle, no moreend-link noise,eliminates preload
Steeda 7/8" rear anti-roll bar w/billet links,must specify7/8" bar! billet links improve bar'sresponse
FRPP GT500 LCA's,improvedaxle control, still has stock ride and VNH levels, cheap and effective!

People who don't actually drive their cars have no idea what they are missing when they buy a cheap Panhard bar or other suspension component. A good adjustable Panhard bar that is light and stiff helps handling feel and driver confidence tremendously and don't forget to install the matching HD Panhard bar brace. AllSaleen PJ Boss 302 production cars did not get a brace for the spiffy new Watt's link rear end and the frames promptly developed stress cracks and started to pull out the fastener inserts out of the chassis! The laterSaleen 2nd generationWatt's links all have aHD chassis brace and all production PJ cars were recalled by Saleen for retrofiting these new parts. The Steeda HD Panhard bar brace helps spread the load out across the chassis to improve chassis life and reduce the chance of chassis damage under load. A lot of people said you don't need to upgrade this very important part but as I've been saying all along for the last three years or soyou need a good brace as the chassis loads are quite high in this area. Apparently I was right and theyare wrong.

Set yourD-Specs to F(ront)4/R(ear)5 turns out from full hard initially for a softer than stock comfy ride. To go faster and increase chassis controlstart with F3/R3.5 out from full hard. Install this setup and set the front alignment to -1.2 degrees negative camber and 1/32"-1/16" total toe-in with steering loaded. Check your thrust angle and make certain it is within 1/2 of the allowed Ford factory specified thrust angle erroror you willneed to use the adjustable Panheard bar to get the rear axle centered correctly. When all is right this car will be the bomb to drive quickly and smoothly yet still retain the kind ofsupple ride that Fordcan only dream about!

HTH!

ziperhead

F1Fan

Why do you say adjust the panhard bar on the alignment rack? I thougt the panhard baraligned the body on top of the axel and I could simply use the body to wheel as a measurement point. Is it really that critical?

BTW I appreciate your comments inthis forum. Very educational

shooter23

I would assume he says the alignment rack because with the laser machines you can get it much more accurate.

F1Fan

Hi ziperhead,

Because you can see when the rear axle is centered using the alignment rack. What you want to do is to use the chassis points to get the rear axle centered and square in the chassis. Using the body is a rough estimate and not particularly accurate. Thrust angle can show you where the rear tires are pointed in relationship to the front tires. I'm sure there is a good illustration someplace if you google it.

But even if you don't have an alignment rack you canpretty accurately center the axle in the chassis if not in relationship to the front axle by measuring the centerline of your axle and using the track of the tires. Scribea permanent mark on the axle pumpkin and using this new center line mark measure out to a clear spot on the axle tubes both left andright as close to the tires as you can. Measure and make these marks as accurately as possible. Now using these new marksmeasure from the center mark to the chassis side LCA mount left and right. When both measurements arethe same your axle is centered in the chassis. Using the second marks you made measure from the left axle mark to the left front control arm ball joint center.Do the same on the right side and compare, they should be the same or at least within 1/16" of an inch or your axle is skewed.there is not too much you can do about it unless you have adjustable LCA's.These methods are old school and workwell if the car has not been in a severeaccident. Of course you have to have access to adrive on muffler lift or alignment rack to do thisstuff.

Yes, this stuffmakes all makes adifference to asensitive driver!

Does this help answer your questions?

HTH!

ziperhead

Thanks F1FAN

I had to crawl up under my car to understand what you are saying. Looks like I will be off to the alignment rack after all .