timothyrw

After MONTHS of research I finally lowered my car. Many thanksgo to Brenspeed, F1Fan, TacoBill, Sam Strano, CrazyAl,and anyone else who has posted their own experiences.

I don't race/autocross ordrag strip and am not really concerned with 1/4 mile times. I have no wheelhop or traction issues and no desire to overbuild.

What I wanted: (In order of importance)

- Minimal ride quality degradation
- Improvement inlooks (Level car/eliminate rake)
- Minimal cost
- Performance (Improve handling/reduce dive)

What I got (total cost):

- Tokico Dspecs ($503)
- Steeda Ultralites ($229)
- Steeda Adj Panhard Bar ($170)
- Steeda Panhard Brace ($85)
- Steeda Strut Tower Brace ($176)

Why I chose it:

- DSpecs are the obvious choice. While I considered the HP's I chose the DSpecs as a hedge against the degradation in ride quality. I probably won't adjust them often but the ability to do so is piece of mind.

- Ultralites reportedly drop the car less then the Eibach Pro-Kit but more then the Roush springs. I am sure I would have been happy with any of the three. Concerned about ride quality, Ultralites allegedly are softer then the Sport Springs so I chose them.

- Adj Panhard Bar is also a no-brainer. The drop is minimal so if my axle did shift it would also likely be minimal but the adj bar is piece of mind and reportedly much better quality then the OEM bar. Also, I do plan on purchasing new, larger and widerwheels, eventually, which would make an off-center axle more evident.

- Panhard Brace is also a heavily recommended upgrade. The OEM piece is very cheap but I'm not yet totally convinced this is something that reallyneeds to be upgraded. But it is not terribly expensive and does provide me with some piece of mind. I purchased the Steeda brace because I bought the Steeda panhard bar.

- Strut Tower Brace was a splurge. I already had a cheap one I bought a year ago and wanted something prettier to look at. I don't know if it improves anything but I thought I felt a seat of the pants improvement. With stiffer springs it certainly couldn't hurt.

Install:

The original plan was to save money and do it myself with the help of a more mechanically inclined friend using TacoBill's spectacular writeup. However the wife said she didn't want us anywhere near underneath the car (she's a big worrier) and said she would pay 1/2 for the install by a professional. While not a difficult install I just don't trust very many people so about the only shop I would trust was Brenspeed. Dave at Brenspeed charged me $350 for everything (and another free shirt!). While admittedly not the cheapest price, I am willing to pay for quality and piece of mind and I love supporting fellow Hoosiers! Of course, the experience was fantastic with customer service second to none.

Post-install:

DRIVER'S SIDE MEASUREMENTS (Ground to wheel well center)

Before front: 28 1/8"
*Before rear: 28 5/8"

After front: 27 1/2"
*After rear: 27 7/8"

* BEGIN EDIT 4/15/08 - Wanting to see if my springs settled any I remeasured the front and rear. The front stayed the same at 27 1/2" but the rear settled UP at 28 3/16"! Then I realized my mistake. I took the original before/after measurements with all the aftermarket and then stock parts in the trunk thus weighing down the rear!

Post install with an empty trunk!

Floor to center wheel well: 28 3/16"
Floor to top of wheel: 25 3/4"
Top of wheel to center of wheel well: 2 1/4"

(I know, I'm missing 3/16" somewhere in the bottom two measurements. Consider them very close approximates!)

- END EDIT

The cornering is fantastic. With this setup I feel that the tires are now the weak point.I especially love the elimination of excessive diveduring braking. Sometimes while drivingthis carI felt likeI was in a rocking chair! NO MORE! The ridecomfort is very close to stock and this is at four turns from full firm on the DSpecs. Even on old county roads it soaked up all but the largest bumps and I feel I could drive this across the country with no issues. I have not done an alignment and I am in no rush. When TacoBill installed his Ultralites he found he did not need an alignment. Dave at Brenspeed says it should be very close and with only 6k miles on my car since 09/06 I'm not too worried. When I buy new wheels/tires I'll probably get an alignment.

As far as the obligatory pics, I took a coupleat Brenspeed post-install andmay add more later.

I've tried to be as comprehensive as possible but if you have any questions please ask!

STOCK


JUST LOWERED


LOWERED

I hope you find this helpful!

Tim

Argonaut

A very informative and well thought out write-up. Thanks. Like you I very much like the changes brought about by installation of these components. I have almost exactly the same parts (I have camber plates and don't have tower brace) just different manufacturers. The change is striking and well worth it for both looks and performance.

VerginaStang

awesome write-up, thanks!!!

I just ordered a similiar setup from Steeda (at a discounted price though, of course )

Steeda Sport Springs (approx. 1" drop)
Tokico D-Specs
Steeda Adj. Panhard Bar
Steeda Panhard Brace
Steeda Upper Strut Mounts

I did not purchase any camber bolts, or plates, and havnt gotten a strut bar yet. I got the upper strut mounts bc it allows for up to 1 degree of pos. or neg. camber, which should be sufficient for my drop, and from what I understand, they are a lot better quality than the cheap ford ones. So I sprung for the extra $$.

I have pretty good tires, so thats taken care of- Nitto's
I will post some pics when I get everything taken care of.

thanks again for the write-up!

timothyrw

thanks for the compliments. i've gotten so much information from everyone else i wanted give back to the community by helpinganyone else considering these parts.