So I've been reading a lot about suspension lately and how everyone says if you drop the car at all you NEED adj LCAs. At the same time I've also read about many guys just doing shocks/struts w/ their lowering springs and maybe a adj panhard bar. I'm really not planning on much of a drop only the Roush rears if I do. The price on the non adj LCA are much more appealing then on the adj LCA. The question is, is the difference in the pinion angle correction from the adj LCA going to be something the average person can feel or even notice or will it have an obvious effect on the drivability of the car?

 

In case you missse this link in your research http://www.cherod.com/mustang/HowTo/LCA%20_adj.htm

It may help you.

 

You set your pinion angle with the upper arm. The only time you need an adjustable lower is if you are using a very tall tire. You will need to move the tire forward or backwards. A non adjustable should be fine.

 

What you need when lowering an S197 has a lot to do wth how low you go and why you go that low. For a show car that is not driven on the street you have no need to correct the problems that excessive lowering causes. For a street car that sees DD duty and the race track you can only go so low because the real world has a lot of stuff to scrape your car on and the race track does not reward botched up suspension geometry or bottoming out on the bumpstops.

So for your modest drop with Roush RSO's on a street car I suggest you pass on the adjustable LCA's and spend your money on a set of good adjustable dampers like Tokico D-Specs or Koni Sports. You will get a much bigger boost in handling from adjustable dampers than any LCA on the market.

If you are replacing your LCA's hoping to get a handle on rear axle hop I would suggest replacing the stock UCA with a fixed length tubular UCA with poly bushings on both ends. Most folks don't know it but a performance UCA with poly bushings will control rear axle hop more effectively than LCA's can. If you lower the car with Roush RSO's I suggest a Steeda tubular UCA as it has been shortened to correct the pinion angle of cars with only a slight 1" lower ride height. The UCA is harder to install than the LCA's but you can do it in your garage on stands no problem if you have a good set of tools. For LCA's on a N/A street car that has not been lowered too much I suggest installing a set of GT500 LCA's. The combination of the very firm poly UCA bushings and more compliant than poly but firmer than stock S197 GT LCA's will give you plenty of rear axle control without filling the car with a bunch of road and rear axle gear noises inside the cabin. Trust me, for a street car this is the way to go and still have good axle location.

HTH!

 

I was thinking of replacing my poly/poly adjustable LCAs with the GT500 LCAs and your quote above reinforces the decion. My UCA is the Steeda 555-4109 (the fancy one) so I can get pinion angle adjustment there if required.

With my 445 HP rating and road course track use (6 days last year) do you think axle control will still be OK? I also have the Steeda LCA relocation brackets. The rest of the mods are per my sig (excpt I'm now running 255/45/18 Blizzak LM-25 snow tires)

The main reason for switching is to see if it will get rid of some of the daily driving rattles and clunks on low speed bumps. Three of us have checked, including an experienced Mustang mechanic and we can't find the noise source.

Thanks.

 

I hadn't even considered the Steeda UCA and GT500 LCA root but it sounds like a very good way to go. D-specs are definitely going to be done at the same time as everything else, I am just looking for less expensive suspension options at the moment to give the girlfriend and parents choices for x-mas, the d-specs I'll buy myself.
Here's the new plan, Steeda UCA, GT500 LCA, Steeda rear sway bar, Steeda adj panhard bar, D-specs, and Roush rear lowering springs. I'm not looking to do any drag racing or much x-cross but I do want a car that I can DD even in the snowy winter months, this sounds like it might be a very viable option.

 

I've been a little concerned about taking a basically stock Mustang through the winter, man you've got some guts using that car as a DD through our winters.

 

I am able to work from home if it snows or take public transit if I must to go into the office. Besides Toronto is in the "Banana Belt" compared to Buffalo!

 

Actually south of Buffalo is where all the snow is, I live in Tonawanda about 10 miles north. That makes all the difference in the world as far as how much snow we get. When it rained here, they gt 4-6" of snow just a few miles south of the city.