Monkeyleg

I bought my 2007 GT from a dealer, so I can't contact the original owner. The guy had done some cosmetic modifications, but a friend of mine insists that the car has been lowered a little. I'm not so sure.

Is there some point on the car that should be X number of inches off the ground for a factory suspension? If so, where is it and how many inches should it be?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

East87

From your signature, it appears as though it's lowered. Stock ride height is obnoxious.

Texotic

The car in your sig looks lowered for sure. don't know the actual numbers, though. Just look and see if the springs are a color other than black. If they are, they're aftermarket. If they're black, then you still don't know, but it would be an easy way to check.

Monkeyleg

Thanks for the replies, although you've led me to another question.

The car came as it is, but with the factory Pirelli tires and 17" painted alloy wheels. The ride with those was very quiet.

Once I switched to the 18" x 9" and 18" x 10" deep dish wheels and 255 and 285 tires, the ride became clunky. I can hear and feel every bump.

I'm sure much of that is just the performance tires, but would a different spring help? My wife and I will be taking a long trip this summer, and I don't think she'd like the noise (and I wouldn't like having the factory wheels and tires back on).

Ato

Just look in your wheel wells, it should be easy to see aftermarket shocks/struts and/or springs since they are usually not the factory black.

Texotic

It's a combination of things. The tires probably produce more road noise since they're performance oriented. They also have less sidewall since the rims are larger, and thus have less give. Couple that loss in cushion with a heavier wheel that the suspension has to work harder to control and it shouldn;t be a surprise that the handling starts to feel more clunky. It's still the tires more than anything producing the noise. Unless you change tires or Dynamat your interior, there's no fix for that. You can, however, go with an aftermarket damper to improve the ride quality.

Monkeyleg

Thanks for the explanation, Texotic. I guess I'll have to get used to it.

The tire noise while moving doesn't bother me, it's the clunking every time I hit a bump. And, with the streets here in Milwaukee being like washboards, there's literally millions of bumps to go over. Suspension components don't last very long here.

kcmarti

But at least you look good while your bottom is dropping out:-)

Texotic

Is the clunking only coming from the front end? If so, there's a TSB out for the strut mounts. They start to clunk after a few thousand miles in a lot of Stangs and a set of Camber Plates, Steeda HD Strut Mounts, or the SVT strut mounts will fix the clunking sound. I would take it to the dealer first and tell them that you have "the front end clunk" and get them to put the newer version of the strut mounts on it. If that doesn't fix it, the SVT mounts are only like $66 and should cure the front end clunk.

Monkeyleg

Thanks again for the replies. The clunking is coming from all wheels. That doesn't mean I can't have the dealership look at it, though. Besides, there's a vibration noise from the rear when I start out in first gear, and I was told it was probably a part that was under recall for not being properly fastened.