Cutting

Hey Guys,

I've been seriously considering doing LCA's, relocaton brackets, and an adj panhard on my 08 GT as first steps in a suspension revamp. The car is not lowered yet, but it will have most of the big stuff - shocks, struts, springs, etc - done piece by piece as I go.

The kits i'm looking at are UMI, the bolt on brackets and non adjustable LCA's. I'm not going to track the car, but handling is a big deal to me and i have fun doing the work so if it helps kill some wheel hop and drops the ride a bit in the process, it's relatively cheap thrills.

My main concern is in some of the reading I've done there's quite a bit of post-install maintenance involved. I'm do my due diligence, but as a daily driver I don't want to have 1k miles go by where i don't check the torque marks and have the LCA's fall off or brackets break loose. I know also that steeda and some others make "maintenance free" versions which scare me in their own rite. Would it be worth it to pony up the extra?

Lastly, something that I think i know the answer to but want to ask anyway: Any time we remove a wheel, or tweak any aspect of the suspension we really have to pony up the $60 for an alignment, correct? Rubber's expensive, but so is $60 on each part so it would affect my methodology..



Thanks!

DC

scottybaccus

My first impression is you don't really know why you need various parts. LCA relocation brackets, for instance, are not mandatory. They do add one more potential point of failure, so you really should know the why's before you make changes like this. LCAs and relocatio brackets don't affect ride height and you may not even have a wheel hop issue. It's best to test and measure suspension geometry before making that choice.

None of the parts you mention are any more prone to failure than what the car was delivered with, though some will have shorter life spans than OE. For example, urethane bushings on the sway bars are stiffer than rubber, but also give out in a much shorter time, depending on usage and maintenence.

I have no idea where you got the idea that an alignment would be needed just for taking off a wheel. That's pretty far fetched.

In any case, if you slap on the parts and never look back, you are sure to be surprised one day with a failure. If you do routine maintenence as scheduled and pay attention to details on your car so that you will be able to spot a change when it occurs, you will be fine. The world is full of people that only put in gas and never turn the stereo down to listen to the natural noises their car makes. When the brakes begin to wear through, they are oblivious because they can't hear the squealer over Beyonce' or Justin Bieber. You don't have to be that guy.

Cutting

Well, this is why I come here!

Nice catch, and close. I know and have read, enough to know that the gains from LCA's and a panhard aren't enough to make this a major upgrade by any stretch, but I've found a deal on the package and knowing that I'll likely need to do it later to correct for lowering, I figured I may as well strike while the iron is hot. It may be that i should just skip it all together...

I had been told that as a rule of thumb if it's a big enough tweak to need to remove the wheels then it would likely need an alignment. I figured changing the geometry back there would fit those qualifications - but as I mentioned this will be the first suspension work I've dug in to. Not anxious to burn tires to save $ on an alignment.

Either way, appreciate the info!!

DC

scottybaccus

You'll be fine.

Not every car is the same, even if they come off the assembly line together, so just check your situation.

I lowered my car over 1.5" and found no need for a panhard bar, though I may want to look at relocating the chassis end of it. I do think I could use the LCA relocation brackets, but I haven't had any wheel hop. Your combination of parts may yeild different results.... or maybe not.

Understand the technical,test, measure, then decide. Have fun!

allinon72

I think you are overstating the "routine maintenance" factor, by a lot. Install the parts using the correct torque specs and be done with it. Install your front end parts, get an alignment, and be done with it. There is no reason to check the torque on these bolts every 500 miles. Your front end will require an alignment anytime you change the geometry of the suspension. New springs = alignment. New struts = alignment. Remove a wheel = no alignment. Replace the front sway bar = no alignment.

If you get parts that are greasable, yes they will require some grease every now and then.

157dB

Nope, the suspension is un-adjustable and
unless your body is tweeked, no alignment
should be needed except to correct toe
from front end lowering...

Norm Peterson

I think you should do the springs and shocks/struts first, and think about giving yourself the ability to correct your camber. My first choice for most camber adjustment capability is the Steeda HD strut mounts, with camber- or caster-camber plates being a fairly close second choice. The only other possibility is Ford's own method for bringing camber back into spec. You'd do all of this stuff together and get your alignment done just once.

All of the other rear suspension stuff can be done separately, and it might end up cheaper to only "fix" what needs fixing after you've got the lowering done and driven it a little. Bolt-on brackets make me a little uneasy, but you can always weld them.

There is a little handling improvement possible from lowering the LCA axle side pivots, but most of the relo brackets are drilled for drag race purposes and the holes are actually a little too low for road course, canyon running, or autocross uses. They might even be a little too low for hard street driving.


If you do get the Steeda strut mounts, you might actually be able to do some of your own alignment work. The biggest difference between doing that and just ordinary wrenching is that you need to know what to measure and how to measure it. In most cases, this does not require expen$$$$$ive equipment.


Norm

Cutting

Excellent. Really awesome info guys! Now I feel a little ridiculous, but at least I'm getting an idea of what I really need to focus on...! Before I ask any more stupid questions, I'll go do my homework and see if I can figure out a specific setup!

Hamhole

Start slow and don't change everything at once. When a single part is replaced, it can have a ripple effect on many other things. Replace only what needs to be replaced.

On my car, the first thing I did was get an Edelbrock supercharger. This added 140 pounds or so of weight to the front end. This nosed the car down noticeably and added to the brake dive the car already had.

Months later, I replaced my shocks and springs with coil-overs, which lowered the car significantly. This necessitated an adjustable Panhard bar to re-center the rear axle. At the same time, thicker sway bars went in because I wasn't terribly happy with the car's cornering abilities from stock.

After a good six months driving her, I decided that the bump-steer had to go along with the increased tail-hop I experienced after lowering. Fixing this required a bump-steer kit in the front and tubular adjustable LCA's in the rear, along with welded-on relocation brackets.

After that, I got a staggered set of Summer Pirellis on a set of black Boss 302 Laguna Seca rims and a Baer big brake kit.

Then I was happy with how she handled.

Cutting

Eh, alright. That's what i needed to hear... Was getting a little ahead of myself. I'll track down the basics first and go from there. If it ain't broke don't fix it ?