jrcabe

I keep getting mixed message on the best way to lower my 2011 GT. Would like an inch in front and 1.5 in the rear but could live with 1 and 1. Any advice for best product and method.

Thanks

alan0614

I used Eibach Pros for that exact drop. There is a good discussion on lowering here -

https://mustangforums.com/forum/2010...-lowering.html

Templar

Good info, thanks for link.

alan0614

Glad I could help. I love the look and feel of mine. Doesn't look like a 4 x 4 anylonger.

scottybaccus

Love my eibach springs, but I did the sportlines. It's too low for me to haul the kids around without bottoming out the rear frequently. I am making up spacers to add a half inch of ride height to the rear. That should do the trick.

jrcabe

Thanks for the help. Would you recommend going with the new struts? Might as well do it all at the same time.

scottybaccus

I didn't and really have no complaints. There is a long list of reasons some folks say you should, some will even say you MUST. That's crap. The stockers are fine for everyday driving. Soft enough that you aren't being beat up on the way to school or work, but firm enough to do a little spirited canyon carving. When they are worn, I'll look at an upgrade, but I'm not spending the money right now to replace struts and shocks with only 5000 miles on them.

alan0614

Scotty, I totally agree with you here. There are big discussions on the needs to make major suspension modifications to our cars after dropping them. Well I would imagine 95% of us don't drag race or autocross, we simply drive in and around town letting the general population drool over our cars.

Norm Peterson

Let me try to explain the view from "the other side".

Sure, if the above bolded text accurately describes virtually all of your driving, you could easily "get away with" lots of things that would not be optimum or even particularly good. There simply isn't enough going on during the sort of mild driving that I think you're trying to describe for differences in shock damping or suspension geometry or anything else to matter much.

Without getting bogged down in a pointless argument over the percentage, there are plenty of Mustang drivers who from time to time will leave the line hard enough when the light turns green or take an Interstate on-ramp at speeds somewhat higher than the average 4-cyl Camry driver. At some point on the enthusiasm curve, these other things do start to matter.

So from the point of view of trying to give advice when nothing is really known about how the car really gets driven or will get driven, it would be irresponsible to not at least mention the sorts of things that are affected at least at some point and suggest accordingly.


Who knows, just having the car lower might be enough encouragement to some people for them to actually start driving a bit harder. Whether any particular individual will is a separate matter, but it's always a possibility. And there is always the financial side, where doing shocks/struts and springs together comes out cheaper for most folks than doing them separately.

In the end, it's only advice (and save for the time spent reading it, free).


Scotty - In 40+ years of working on the suspensions of my own cars, I have never done springs without doing shocks/struts, and I don't think I ever will. But I have done shocks/struts before doing the springs on several occasions, and in fact that's where the suspension development on my '08 sits today (I still haven't settled on any particular spring, or on the details of some related mods that I would make for me).


Norm

parchisi

I was unaware that swapping shocks/struts is considered a MAJOR suspension modification....And most mustang drivers aren't racers, but I dare say, most push the performance envelope at least once in a while, unless one is a Camry driver in Mustang clothing who just wants to putz around looking pretty.

That said, I guess its a personal preference thing if you want to swap struts or not. I decided to, and even with Steeda Comp springs and Tokico D-Specs (which are supposedly one of the rougher riding higher end dampers out there even on full soft) I found the ride actually improved over larger bumps, and didn't even have the dampers on full soft. (my test was going over a set of train tracks that was on my commute to work)

The stock dampers aren't all the great for the stock springs, and that's what they were designed for in the first place. Throw on some higher rate aftermarket springs and they are really sub-optimal. Sure the car will still drive around and turn left and right, but if you ever enjoy driving twisty roads or taking cloverleafs at above the posted limit, I would enjoy the car a whole lot more and feel a whole lot better by having decent dampers installed.

But, like I said before, its personal preference, but at least you have both sides of the argument now. Good luck and enjoy the car!