Ok so I want to lower my GT. The rear sits especially too high, the front is not that bad. I called my mechanic and he said about 2hrs labor in the front / 1hr in the rear, but that if the spring is wrapped around the strut in the front that he would more than likely say to replace those as well, and I didn't wanna go that expensive. He said save your money and throw bigger tires and nicer rims instead.

So I was thinking maybe I could do the rear myself. Would that be bad? I feel like I just want to drop it even with the front, I've read some people doing that. I think I can tackle the rear, it seems straightforward.

Also, how tall / wide of a tire can I go with the stock 18's? I have 235's, BFG's.

 

The front is quite simple as well, I wouldn't pay someone to do it (unless it's beer for a friend's help). You can do just springs, but your shocks and struts might wear out prematurely. There's a lot of folks who do just springs and are fine.

I want to say 255s will fit 18x9s just fine, but I'm not sure so don't quote me on that.

 

Sounds like you need a new mechanic if it's going to take him 3 hours to do springs in a shop.

As mentioned, shocks and struts aren't immediately necessary (unless they are shot already), but they will be soon if you lower it a decent amount. They will also definitely help with the ride and handling so it's not a bad idea to do, but you CAN wait for a little while.

 

I was thinking of lowering it with the K Springs - 1.5 all around. But, I've read threads here of people only lowering the rear to "match" the front, and getting good results as it was a straightforward install and improved the look without going crazy.

Do you guys think if I just lowered the rear 1 inch to match the front and got some taller and wider tires it would fill the gap nicely without having to do much suspension work/start dumping more $$$.

Does anyone have a setup similar to this they can show me a picture of?

 

I think Roush makes rear springs that a lot of people use. It's definitely been done and looks good. Good way to get that look. Unless you want to start adjusting to make up for taller tires (too tall and it can throw off your speedometer and behave like you have a different gear ratio), I'd try and keep them the same height. You can definitely get some wider ones to fill up that rear though.

 

Switch mechanics.

The rears are very easy and Roush rear springs level the car.

Agree with CMcNam, don't spend money to put taller tires on, it throws off the speedo, it creates a bigger, softer sidewall, and it limits ur tire choices.

The 18 inch stock wheels can fit a 255/45/18 pretty easily, I would run that in a square set up.

I personally would do springs and struts and strut mounts at the same time since its all out of the car to do just the springs (front only). A big drop in the rear and getting wider tires may show how the rear end is rarely centered correctly from the factory which can be fixed with an adj PHB.

 

This is Roush Rear springs and stock springs in the front.

255/45/18 front tires & 285/40/18 rears

 

So there won't be any ill effects from using the Roush Springs in the rear to level out the car?

I'll do tires down the road, still have some tread left. When I do, I'll go to the maximum size my 18's can fit (as of now), cuz I don't think I'm getting new rims.

 

You'll be fine with just the rear springs. If you lower it too far you might want an adjustable panhard bar to recenter the rear over the axle, but I wouldn't worry about it. Just go for the springs and have fun!

Wise choice on waiting for new tires. No need to spend the dough if you don't need to.

 

Thanks for your advice. And everyone else too.

Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll get the springs and find a YT on how to do the install. I'm somewhat mechanically inclined so following step-by-step should be easy enough (I hope!) lol.