l00kitzzlilcj

Need to lower the stang. Just put on some staggered 19s and it looks like an f150 now.. not really lol. Anyone try or have BBK springs? I have a coupon from them because I had a bad experience installing my LT headers so I figured I use it on their springs.

They're $260 and lower an "approximate 1.25 inches", while SR Performance is $130 and lowers 1.5 inches. What do you think?

Also, should I buy a panhard bar and get a wheel alignment or anything? I don't want to start ruining my brand new tires

Matt's 95 Stang

I have not used BBK's lowering springs, I do have H&R SS springs on my 95 and love them. Really took the roll out of the car, keeps it flat, and not to hard to install. As for the Pan-hard and wheel alignment - yes to both. Lowering a S197 over an inch will throw the rear end off alignment so a adjustable pan bar is recommended (some would say needed). Also thing about replacing the struts/shocks while you are at it as the OEM ones will not last long lowered that much.

Matthew

l00kitzzlilcj

I'd rather not buy struts and shocks so I could save some money while I can. I have 20k on mine right now. My 06 gt does more sitting around than driving because Im a college student 4 days a week taking trains. How fast would they go if I kept those on?

cegha

While I don't have my car lowered (yet) I have done lots of reading to understand what's involved & what goes on. I have had my 08 GT since 08 & looking everyday at it I fully understand where your coming from with wanting it lowered, but there is A LOT that goes into properly lowering a car. A kid on a college budget is not the #1 person to be lowering cars.

To PROPERLY lower your car it will be $1000+ in parts costs (not including labor). Lot's of stuff changes when you drop your car. Almost every suspension part needs to be changed out (usually with adjustable) parts to keep it in spec & aligned correctly. I am going to lower my car, but lowering the car will actually be the LAST thing that is done. Every other mod should be done prior to the actual lowering springs being installed.

The parts that need to be replaced are (ideally) a bump steer kit, shocks/struts, caster/camber plates (could get by with bolts), lowering springs, new ball joints are nice too, adjustable UCA, fixed LCA with relocation brackets, & an adjustable panhard bar or watt's link. Off the top of my head, I believe that's whats needed.

To start with when you lower the car, it is making the suspension stiffer which in turn makes the components of the suspension system take more abuse. This isn't a problem if your components are durable & meant for that abuse, the stock suspension system is cushy & meant to take the little abuse it sees, not the abuse of 1-2" of lowering.

That is why it is important to also replace & change out the rest of the suspension to deal with the drop. The stock shocks/struts are meant to rebound with the stock springs. You will have way to much rebound without replacing the shocks/struts if you lower with stiffer springs. Not only will the ride feel like ****, but yes they will wear out VERY quickly from the beating. Then when one of them goes out while your driving & leaves you stranded imagine how pissed your going to be. I don't know if it would blow out per se, but after enough abuse it is going to break in some way shape or form. It may be driveable it may not, but even if it is driveable then what. Adjustable shocks/struts are about $700-$850, which if lowering you ideally want adjustable to tune them to your springs. Where would you suddenly come up with money to get this fixed. Can't put new stockers back on, or you go back to same **** ride & back to bad wear.

I'm putting a bump steer kit on my car day after next & i'm not even lowered yet as I mentioned. One tie rod is busted open & the other is cracking. Just going to replace them with a bumpsteer kit which is basically adjustable outer tie rods. When lowered the front tie rods will not be straight, this allows you to fix that. Also gives better handling as well. Also since it's a metal design it won't ever break or have to be replaced like stock tie rod ends. I personally wouldn't lower without a set.

Next is your rear pinion angle which is set with the UCA/LCA. When lowered this has to be fixed. You need an adjustable UCA with a replacement bracket & i'm going with one piece LCAs and then will eventually get relocation brackets for the LCAs when I lower. Expect $400-$500ish for adj UCA, UCA bracket, & LCAs.

Ball joints should also be replaced to help handle added strain of lowering. Steeda x5s are $160. Caster/camber plates would be nice to have, it's what I will opt to install on my car when shocks/struts are changed out, but with a mild drop you could get by with camber bolts. Adj panhard bar is also needed to fix alignment problems in rear end once lowered. Cheap part though, $150ish.

Just about the only damn part you don't have to mess with is the front control arms. I believe that I read the GT part is the same part used in the GT500, so those can be left alone for the most part.

I personally won't sacrifice ride quality and tear up my car to look "cool" or tell people my rides lowered. I would rather deal with stock ride height F150 4x4 look & have my car ride correctly. The best thing I can recommend is to not screw with your suspension. I'm guessing you would be paying a shop to install them. Once you get them installed, if you decide it sucks, now you have to pay to get it back to stock & your stuck with the springs you have no use for. I feel it would be a $500+ lesson you would learn in suspension & end up back at stock. I would recommend doing like I am & slowly dropping money on all the other suspension mods & there easy to do yourself mabye over a weekend or holiday at home you would have access to tools. Then when you get all other mods done you could lower & not have problems. By that time most components should need replacing anyway. I am 43xxx miles & was planning to replace my shocks/struts @ 50K anyways. So i've got enough use out of my stock suspension to justify me upgrading to new performance parts. You mention you only have 20K miles on your shocks/struts. I would just leave them on until they get about 45-50K miles on them then replace them then by that time you should be ready to lower.

l00kitzzlilcj

sounds like some good information, thats the first time i've heard anyone detail some complications of lowering a car a little. I was told to get a coil over kit instead of just buying springs, which eventually will ruin the stock struts/shocks. At least maybe I could sell that stock setup to someone who blew theirs out and is just looking to replace it instead of upgrading.

I did plan on getting a J&M panhard bar and doing the work myself with a family member like always. I just want to put the money towards other stuff like a nice hood and other cosmetics outside. However, Americanmuscle.com explained that you could just get by with 1.5" or less of a drop without changing the struts and shocks for a while.

Also, my best friend has a coil over kit on his is250. Hes had it for a year & a half, he hasn't experienced any suspension problems since hes been slammed on the floor for 18 months (not that i had any intentions on doing that, because i dont). Not only that but he hasn't had any problems at all besides scraping and blowing out one of his tires because his camber looked like ^ lol. Those are his own fault though. I haven't heard anyone say anything like that about lowering a little not even a shop, so ill look into it a bit further before I make a decision.

ModBargains

I personally went straight to coilovers because I felt that it should be done the right way off the bat. I went KW V3 coilovers for Mustang, Hotchkis Upper Trailing Arm and Hotchkis Lower Trailing Arms, as well as a Hotchkis Panahrd bar.

Camber plates or camber bolts for my particular set up weren't necessary. When I lowered the vehicle I didn't have an excessive amount of negative camber up front, so I just left it as is and just got an alignment. Of course for your application depending on how low you go with your adjustable coilovers, may require camber bolts or camber plates (plates are preferable for more adjustment).

Never had an issue with my set up, and I've been using these parts for about 6 months or so. Here are some pictures from my install (sorry, large pictures):

Hotchkis LCA:


This is why you need a panhard bar. It's hard to tell, but I put a broom next to the fender to see how much the axle has shifted over:







Stock shock VS V3 coilover:


Hotchkis UCA installed:



Result - Perfect stance:



Let me know if you have any questions!

l00kitzzlilcj

That looks great. Im only planning to go about 1.3" in the front and 1.4" in the rear so i heard for that i dont need camber plates or bolts. My buddy is trying to talk me into coilovers but i realized id probably never use them to their full potential so why should i buy it. Im not racing on track or going to take my wheels off to adjust my ride height every now and then.

Basically, I just want my mustang lowered for the look and to help my handling. I think im going to buy the Eibach Pro-Kit with the springs, shocks/struts, and swaybars and call it a day... for now. Ill worry about control arms later. I heard that Ford recommends some flag & rod nuts and stuff to be replaced when they are taken off for the suspension work. Is that vital?

ModBargains

I'd ignore the Ford recommendation, I'm doing just fine without them after a track day and aggressive driving for the last 6+ months with the suspension on the bumpy Los Angeles streets. I would say it's not vital. If you want the pro-kit though, I've got that for you right here, and we can do Eibach Sways if you want those. PM me for a total if you want and I can get that shipped out right away since we're a direct with Eibach distributor, we've got the best service with Eibach possible.



Eibach Pro-Kit Performance Springs Mustang V6/GT/Boss

l00kitzzlilcj

Oh great, that is good to know. I wont be replacing them either I guess. As for the pro-kit, im going to hold off on that for now since I need to let my bank account recoup a little bit lol. Also, im still looking into other parts like upper & lower CA's. Wondering if I need those because im still seeing mixed feedback about doing this kind of suspension work. Would it be easier it if I replaced the CA's while I have the rear end dropped out for the dampeners & springs? As in, I dont want to have to do that later on down the line again if I find out like 5k or 10k miles later that I need them.

ModBargains

The car is already going to need to be put onto a lift, so you're automatically saving money if you want other parts installed at the same time since they're in the same area, at least with us you will because we wont charge you as much labor on the install since we're already up in the area.