I have a 99 gt mustang convert. I want to lower it 2 inches, have seen a lot of forums on lowering and well i made a few calls talked to a place called Pro Speed a performance place they said i can lower it 2 inches but it will tear up my tires fast, they said 1 1/2 inch lowered for front and 1 1/4 for back. I have a lot of friends who have/had mustangs and they lowered it 2 inches just fine....So my question is what Pro Speed said true? Any advice?

 

2" is a pretty aggressive drop and will create some issues of which you need to be aware. Going past about 1.25"~1.5" will get the camber of the wheels to tilt inward at the top to create an usually fast wear of inside edge of tires (increases negative camber). While this is a welcome condition for those that enjoy corrners, I run -2° myself, my inner edge is toast well before the rest of the tire is worn out. The factory specs are about .5°, IIRC, and going 2" drop will put you somewhere around 1.25° would be my guess.

Another issue with such a drop is some negative effects on suspension function. Bump-steer will be a bit of an issue and where a bump in the road causes your car to "pull" one way or the other momentarily. Where OEM shocks/struts are a good thing to replace when dropping your car at all, it is all but mandatory going 2". These OEM parts are designed to be at a certain ride height. When the car is lowered, they make the ride more harsh because they are always somewhat compressed and "act" as though the car is near to bottoming out, so more aggressively slow down the compression of springs (some other reasons as well). The lower the car, the worse the effect. Some aftermarket shocks can address this issue, but not sure if you are willing to go this route. Take a little look at the suspension guide (sig) and read up on bump-steer and shocks. The above items can be addressed, but will run the cost of your mods up and increase your NVH.

What are the ULTIMATE goals for your ride?

Jazzer

PS. Welcome to MF's

 

Well, I did read up on ur forum..As of right now it it all stock expect for my system of course :P As of right now i have 6 points/things i want to do....First the lowering, rims/tires, cold air intake, a high flow low restriction exhaust system, and headers if possible. I have a lot of information going on about lowering the my mustang...so from what i read Pro speed was correct? Don't lower 2'?

 

I dont really think a lowered Mustang looks all that great

 

If youre going with that much of a drop then I hope you arent too fond of the idea of longtube headers. 2" is really going to limit how you get around if your roads are anything less than pristine

 

For the long run, I'd be inclined to NOT lower a convertible quite as far as a coupe. When you lower a car, you'll either be using stiffer springs or smacking the bump stops a lot more, either of which will beat up a convertible somewhat more than a coupe.

Pro-Speed sounds like a respectable shop. They are providing a decent alternative with some reasons rather than simply telling you what you wanted to hear in order to separate you from your $ and leaving it at that.

Don't forget that many, maybe most, individuals don't care to talk about things they've done to their cars that they ended up being not entirely happy with. It's seen as easier to suffer in silence than it is to than risk looking bad for not thinking their choices through carefully enough (or in some cases looking foolish directly for not listening to good advice).

It would be helpful if you could describe the way you see this car being used (daily-driver, weekend cruise/getaway, car shows/meets, drags/auto-X/other hard running, etc.).

Depending on your overall average use of the car, at -1.5" up front you may still need to use camber plates to bring the alignment back to where it works best for you. Don't let yourself get talked into using crash bolts (aka "camber bolts"). The cheap way out . . . . well, you get what you pay for sometimes.


Norm

 

^ and always keep in mind, that NVH* is a by-product of pretty much ALL suspension mods. CC plates will bring some noise to your front end and needs to be considered, even though they allow a proper alignment and can add greatly to the performance of your ride.

Jazzer

*Noise Vibration Harshness