low not harsh ride

I have a 2003 GT, I want the height lower but have a somewhat near stock ride quality. What springs would be best for that? I have maxspeed springs right now and don't like them. The side sucks. What springs are you all running and do you like them?
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Well the lower your mustang is to the center of gravity the harsher
the ride quality you will have.The only way your ride quality is going
to get better is if you have less of a drop from your springs.Look
into getting some good struts and shocks like Bilstein's.Also get
some caster chamber plates if you don't have some on your mustang
now it probably will help.You are not the first person how has said
that they were not happy with the Maxspeed springs.You should
definitley get different springs for you mustang.I highly recommend
getting the Eibach Pro Kit springs.I have Eibach Sportline springs
right now and I wish I had got the Eibach Pro Kit springs instead.
The look is great with the Eibach Sportline springs but,you sacrifice
ride quality for a lower car though.
 
The biggest thing that affects ride comfort is definitely the front suspension. With that said, most people end up only changing the springs and not their old used dampeners. If you get a quality set of Fox Body shocks and lowering springs, that will drop the car and save a bit of ride quality. The Fox Body gear is a bit shorter than the SN95 stuff is, but bolts up the same. I've heard that Steeda has a few types of springs that ride pretty nice, namely the Ultra-Lites, and offer a good bit of a drop as well. One other thing to consider would be a set of adjustable front dampeners that you could always leave on the softest setting. Whichever route you choose to go, ANYTHING will look better than the stock truck ride height!
 
I've got FRPPs Bullitt kit (M-5400-A) along with FRPP UCAs and am happy with the combo. Car's handling improved markedly and the ride is good. Car isn't lowered much ... perhaps 1" or so (and with my KB it's a bit lower still in the front now...) This is basically the suspension Ford fitted to the New Edge Bullitt so it's not drastic in any dimension: not too harsh, not too squishy, not too high, not too low.

It's a decent mid-level upgrade. It's not for people looking for a slammed look or razor sharp handling.
 
I've got FRPPs Bullitt kit (M-5400-A) along with FRPP UCAs and am happy with the combo. Car's handling improved markedly and the ride is good. Car isn't lowered much ... perhaps 1" or so (and with my KB it's a bit lower still in the front now...) This is basically the suspension Ford fitted to the New Edge Bullitt so it's not drastic in any dimension: not too harsh, not too squishy, not too high, not too low.

It's a decent mid-level upgrade. It's not for people looking for a slammed look or razor sharp handling.
How is it on rough or uneven roads. Mine tracks in the ruts and the steering is erratic and unpredictable.
 
I've not really noticed any objectionable tracking issues like that. I've still got 245/45 tires and 17" rims. If you've got wider rubber and/or lower profile tires you may see more pronounced tracking issues. I'm also on stock ball joints and tie rods; I didn't think my lowering was drastic enough to warrant attempting to correct geometries with extended parts. I do have some pronounced negative camber on the fronts (just enough for a good looking stance) though no tire wear issues.

I think the only complaint I would have is that the rear suspension tends to take large-ish bumps (e.g. railroad crossings) harshly with evidence of what may be bottoming. Not sure if this is the pinion snubber getting in the way or if it's the stiffer bushings in the UCAs. However, this is a minor concern as for every other road situation, the suspension does a nice job soaking up the bumps.
 
I've not really noticed any objectionable tracking issues like that. I've still got 245/45 tires and 17" rims. If you've got wider rubber and/or lower profile tires you may see more pronounced tracking issues. I'm also on stock ball joints and tie rods; I didn't think my lowering was drastic enough to warrant attempting to correct geometries with extended parts. I do have some pronounced negative camber on the fronts (just enough for a good looking stance) though no tire wear issues.

I think the only complaint I would have is that the rear suspension tends to take large-ish bumps (e.g. railroad crossings) harshly with evidence of what may be bottoming. Not sure if this is the pinion snubber getting in the way or if it's the stiffer bushings in the UCAs. However, this is a minor concern as for every other road situation, the suspension does a nice job soaking up the bumps.
Maybe ist's the pinion angle then. My ball joints and tie rod ends are stock to. Or the drop is too much, it said it was a 2" drop. It doesn't look that low though. It looks like there is about 2"-2.5" between the tire and the fender.
 
i have sportlines with no bump steer or ball and stock ballsjoints (parts are sitting in the garage waiting to be installed) and i have NO tracking issues whatsoever either... ill see how it goes with those installed

loss of ride quality is what you might have to live with if you want your car to handle and look better
 
I have MACH 1 springs and they seem to work very well and give a decent ride. They changed the handling from oversteer to nuetral and the ride is firm but not annoying. I don't see how slamming a car will give you better handling without massively re-engineering the suspension which is a lot of $$$$$. HOWEVER, you will not get the slammed look with these springs. They have the same spring rate as the Bullit springs but are only 1/2" drop as compared to 3/4" for Bullits. I don"t have any tracking, "bump-steer", "bottoming out" or alignment issues either. Another nice thing is I usually don't scrape on speedbumps or steep driveways. I used to drive slammed cars but I also got sick of the ride quality and alignment issues.
 
i have sportlines with no bump steer or ball and stock ballsjoints (parts are sitting in the garage waiting to be installed) and i have NO tracking issues whatsoever either... ill see how it goes with those installed

loss of ride quality is what you might have to live with if you want your car to handle and look better
Yeah, I can handle that. It's the tracking that is killing me.
 
My tracking issues all started when I went from 245s up front to 275s. If I could do it all over again, I would have gotten the 8" wide versions of my wheels and 245s again. The 275s are a total waste for the type of driving I do, and they tramline like hell. I was told the Steeda bumpsteer kit paired up with some offset rack bushings would really help.
 
tramlining, or following the cracks/seams/ruts in the road is mostly tire dependent. The sharper the shoulder of the tire, i.e. the more square the edge of the tread where it meets the sidewall, the more it's going to do it in my experience. Tire width has little to do with it, but staggered set-ups can be more susceptible.

Also, if you run a different brand/tread pattern up front vs. out back, the more issues you will have with this kind of thing. Your front tires might not follow the lines at all, but if your rears do, you will be driving along and suddenly your car will be pointed a different direction than the road because your front tires were going straight ignoring the seam cutting across the lane while your rear tires were following the seam. The rear tire's thrust is pushing the car one direction while you'd prefer to be driving a different direction. The result is an unpleasant episode that usually just irritates but can be unsafe. That's usually why it's recomended that you run the same tire front and rear even if they are different widths.
 
tramlining, or following the cracks/seams/ruts in the road is mostly tire dependent. The sharper the shoulder of the tire, i.e. the more square the edge of the tread where it meets the sidewall, the more it's going to do it in my experience. Tire width has little to do with it, but staggered set-ups can be more susceptible.

Also, if you run a different brand/tread pattern up front vs. out back, the more issues you will have with this kind of thing. Your front tires might not follow the lines at all, but if your rears do, you will be driving along and suddenly your car will be pointed a different direction than the road because your front tires were going straight ignoring the seam cutting across the lane while your rear tires were following the seam. The rear tire's thrust is pushing the car one direction while you'd prefer to be driving a different direction. The result is an unpleasant episode that usually just irritates but can be unsafe. That's usually why it's recomended that you run the same tire front and rear even if they are different widths.
Would the quad shocks (axle dampers) have anything to do with it? I have the same that came with the car on there and I have over 150,000 miles
 
My tracking issues all started when I went from 245s up front to 275s. If I could do it all over again, I would have gotten the 8" wide versions of my wheels and 245s again. The 275s are a total waste for the type of driving I do, and they tramline like hell. I was told the Steeda bumpsteer kit paired up with some offset rack bushings would really help.

I agree with you 100%. 275's are somewhat of a waste on the front end. If my car didn't come with them already on, I wouldn't have them right now.