SNAKEPILOT said:
For the drop spindle to be a worthwhile mod, it has to do two maybe three things.
1. Lower the front end.
2. Allow wider wheels/tires.
3. Decrease turning radius.
Amen brother! For the vast majority of people I believe these are THE 3 issues that would absolutely have to be addressed before it's worth it to go to the trouble of replacing the stock spindle. I only have to worry about my car, and since I have a coilover front
suspension, I can easily drop the front 1 to 2 inches without a dropped spindle, and I still have plenty of travel. The 1" drop for me is only to allow a 9" wheel to fit. However, it may not be enough for every wheel/tire/
suspension combination out there. It is just as important to let customers know what will work as what will not work. I know that not everyone wants a 17" wheel, and I doubt a 15x9" wheel can be made to fit without making the spindle incredibly short, and then you would compromise the geometry, so the wider wheel assumes a willingness to use larger rims. The 2 most common 17" wheel styles being installed on classic mustangs are the 94-99 SN-95 17x8s and 17x9s, and the TTII 9.5s. It would be a worthwhile exercise to verify fitment of both the 9" wide OEM and TTII 9.5" wide wheels with at least the stock UCA. I don't think it has to actually work with both combinations, but it definetly has to work with at least one, and we need to know which one that is.
bnickel said:
the rack guys would want the tie rod location moved forward closer to the spindle pin NOT toward the center of the car.
Agreed, and moved along the same axis as an imaginary line from the tie rod centerline to the lower BJ centerline to maintain the factory Ackerman. I wouldn't try to resolve bumpsteer by dropping the steering arm as there are too many variations of steering and
suspension kits already out there. Keep the drop relative to the lower ball joint the same as the stock spindle, and it will work with most kits. Also, I would highly recommend using the larger Granada tie rod end rather than the 70-73 taper. The people who are installing this spindle aren't going for concurs judging, they want performance, and should expect to install new tie rod ends anyway.