Is this suspension setup too low?

txcanyon

New Member
Aug 29, 2011
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My deployment is almost over and I have started ordering parts for my refurbishment of my 92GT to drive to Alaska. One of the previous owners obviously used lowering springs on this car, and I am wondering if it is too low. I plan on at one point doing a 5 lug swap and putting 17"s on it and looking at it's height now, it looks somewhat lower than alot of the cars around here on these forums.

That being said, should I look for some new springs and shocks?.. Its got 189k on it and I am sure most of the suspension needs a good rework, which I'll do when I yank the motor this next winter, but for now I need to get it to Alaska.

Any recomendations? I plan on getting it to around 300hp N/A only so nothing too fancy to keep it on the road needed. Eyeing the 20% discount at FBworld for stuff on sale.
 
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Looks good to me. Depends on if you like the ride quality or not. Usually a lower car like that rides more harsh. I for one do not mind the harshness, as my fox is not a daily driver and I like the "raw" feel of it. Mine is lowered 2", which most around here do not like.

Get a nice set of rims and that car will look killer with that drop IMO.
 
I've only driven it about 20 miles after I bought it. Had to come back to Afghanistan the next day. I agree on the stance, it does look great, but I guess I'll deal with wheel fitment when I get to that point. I just have 3000 miles to put on it over the course of 2.5 weeks and if the ride quality sucks my wife will be complaining about it by day 3 :rlaugh:.

Anybody else with photos of their Mustang that low to the ground with aftermarket wheels? I like this photo so much better in regards to the stance.

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As long as you're not experiencing any rubbing when cornering, or "dipping" into driveways or over speed bumps and you can live with the choppy ride, I say leave it the way it is. Mileage shouldn't be your reason to replace suspension components. If it passes a visual inspection (no rotted bushings, or leaking shocks) and you're not getting the "trampoline" effects when you hit a bump, I say leave it alone.

I would however check to see that it was done right. Make sure everything lines up properly underneath. Check the bumpsteer to make sure that the steering rods are parallel. If not, pick yourself up a kit from Steeda or the like to correct the issue. Some guys also/alternatively use rack bushings as well.

Make sure the stock Caster/Camber plates have enough adjustment in them to align the car to spec. If not, invest in some that will.
 
Too low for what?

IMHO, it's your car, and you can modify as you want (as long as it's road safe :)).

For looks, it's your call. You know what type of streets you'll be driving on.
For handling, that stance is horrible - period.
For the Quarter Mile, that stance is a beyond horrible.

There are a couple of benchmarks you can consider:
For handling do not lower a GT Stang more than 3/4" to 1"- without massive and major suspension changes (I'm talking $5K to even start).

For lowering, the proper way to lower the car is to keep the same amount of force required for maximum jounce (suspension compression). For ~1" drop, that means a spring rate ~700lbs/in - that's stiff. For a 1.5" drop, the spring rate is very harsh and most people would say not street-able. Lowering a GT more than 1.5" is a joke - really! But, people lower their Stang 3", 4", etc. IMHO, those people don't have a clue what they're talking about.

Note, the GT is already a lowered platform. Do a Google search, get a tape measure, look at other cars, leave me alone. :)

The stock height of a GT front fender is ~~27.25". Unless people spec a fender height, show a tape measure, or specify all four corners (they are never the same), they likely have a Stang that is lowered 3". ;) Pretty cool since the max jounce (compression) is only ~3.5" (as spec'ed by Ford). So, you can see with a 3.5" jounce, why even a 2" drop is a joke, and purely for looks.

Also, people never seem to mention the "minor mods" (LMAO!) they did to get their wheels to fit. Or, they seem to quote some BS "tire size" and never mention the tire make, tire model, rim width, or offset. Rolling fender lips, caster/camber settings, pushing out the fender, changing/cutting the liner, etc are all common mods. Tire "sizes" are like pants/dress sizes. That's especially true for the Section-Width and the Tread-Width! Just look on tirerack to see what I'm talking about. So, the exact tires, and the mods made, make a difference on how well the tires fit inside the wheel wells.

The ?92/93? Stangs have minor fender liner mods, etc. Also, Ford did a number of minor moves to the firewall, and FCA mounting points, strut tower location, over the Fox years. Yea, they are "minor", until you have zero clearance between yout tire and somthing else, then those "minor" mods don't seem so minor.

So... be careful about any setup used by someone else. Add in the POS Fox tolerances, and anything other than 100% stock becomes an adventure. :) But, IMHO, anyone that has a 20+ year old car and is looking to modify it, is not looking for a car to "buy it off the Dealer floor, drive it, and forget about it".


For Handling:
You'll also want CC plates, and a bumpsteer kit. IMHO, get only MM stuff. There have been a ton of threads on the quailty of stuff from other vendors. Maximum Motorsports has a real engineer, and he uses real engineering software (and it's not cheap either!). Steeda is also good. But, lately Steeda has been more towards profit, aftermarket, and we want the best performance figures for the BS magazine tests (because that is what sells cars!).


BTW, to avoid another huge p*****sing match, I'm not going to post any in this thread. So, please don't take my lack of replies as my acceptance or admittance to anything else that is posted in this thread. If you weren't in the Services, I wouldn't have bothered. :)
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Good Luck!
:flag:
 
The day I bought mine over a week ago, I drove it back over 200 miles, and to be honest there were only a few bumps that really bothered me. The rest of the ride on the highway was fairly normal. Around town though is another story. I also got 25.5 mpg out of that tank of fuel. Lol
 
Too low for what?

IMHO, it's your car, and you can modify as you want (as long as it's road safe :)).

For looks, it's your call. You know what type of streets you'll be driving on.
For handling, that stance is horrible - period.
For the Quarter Mile, that stance is a beyond horrible.

There are a couple of benchmarks you can consider:
For handling do not lower a GT Stang more than 3/4" to 1"- without massive and major suspension changes (I'm talking $5K to even start).

For lowering, the proper way to lower the car is to keep the same amount of force required for maximum jounce (suspension compression). For ~1" drop, that means a spring rate ~700lbs/in - that's stiff. For a 1.5" drop, the spring rate is very harsh and most people would say not street-able. Lowering a GT more than 1.5" is a joke - really! But, people lower their Stang 3", 4", etc. IMHO, those people don't have a clue what they're talking about.

Note, the GT is already a lowered platform. Do a Google search, get a tape measure, look at other cars, leave me alone. :)

The stock height of a GT front fender is ~~27.25". Unless people spec a fender height, show a tape measure, or specify all four corners (they are never the same), they likely have a Stang that is lowered 3". ;) Pretty cool since the max jounce (compression) is only ~3.5" (as spec'ed by Ford). So, you can see with a 3.5" jounce, why even a 2" drop is a joke, and purely for looks.

Also, people never seem to mention the "minor mods" (LMAO!) they did to get their wheels to fit. Or, they seem to quote some BS "tire size" and never mention the tire make, tire model, rim width, or offset. Rolling fender lips, caster/camber settings, pushing out the fender, changing/cutting the liner, etc are all common mods. Tire "sizes" are like pants/dress sizes. That's especially true for the Section-Width and the Tread-Width! Just look on tirerack to see what I'm talking about. So, the exact tires, and the mods made, make a difference on how well the tires fit inside the wheel wells.

The ?92/93? Stangs have minor fender liner mods, etc. Also, Ford did a number of minor moves to the firewall, and FCA mounting points, strut tower location, over the Fox years. Yea, they are "minor", until you have zero clearance between yout tire and somthing else, then those "minor" mods don't seem so minor.

So... be careful about any setup used by someone else. Add in the POS Fox tolerances, and anything other than 100% stock becomes an adventure. :) But, IMHO, anyone that has a 20+ year old car and is looking to modify it, is not looking for a car to "buy it off the Dealer floor, drive it, and forget about it".


For Handling:
You'll also want CC plates, and a bumpsteer kit. IMHO, get only MM stuff. There have been a ton of threads on the quailty of stuff from other vendors. Maximum Motorsports has a real engineer, and he uses real engineering software (and it's not cheap either!). Steeda is also good. But, lately Steeda has been more towards profit, aftermarket, and we want the best performance figures for the BS magazine tests (because that is what sells cars!).


BTW, to avoid another huge p*****sing match, I'm not going to post any in this thread. So, please don't take my lack of replies as my acceptance or admittance to anything else that is posted in this thread. If you weren't in the Services, I wouldn't have bothered. :)
4757.png



Good Luck!
:flag:

Thank you for replying. I have made my decision to return it back to factory, or maybe a better spring/shock combo. I'm getting to old for this crappy ride.
 
We'll we'll be in Texas long enough for me to replace the springs/shocks if the ride is too rough. I used to race Miatas and lower=better there. Parts of the ALCAN are rough in a 4x4 and unfortunately the 300 or so miles I'll be driving in June are the worst (west of Whitehorse towards the YT/ Alaska border).
 
my car handles better stops better and accelerates better with the 1.5" drop bbk specific rate springs i installed years back. i gained .2 on my 60 fts, picked up .8-1.1 second autocrossing and i can actually still see the road ahead of me instead of 3 ft in front of the nose of the car when i hit the brakes. i like them much more than the stock pieces, and they don't kill you like progressive rate springs. the springs were installed with the offset steering rack bushings and c/c plates. i have had 3 brands of tires on the car nittos/kumhos/bfgs 245/45/17 front 255/45/17 back with no rubbing what so ever on anything and i daily drive the car and have been on it since '05.