Rear coil over before and after...

[stang22]

Just a few pics of before and after. New shocks, rear C/O kit, tubular upper and lower control arms, rear sway bar. What a difference in the ride, I can't believe it. Next weekend I get to tackle the front. If anyone has any questions, I am sure it will be plastered to my brain for a while.



Tim

 

[tm4mcgrath1]

Nice

 

[Michael Yount]

Nice job - great to see everything nice and clean. A panhard rod will help locate the axle laterally.

 

[stang22]

Nice job - great to see everything nice and clean. A panhard rod will help locate the axle laterally.

Thanks Michael! Panhard bar and rear disc brakes and the rear will be finished.

Tim

 

[GT40XStang9]

What C/O kit did you use? I've been thinking about them lately.

 

[icarus]

very nice, so, who made the C/O kit?

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

It's a Granatelli rear C/O kit.
TIM

 

[jerry beach]

Yes, very nice looking job. I like the attention to details. Who's kit is it and what did it cost you? I wanted to do the MM coilovers on all four corners, but the cost is too high for me right now. I cant part with the $1570. That was for Bilsteins. What kind of shocks did you get. Are you setting up for 1/4 mi?

 

[90mustangGT]

Are you sure the rear shock towers can handle holding the vehicle's weight, Ford never designed it for this? Just a thought.

How is the ride? Does it ride alot smoother or just handle better, both? I'm thinking of going with the MM Lower controll arms, Panhad bar, and tq arm, front coil-overs, STB, and CC plates.

 

[stang22]

Are you sure the rear shock towers can handle holding the vehicle's weight, Ford never designed it for this? Just a thought.

How is the ride? Does it ride alot smoother or just handle better, both? I'm thinking of going with the MM Lower controll arms, Panhad bar, and tq arm, front coil-overs, STB, and CC plates.

I think the shock towers all the way around can handle it. If people run C/O's in the front and they handle the added pressure ok, I don't see any reason why the rear wouldn't. The top portion of the kit takes up all of the bottom of the strut tower so I think that should be enough.

The ride is very responsive! I got the street setup because I don't take it the track, drag or auto x. The launch is amazing though! Once I add the pahhard bar, it should be awesome.

I don't remember what the kit alone cost, but I paid about 2k for new suspension all the way around. I think I got a pretty good deal, it is not all Maximum Motorsports stuff (cause we all know they make the best stuff), but I think it will do for me.

I will start installing the front suspension, sub-frame connectors and STB this weekend as well as hiding wires. I should notice a very big difference over stock for sure. Here is a pic of "ALMOST" everything I have so far, not including new rotors and some other minor stuff. I want to handle first, then put some HP to the rear! Stay tuned!

 

[86GT-Top]

Ohh...I likey!!! wanna buy that stuff for me too?!

 

[Michael Yount]

stang22 - there is a difference front to rear. The front strut towers originally had the spring/shock acting on them, and they do after the C/O conversion too. The rear had the shock in one location, and the spring applying forces in a separate location - one that was designed for that in the first place. Not saying it's not fine - I don't know enough about it. But the analogy that if it's ok in the front it ought to be ok in the back doesn't quite apply in this instance. Sure does look like nice work/components. Don't you just love that Bilstein yellow under there? Me too! (Mine has Bilsteins front and rear as well)

 

[mustang90]

Thats the same kit that I have sitting in my garage going on my 90 gt. My concern also was, Is the rear capable of handling the weight?" I have the fronts done but am hesitant on the rears. I need some advice. Did the kit come with supports for the coil over kit to bolt onto the axle? Imagine if the bolt snapped? Should I put it on or stay away and sell the kit?

 

[stang22]

Thats the same kit that I have sitting in my garage going on my 90 gt. My concern also was, Is the rear capable of handling the weight?" I have the fronts done but am hesitant on the rears. I need some advice. Did the kit come with supports for the coil over kit to bolt onto the axle? Imagine if the bolt snapped? Should I put it on or stay away and sell the kit?

I researched the C/O kits for about 3 months before deciding to go with it. So many companies sell these kits to put on "stock" cars. I went with a medium/mild spring rate in the rear versus the auto-x setup/stiff, so I am really not concerned with the rear shock towers. If something fails, I will deal with it when I get there... if I ever do. I honestly believe that as long as these kits have been around and people have been using them on a stock application,
"structurally", that if something was going to fail in the rear that would be seeing pics and reading testomonies about it etc. I have heard nothing but good reviews about coil over's since I started researching them. So far so good and the ride is increadible. I don't really race my car, but I want something that will last and when I feel like pounding it to the ground, I can.

The lower shock mount on the kit has 2 bolts that bolt the lower C/O support to the axle. Your current stock shock only has one bolt. There is plenty of supports down there with 2 bolts holding it down.

I like to compare all suspension parts to that of Maximum Motorsports because to me, they sell the best suspension products money can buy. All kits are basically the same to some degree, but my advice for you would be to do your research thoroughly before you buy anything that you are going to put on your car. Don't just buy something and bolt it on because someone else did. Every person uses different parts and setups for different applications. Set some goals that you want your car to meet and do your best to meet them.

 

[ROBSLXTASY]

yea

Your right about researching.. Griggs is the only way I go...

Coilovers will work just fine in the rear.. The front and the rears are not designed from the factory for coilover setups but they will withstand the beating of them..also someone said the front coil(stock) puts the spring pressure on the strut tower?? How do you figure?? It comes off the kmember and pushes off the a-arm, much like the rear(stock spring pushes of the frame to the lower control arm? so how would putting them on the rear be worse than the front? In my opinion the front is worse than the rears because then you have the weight of the front(which is more than the rear) all pushing against the caster camber plates..Which I might add must be picked very carefully when using coilovers up front.. Aluminum c/c plates will bend and in extreme cases break under that pressure..

 

[5LugFoxFanatic]

Nice , now all you gotta do is get rid of those drums.

 

[stang22]

Nice , now all you gotta do is get rid of those drums.

Hey hey! Watch it! J/K Those drums help it sleep! Hopefully my disc brakes will be on in a few weeks. I got enough suspension parts sitting in the garage to install to last me 2 months if not more... one step at a time. Glad ya like it.

Tim

 

[Michael Yount]

RobsLx - I think I mentioned the difference between the front and rear suspension mounting points. By the way, your pic looks great. I wasn't referring to the lower mounting points of the spring/shock assemblies, but the upper mounting points where they attach to the uni-body. In the front, with a MacPherson strut you essentially already have a coil-over (just with a bigger diameter spring). So the spring transmits it's forces into the body at the strut tower. After changing out the strut for an aftermarket 'coilover', the spring still transmits its force into the body at the strut tower.

At the rear, the spring and the shock are separate in the stock set up. The spring transmits its forces (again - at the top, not the bottom) into the body at the upper spring perch. The shock simply damps that motion - but it connects to the body at a different location than the rear spring (upper shock mount vs. spring perch). So switching to coil overs in the back results in transmission of the spring forces into the body at the shock mount location rather than the spring perch location.

Having said all that, I agree with both of you - I don't think reputable companies would design it in a way that's problematic. I feel quite certain the upper shock mount is capable of handling it's new role. Both applications look really sharp.

 

[stang22]

Thanks Michael! You are a true professional when you reply to posts here. You hit the nail on the head.



Tim

 

[GroverDill]

Does the rear coilover take away from the max tire width?