Stock Height Performance Springs

Due to the crowned and often uneven and bumpy roads here in northern NH, lowering my '88 GT will have it scraping asphalt for sure. My friend lowered his '87 an inch and a half and I can recall sparks flying out from the underside on several occasions. My question is—if I don't want performance lowering springs, does anyone manufacture stock-height performance (higher rate?) springs? If not, I guess I'll focus my attention elsewhere to better the handling. Thanks!
 
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Due to the crowned and often uneven and bumpy roads here in northern NH, lowering my '88 GT will have it scraping asphalt for sure. My friend lowered his '87 an inch and a half and I can recall sparks flying out from the underside on several occasions. My question is—if I don't want performance lowering springs, does anyone manufacture stock-height performance (higher rate?) springs? If not, I guess I'll focus my attention elsewhere to better the handling. Thanks!


If he has sparks flying he has something hanging WAY lower than the car itself.Like a improperly installed hpipe/catback.Which can hang lower than it suppose to.

Mine is lowered about a inch or so..Doesnt scrape ANYTHING...If done right it can be lowered,ride good and have good clearence over things.
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If he has sparks flying he has something hanging WAY lower than the car itself.Like a improperly installed hpipe/catback.Which can hang lower than it suppose to.

Mine is lowered about a inch or so..Doesnt scrape ANYTHING...If done right it can be lowered,ride good and have good clearence over things.
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SUPER MEGA SIGH!!!

Bring your lowered car to Hartford, Boston, Salem NH (rt 28), and so on. Then, watch me LMAO! :)

Also, because of the POS roads in Boston, in the city of Boston, I think that they average 50+ blown tires and ruined rims a day because of pot-hole/road damage. *As I remember*, during the spring (pot hole season), the number goes up to 500-3,000 blown tires and bent rims A DAY! Maybe someone will find a place with the correct numbers on-line.

So, never forget the New England Motto:
WELCOME TO NEW ENGLAND - where we have pot holes connected by patches of asphalt. :D

Honestly people, the roads in New England are "unique". Yes, there are MANY OTHER places that have POS roads. But, New England has winter weather where the average daily high is always ABOVE freezing. That means that the snow melts during the day, then freezes *and expands* and night. So, *any* crack, hole, etc quickly gets bigger with the constant melting/freezing-expanding water cycles. In the winter, added with our landscape, soil, and so on, that means that ANY road *will* get pot holes! Well, unless the road was made out of solid steel. :) Add in the struggling NE economy, and you get our MEGA POS roads that BOTTOM OUT STOCK CARS!! :O

BTW: My T-bird is lowered and for many years it was my winter driver. Plus, driving a lowered car in the winter is for fools!! Yes, that includes MY moronic period! :)

Uhm, back the the orig question. :)

stock-height performance (higher rate?) springs?
HA, HA, HA!!! You can't even buy OEM GT springs anymore! :)
Forget about getting off the shelf springs that are even as good at GT springs without any other mod!

But, don't worry! It CAN BE DONE! My car is proof! But, since I think my car is unique, no one else in the world is allowed to copy what I did! J/K ;)



Get Mach1 springs. They lower a Stang APPROX 0.5". Then, use the 1/4" Steeda spacers (on *top* of the isolators) to gain the height back. Add in poly isolators for a firmer ride AND to reduce the amount of drop due to the isolators compressing.

Get the Mach 1 springs, *POLY* isolators (I like the BBK's the best), and "secret" - the Steeda spring spacers!

For the Steeda spacers, They cost ~$15 each..You have to *call* to order them separately. Or, spend ~$100 and buy the X2 ball joints (the spacers are in the kit).

Put the spacers ON TOP of the isolators. NOT between the isolators and the spring like the fools at Steeda say. Use tie wraps to keep the spacer on.

The spacer (1/4") will raise the front by ~0.4". The Mach1 springs will lower the car APPROX 0.5". Your POS isolators are so worn, your front is likely already ~1/4"+ lower than spec (~27.25" -27.5").

With the Mach1 springs, poly isolators, and Steeda spacers, after the *ISOLATORS* compressed (springs do NOT SAG - period!), my car sits at ~27" up front with the *stock* rear springs and an AOD. Like I said, I have an AOD and the stock height rear springs. So, that's why my car is ~.25" lower than spec. Also, the tolerances on the Fox Stangs is a JOKE! So, +/- 0.3" fender height from spec is no big deal.

BTW: Before anyone argues about car front coil springs "sagging", SITE your MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SOURCE! And, then have that fool argue with me! Yup, I've taken a number of ME students down. A real ME that does any spring work with similar springs wouldn't argue in the first place.

It's the isolators compressing, and maybe the springs moving, and the other components (may a plate etc), that result in what people "call new spring sag" after a while. But, if they bother to test the spring before and afterwards, guess what!

I'm very backed up with stuff to do. So, these will likely be my only replies!
I have more info at:
http://veryuseful.com/InvisionBoard/index.php?showforum=2

BTW: I think that I still have the wrong MR number in my replies. It's more like 0.55, not 0.45. I keep mixing that up. But, the point is that it's NOT 0.5. And a 0.5" difference at the spring is more like 0.9" at the fender, not 1.0". So, the 0.25" Steeda spacers raise the fender by ~0.4" - 0.45", not 0.5".
 

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Also, you should get the struts to match. Get the Bullitt struts, or Tok, or Koni. I have the adj Toks and set them on 4 out of 5.

Also, get CC plates. GET MM!!! This will get rid of the strut bushing adding to a softer ride. Also, if you have CC plates, then IMHO ENGINEERING opinion, you *MUST* have a STB!!! The struts will beat the F***** out of the strut towers without the bushing. I had to modify my FRPP STB to get it to clear the MM plates on my '86. But, that's because of my '86 k-frame and sn95 front setup. So, my CC plates are all the way inwards towards the engine bay. An 87+ wouldn't have that problem.

Also, of course, get poly bushings for your sway bar.

Tires are a HUGE factor. I have RE720s. They are a SUMMER Ultra performance tire. Driving on RE720s when the temps get below 40F is ASKING TO DIE!! Even on dry roads! Also, they are soft (typical of an ultra performance tire), they wear down *fast*, and my 245/45/17's have more tread contact area than some *cheapo POS* 275/40/17's. Tire and their specs vary a lot!

Last, subframes! Having a wet noodle for frame suck when the car goes around a corner and every part of the POS Fox body/frame are going in what ever direction they feel like. Yet, another reason to get an STB!

BTW: I do not give a rat's *ss what people at CC say about STBs. Guess they ALL know better than the Mechanical Engineers do for the PAST 40+ years on EVERY brand of car!!! Strut towers move - period! If you want to argue if it's better to have the strut towers "tied together" or keep them separate to get "more predictable and desirable" handling, that's one thing. IMHO, for a *street* car on POS REAL WORLD roads, there's no question! Go to any car show and look at the strut braces that have been used in OEM car production over the years.