Suspension guys, please help

[shnikkles]

I recently installed QA1 struts on my '01 GT. I have the H2002 struts that are meant for 1" lowered stangs (I have Steeda springs).
Since the install, I have some pretty harsh clunking when I hit certain bumps.

Now, these struts are almost 2" shorter than stock when fully extended. When I jack the car up, the suspension does'nt seem to
hang low enough. It looks like it hangs at about the original stock ride height.

I have topped (not bottomed) these struts out on certain larger bumps, and it makes a loud clunk. These are "drop off " type bumps, if ya know
what I mean.

Do you think the struts are too short and not letting the suspension travel enough? Bty, I don't have caster camber plates, just stock.

Jay

 

[TRUEBLUEOVAL]

My first thought is to re-torque the center strut bolts.

 

[shnikkles]

I should of mentioned that I tried that. Tried it by hand and with an impact gun. No luck. The nuts don't seem to
"torque" down, they get to a spot where they just stop.

Jay

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

no idea. go buy a set of tokico illuminas.

oh yeah, livernois motorsports has the 93+ models part number H-2003.

http://www.livernoismotorsports.com/product.phtml?p=142

 

[shnikkles]

Good idea, how bout a loan?. J/K. Seriously though, I've thought about swapping something else in there.

The 2003 part number is for stock ride height 94+. 2002 part number is for 1" lowered. Livernois doesn't
show the H2002's. Actually, I was going to buy my struts from them because their local. But when I went to
their store they said they didn't carry them. They didn't even know they were on their website.

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

so why didn't you just buy the fox body shocks and struts? That's how most guys do it. Hell, when I went to www.houstonperformance.com for my illuminas, they had the same part numbers listed for both fox body and sn95 body's. That confirmed my suspicsions. My car is lowered 2" in back and 2.5" in front and I've not had any kinds of bottoming or topping out problems like with the factory shocks and struts.

also tried qa1's website and it don't pull up.

 

[shnikkles]

Fastredponycar, why wouldn't I buy the struts that are meant for my application? If I chose Illuminas or Bilsteins, I would have ordered Fox struts.
But QA1 offers a specific strut for lowered 94+ stangs. They recommended them. Tokico doesn't offer a specific strut for a lowered 94+. Instead, they
use Fox struts, wich work fine. I'm looking for a little help with my setup, not advice about what I should have bought.

Back to the subject, I called Steeda and they pretty much confirmed my suspicions. They think the struts may be two short. I took some measurements
and found that I only have 2" of downward travel. I measured the car sitting level, and then jacked the front up. The difference was only 2" inches.
I'm not a mustang suspension guru, but I don't think that's enough travel. And neither does Steeda (wish I could remember the guys name).

 

[FastRedPonyCar]

it's other shocks and struts that you usually buy shorter struts also. i've seen lots of companies offer shocks and struts for specific years and then I go to another website and they have completely different sets listed.

Basic rule of thumb for koni, bilstien and tokicos is that if your car is lowered more than 1.5 inches then ideally, your car needs the fox shocks and struts since they're shorter and won't bottom out. I've never heard of shocks and struts topping out though. There are numerous stangnet members who have bought the sn95 shocks and struts on their lowered stangs and ended up busting them bottoming out. I wasn't aware that QA1 has specific shocks and struts for lowered cars. Have you called them to see why there's very little travel?

 

[01LaserRedCobra]

I have the H2003 in my 01 cobra with the same problem...
Since the install, I have some pretty harsh clunking when I hit certain bumps.

I have Eibach springs in mine and I am about 1" to 1.5" lowered in the front.

I am going to try adjusting the strut all the way to the stiffest setting and see if it helps. I didn't get the H2002 because in there brochure it says H2002=94-present 1" lowered mustang 5.0

I just had it aligned by the ford dealer where they did an awesome job re-aligning my caster camber plates.... but the noise is still there.... and the noise was there before I brought it in.

If you have any input on this I would appreciate it.

 

[c9obr6a]

livernois sucks there the worst place to get parts try performance warehouse and get new axle bump block's . Thats the probaly the wrong name but there the two yellow blocks on your frame that your axle hits when you nail a bump. look at bbk they have them

 

[01LaserRedCobra]

Clunking sound response from QA1

This is what QA1 told me when I mentioned about the clunking sound up front......

Thank you for your question regarding the clunking coming from the front end
of your Cobra. I have a question for you. Are you running caster/camber
plate that utilizes a spherical bearing where the strut piston rod runs
through the top? If so, there is a chance that the spherical bearing is
starting to show some wear. One other thing that I should mention is that,
when a spherical bearing caster/camber plate is used there will be more
noise typically transmitted into the cabin of the car. The reason this
happens is that, you are eliminating the rubber mounting surface that used
to be in the car. If you could check the spherical bearing for any movement
to eliminate this possibility that would be helpful. I hope this helps you
out. If you find after checking the plates that the bearings are nice and
tight please get back in touch with me so we can discuss it further.

Regards,

Patrick LaValle
QA1 MOTORSPORTS
Technical Sales Support
21730 Hanover Avenue
Lakeville,MN 55044
952-985-5675