I'm guessing this is inevitable?

If so, how come stock springs don't sag or settle over time?

Nick

 

What brand of spring? I wouldnt say its inevitable at all. The Eibach springs come with a million mile warranty. Have never head of them sagging.

 

They are just like breasts. When they do sag, get the better model.

 

HAHA

 

Probably not the springs but the struts and shocks.

 

I had Eibach ProKits on my '98 Mustang and after a year or so it seemed lose about another 1/2 inch of height. The bottom 2 coils on the springs touched each other.

 

interesting. did u have aftermarket shocks

 

This is a fact of life that has been widely known in the 4x4 communities for many years, you can expect about 1/2" sag within just a few months of installation. My Superlift Softrides on my Centurion sagged 1/2" within weeks but have been at the same height for the past 8 years.

BB
Semper Fi

 

Most of the 4X4 applications utilize smaller add-a-leaf kits or blocks. I can see the leafs loosing some height as they settle in, but coil springs should have no settling after the initial break in period.

 

I've got FRPP (I think they're made by Eibach). They've been on for 8 months. I wonder if they'll sag as well .

 

Which is what I said, they settle in the first few months, I didn't add break in period. Actually the better lift kits contain recurved leaves for the rear, blocks and add-a-leafs only cause problems. My Superlifts were coils as all F-150s and Broncos from 1980 to 1996 ran coil sprung TTBs and it was those springs where I had the sag.

BB
Semper Fi

 

They would have already done it as it is just after installation or as PenguinGT said the break in period.

BB
Semper Fi

 

They sag. My Eibach Pros sagged about 1/4" over the course of three months or so. It's just the nature of the materials they are made of. It's called creep and it impacts that vast majority of materials we use these days, to a greater or lesser extent.

As for factory springs, I would bet they DO sag. You just don't notice it because the right height is nose-bleed to begin with and they only settle a 1/4" or so.

 

I noticed the other day that the drivers side of my car looks to sit lower than the passenger side. I was on a sloped driveway when I first noticed it, with the passenger side lower than the drivers, and the car still looked crooked. I haven't gotten to a level parking spot yet to get good measurements, but I've checked a couple other times when it was parked and it looks like the drivers side is lower. I didn't think my 220lbs would lower the car that much (at least when I wasn't in it).

I'll get a good measurement soon, and maybe get the car in the air and swap the rear springs around (that's where I noticed it the most), just to see if it evens out.

Oh, I've got Steeda Ultralites with the stock shocks/struts.

 

Fox Mustangs develop it over time. They call it "ghetto lean". They actually have spacers available that will even it.

I don't think that the S197 is prone to that. If it is crooked, give it some more time, it may level out by itself.

 

So settling and sag are the same thing? I was under the impression that sagging occurred over a longer period of time and that it would be an indication of wear.

 

I tend to interchange the two terms and maybe that is politically incorrect, but I'm just a dumb ol' ex Marine who just figured out how to keep my knuckles from dragging when I walk. Multiple choice questions confuse me.

BB
Semper Fi

 

Yeah, that's probably why new Mustangs ride so high from the factory. They probably factor in the settling and use springs that are just a little bit taller. By the time it settles the car will be at a near normal ride height.

 

The previous post should have been "RIDE height", not "RIGHT height"!!!

Settling and sagging are all the same thing. The trick is that the process is not even CLOSE to being a linear process! The material (spring steel in this case!) will settle/sag more in the first two months than it will the rest of it's useful life. Some folks like to break up that process into two parts: the first fast "break-in" period (aka: settling in) and the longer, slow period (aka: sag or even wear). It's all the same thing really.