acadian

Here is another...

acadian

And one more...

2005MustangGT

What was Ford thinking w/ the jacked up rear end? It looks so much better now. Good job.
A good free mod for the masses, If you're not going to slam it, you at least need to balance it out in the rear.

Sonic05

Acadian, your car is just awesome! :worship:

The only thing that has bugged me about the car it the jacked up rear end. Well, and the narrow tires. I was hopping one coil would be right . . . It's so nice to have you guys as my lab rats.

About the alignment with lowering the rear, as I said, I did the geometry, and the rest is based on the stock alignment and front setup. So here is what should happen with a 1" drop on the rear only:

Front Castor: -.5 degrees
Front Toe: VERY slight toe-out
Front Camber: VERY slight change to positive
Rear axle: Probably not even a change in the centering

Other than the Castor change, everything else will probably be unmeasurable. When towing, a car or truck will sit low in the rear anyway, so no negative effects should happen, granted however, you don't tow 100% of the time.

If anthing, those changes should help the car into a corner a tinny bit. (Better "turn-in") And as acadian said, better launches.

acadian

Thanks for the compliment and all the calculations, Craig. I really don't see how there would be adverse affects from dropping it just 3/4" just in the rear. And thanks Bucky for the idea to cut them in the first place.

2005MustangGT

Your welcome, its amazing of how the forums help out some times.

2005MustangGT

lowered w/ the Steeda splitter, would have to go against suggesting this...It scrapes on "EVERYTHING"
It's only 3.5 inches off the ground....might have to sell it.
-Can't straddle any road-kill now.
-I might have to get a job w/ the city, scooping up dead animals off the street....LOL

acadian

Persoanlly, I think it looks great. And I didn't think I liked splitters. Although the two I have seen... on your car and swingle's... I really like. Almost worth being careful and keeping it. Can you imagine your car with a Steeda cowl hood? Talk about mean looking. How does it insatall, btw? Does the little 1" piece of molding on the front of the car come off, or does this slip over it?

2005MustangGT

Thanks acadian, It just slips over the lower portion of the stock bumper...that's it.
I'm planning on a hood too, but waiting for another manufacturer to make one that isn't rediculously priced as Steeda's parts. Also, I'm adding a Roush rear wing once they are avail.
-I'm not sure what 1" piece of moulding you are talking about, but it just "pushes/pops" on, no need for anything else.

acadian

There is a little lip at the bottom of the front bumper. So, the splitter just slips over that, I take it. I really like the splitter now but I couldn't possibly get it with me going for the Shelby look. A Steeda wing would look real good on your car too. That's gonna be one mean looking stang. Maybe you could take the splitter off until you get the wing at least. After looking at your pics more, the car looks a little long in the front. The wing would really balance it off. That's one option, and I guess that would save a few more scratches off the splitter.

Here is a pic of the lip I was talking about.

2005MustangGT

Oh yeah, that lip. It just goes right over that. I need to take off the splitter just to preserve the life of it. First day, and already bottomed out twice? It will be trashed after a couple of weeks, and I'm not one to hit curbs like my wife...LOL.

aremann2

are the springs flat on the top and the bottom or just flat on the bottom?if they are flat on both ends and you cut either end off ,they won't seat properly on the frame or the axle.

Bullitt1609

Hey guys, I wanted to see if I could get any updates from those of you that cut your stock springs (i.e. any changes in ride, regrets..).

I just purchased a set of take-offs off Ebay. I'm going to have those cut. That way in case something goes wrong, I can put my factory ones back in. I don't want to go to low, but definitely need to lower it some.

Thanks for your feedback.

biznazion

I've been thinking about doing the same thing. I just want to lower the rear about 5/8 - 3/4 inch. If I understand correctly the rears can be cut anywhere and the fronts must be cut in full coils. I'm thinking a little less than one coil in the rear should level it out. I checked with the dealer and the stock springs are about 36 dollars each so I might just pick up a set.

One question I have though is how hard are they to cut? I have a sawzall and don't mind going through a few blades. Will that be good enough to cut them with? I've cut a lot of things before - but never a set of springs.

davids2toys

I'm planning the same thing...very good questions...How about everyone who has cut there springs give a review after some time behind the wheel, any negative and all the positives. Now about the sawsall ??????????

acadian

I have had no negative effects at all. The problem I have (same thing happened with my exhaust) is once I went a little lower... now I want it even lower. With my exhaust, once I made it a little louder... now I want it even louder. But, if you just want to level out the car, you can cut EXACTLY one coil off the TOP of the rear springs and it will level it out. You can cut a TINY bit less if you want, but don't cut off a half of a coil... it wouldn't be worth your trouble. Three quarters of a coil would be very close to level... but still give you a small amount of rake.

I would not use a sawsall. I would use a dremel tool with a cut-off wheel. Either get the cheap fiberglass wheels like I did, and expect to use a few on each spring, or get a really nice diamond wheel. Up to you. The springs are so hard, that they will grind down on the cheaper wheels and you will see them getting smaller and smaller until they wear down. Then, you just replace them with another. While you are replacing the wheel, dunk the spring in some cool water. I poured a bucket up with water and would dunk the whole spring in 4 or 5 times during the process of cutting it. This way it wouldn't get too hot.

That's basically it. The rear is a piece of cake. The front is something I'm not looking forward to dealing with. I think what I'll do is when I go to the dealer to get the TSB on the front strut problem and the guy is going to have my front springs off anyway, I'll slip him a twenty and get him to just replace the stock springs with my Steeda ones. Once I get those on, I'll see how the car's stance is and decide then if I want to do anything with the back to level it out again.

aremann2

[attachmentid=26151]For those who want to just lower the rear end 1/2 in. I used spring clamps, have had no problems with them and it was relatively easy to do. did not have to remove springs, cost $30.00

Bullitt1609

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I actually purchased a set off Ebay for $40.00. So I'm going to cut those and keep mine in the garage just in case.

I'm not sure if I want to lower the rear only, or go ahead and lower the front too. I'm thinking about lowering it all the way around. I've seen some pics of some that have been lowered, and they look great.

Thanks again for your feedback.

davids2toys

I have heard those things will effect handling in a negative way and should not be used.

acadian

I've heard bad things about clamps as well. You might think it's driving fine, but you never know. I advise spending a few hours one weekend and taking the rear springs off. It's surprisingly easy, especially if you have a good jack and stands. Should only take a couple hours from start to finish, including having a beer at the end while you admire your work. And won't cost you a penny if you already have a dremel tool and some cut-off wheels like I did.