fivestring45

Okay...I'm going to lower my GT in the Spring and the guy that might do it (who has a solid reputation) just told me that an allignment is not necessary after this process. I always thought it was. Anyone know for sure???

tx2005gt

after i installed my springs & shocks i did have it realigned. it was close to specs but not perfect. so we got it right on the dot. i would recommend it you tires are not worth the risk.

RadBOSS

Better to be safe than sorry. Most likely yes. It may not be set optimum already anyway.

LEO_06GT

I just changed out my springs this past weekend and so far I've driven over 100 miles without any problems. Although I will be going an for an alignment soon. FYI- I have steeda ultralites which lower the front less than an inch.

mikes rx

I would recommend getting it realigned. After I lowered my 2000 w/ Steeda's it needed it. Also, as Paul said, for some reason it may not be aligned correctly right now anyway.

I think it is money well spent to prevent premature tire wear

Galaxie

Unless you get a great deal on tires, your car will need an alignment if its lowered.

Depending on how low the car is, you may need camber bolts or camber plates to correct the angle.

fivestring45

Hey Thanks Guys. I'll look into that too. I hope I don't need camber plates though. Anyone out there need the camber plates with the Eibach Pro Kit?

TacoBill

Getting the Eibach Pro's? You'll need camber bolts and an alignment for sure.

freebass55

What he said.

It's always better to be safe and get your car re-aligned after any suspension work.

bullittman

You probably Also will need to slot the struts.

topoffGT

I had the Eibach Pros installed, and only needed the adjustable camber bolts. FYI- the bolts were in stock at a local O'Reilly's Auto Parts in my town.

Firedude

As long as you are not lowering more than 1 1/2 inches you should only need the tow set.

tkogt

yes it will and as bill said put the camber bolts in (universal part number 81260 carquest/ oriellys ect.)

if you dont put the bolts in and just set the toe it will drive ok and wont wear out the tires, but the loss of camber from the conservative factor alignment will help the car push(slide the front tires) in a hard corner. like when that idiot pulles out in front of you and you have to swerve to miss him!

the s 197 loves negitive camber, the more the better!!

if i could get 2.5 degrees negitive out of mine id do it !!

so, when you put the bolts in go for as much negitive camber as you can get and reap the benifits in improved cornering. tell your alignment guy you want an 1/8 th toe out and go rock some corners!!!

just make sure you rotate every oil change

that said
i know im going to get flashed by someone who doesnt care about going around corners, because of the accelerated tire wear. but its not as bad as you might think i drive my car hard and track it a ton and ill get 20 k out of a set of kumho mx's


jay

Poco

I've had two S-197's lowered,used the camber bolts and did not have to slot the struts.FRPP has the bolts for around $55.00,they are good for your tire alignment and safety.
If you can,try and get an adjustable pan-hard bar for rear alignment and keep your rear end centered.

Firedude

You do not need the camber bolts. Lowering your car adds more neg camber. This helps cornering. You don't want any more neg camber than lowering will get you unless you race autocross or other.

TacoBill

He will if he wants to stay within factory tolerences, which is -.75 degrees (+/- .75 degrees) which is 0.0 to -1.5 degrees.

LBJay

Unfortunately that's not the case with most McPherson strut cars.

While the image below is not a Mustang, it represent what happens with many strut suspensions. You gain camber as the suspension compresses.

fivestring45

That's a very cool picture above. So where do the Camber bolts go and how do the work to reduce camber when lowering the car?

RadBOSS

That is a nice representation of a strut suspension geometry. With the mechanical position of the lower track control arms in that example, the roll center is very low (as with a lowered mustsang) and you get a lot of reversed camber change with strut compression (bounce). With the ball joint lowered or the inner pivot raised (Steeda) the roll center raises and the camber reversal is negated or reversed.

Firedude

I think maybe you all need to do a search for posts on this from Steeda gus being how you do not seem to think I know what I am talking about. Anyone who knows anything about PERFORMENCE, not stock, suspension will tell you that these cars (most any cars) do well with more neg. camber which lowering gets you. Of coarse if you lower more than 1 1/2 or so you may need the bolts. Also all cars are a little different. I have aligned many cars and have worked with good aligment mechanics (not just someone who can read a computer rack and set to stock specs.) and if they know their stuff, they usually do not go by factory specs.