Yes, belive it or not this is yet ANOTHER suspension post...

I have spent alot of time reading through all the excellent posts, including Galaxies sticky which was extremely helpful. Only one thing I haven;t been able to peoce together, and hoping I can get some input here....

First le tme say that my intentions are to lower the car for both looks and performance, although a few times a year at the track will be the extent of it. I have no plans on circle track racing, but wouldn;t mind feeling that way during my more "spirited" driving sessions.

I will be doing this upgrade in stages, if possible. So what I am looking for is somewhat of a parts list, one that will get me to where I want to be, but will also be benificial each time I add something(s) new.

I am currently running stock 18s and only have a set of LCAs. I understand from reading that once I lower the car, it is possible an adjustable panhard bar will be require to center my rear again. So in my situation, if I am only doing one thing at a time, the bar would come before the lowering springs?? The a new set of shocks/struts? Adjustable Upper 3rd link? Where would that come in?

Hopefully I've explained things properly, and I'm looking forward to hearing from all of you on this...

 

Damper and springs first do them together if possible ! adjustable PH bar if the rear shift bothers you ! it did me..lol UCA (3rd link) will help correct pinion angle if thats a problem or if you add a Aluminum drive shaft. I'm installing a UCA as we type ! ...lol plus there are added benefits from a performance UCA ........

 

Thanks, but you need to get back to work!!! I'll be looking for some info on how your install goes!!!!

 

I did the springs first after that came the bump steer kit
a few months later I did the shocks and struts.
After that came the lca relocate brackets and then the adjustable uca.
Panhard bar was last and from what I hear around here some times its not needed. I would suggest you getting the bar last also after checking the rear end location with a plumb bob.

 

Thanks Glenn. So you didn't have any issues with the stock struts/shocks after you lowered the car at all? Also, was the timing of the steps forced at all by the previous one or where you able to do them when you wanted too?

 

I felt the stock s/s wern't doing the job good enough. The Hp's fixed that. The timing was a money thing. I think it all has to be done sooner or later any way....... if your dropping it more than one inch tha is.

 

That's the same reason for my timing, $$$$$$$. ANd I am planinng on going lower than 1" so looks like the stages will sort of force themselves...

My wife is REALLY gonna kill me.

 

I have everything sitting in my basement, except the shocks and springs which are on the way as we speak. I have to wait for a friend to help install everything. That is my wife's one rule: I have to have someone competent to help with the install. I also convinced her that the the suspension upgrade was best done all at once, and would be cheaper.

I am now locked into many "make the house look nicer" projects before I am allowed to buy anything else for the car.

I decided to go with all Steeda parts: LCAs and relocation brackets, adjustable UCA with new mounting bracket, front and rear swaybars, and bumpsteer kit. Can't wait to get them installed.

 

Don't worry ! you can always get a new wife !...... Do like I do, lie about how much the mods cost, and always tell them the mods are for fuel savings....

 

I've done the mods as I my signature says, but if you looking to piece it and make the burden less noticeable to the wife then I guarantee you will need adjustable panhard bar whtaever you do. Get it now its the least and you don't have to do much to get it out on. You can always readjust it later and then its just that much less when you finish lowering.
After that your on your own...but I wanted shocks/struts and springs at same time because I didn't want to pull those things out twice and use that spring compressor tool twice. I did save by getting the HP's and not the D-specs because I'm not racing, and the HP's are an improvement anyway over stock, really better than I had hoped.

 

I've been pushing the "safety" thing...

BTW: You guys all su*k!!!! The only thing for sure I've gotten out of this thread is I won't be happy unless I get it all at once...

OK, now that that's off my chest, does anyone have an opinion on the difference between the Tokico HP and FRPP shocks/struts??? I'm not going to need the adjustables, so I'm thinking about one of these two.

 

I'll second that you should do it all at once. It will save time (if you are doing it yourself) or installation costs if paying a shop to do it. Otherwise you will need to redo a lot of the disassembly/reassembly to finish the project later on in steps.

If you need to do it on a budget over time, start with a list of parts and purchase the parts over time. Then do the install when you have everything.

Examples:
In the rear: Panhard bar removal and disconnecting the lower rear shock mounts are both necessary to allow the rear to drop far enough to access the rear springs. Rear sway bar needs to be at least disconnected from the axle as well to remove the springs (taking it out completely gives you more room to work). The rear sway bar also needs to be disconnected from the axle in order to access the lower shock mounts to replace the rear shocks. And you'll want the axle dropped as far as possible to give yourself room to access the UCA and UCA chassis mount.

Up front: The upper sway bar link needs to also be disconnected to remove the spring/strut assembly from the car. The springs need to be compressed in order to remove them from the struts to install new springs. If using lowering springs, you should temporarily remove the dust cover to access the bump stop and remove the bump stop to cut it down. If you later change the struts, you remove the assembly form the car and compress the springs again. Then you need to transfer the dust cover and bumpstop to the new struts and reinstall everything again.

 

I never ran the FRPP dampers but I'm happy with tokico HP's I have used them with 2 different spring sets I've got Saleens on now with a 1'' drop. I read somewhere that there response rate is good up to a 1.5 '' drop.

 

Here's my advice:

1) Adj. panhard bar
2) Adj shocks/struts
3) Springs WITH UCA

Here's my logic... You can use the adjustable panhard bar with stock geometry with no adverse handling characteristics. The same with the shocks/struts. But when you do the lowering springs, you're going to need the adj. UCA to get the pinion angle correct. Since you'll already HAVE the adj. shocks/struts, panhard bar, and the LCAs you already have installed, it's jst a matter of wrenching on it to get everything perfectly in line... no additional investment needed and at no point in time are you driving something that doesn't feel right.

FYI - If you plan on adding a stud girdle at any time, now is the time to buy a relocation bracket for the panhard bar. Only the stock P.O.S. useless diff cover will work with the stock bracket...

 

OK, putting it all together in my mind now, and like you've all suggested, gonna do it right and get everything I need before installing.

So, I pulled the trigger on a set of FRPP springs. They claim 1.5 drop front and rear.

Now I'm deciding between the FRPP and Tokico HP dampers. I'm not going to need to dial in different settings with adjustables, so it's a matter of which of those two to get.

And it's between Steeda and BMR I think for the adjustbale UCA and panhard bar.

If I go with the relocation bracket considering the 1.5 drop in the rear, am I better off going with the BMR products?

 

Now I'm deciding between the FRPP and Tokico HP dampers


get which ever ones you can get a better deal on

 

Funny I lie to my husband about the cost. Oh and I never tell him... I wait till he discovers them... Then I always say... that's been there for a long time, funny you never noticed.... Even if I did it yesterday

 

OK, my $.02

Since you're going 1.5" or greater, then try to get everything together and buy from a single supplier to get a discount. A package is usually 1 to $300 less than individual parts. Also, they are designed to work together AND you can call one spot to get tech help and "beotch" if necessary.

Which if you go Steeda none of the "boetching" will be necessary




OK, back to saving $5 on eBay and having nobody to point the finger at but yourself.

P.S. I paid almost full price for all my Steeda and my lighter wallet and lack of a$s pucker at speed makes me faster!

 

Oh real nice, I'm already concerned about having to sleep on the couch with my antics, now you're putting ideas in my head to get me sleeping out in the garage!!!

Oh wait, the car is out there. There's a thought...

 

bump