GT Performance Mods 2005+ Mustang GT Performance and Technical Information

Ride quality after changing springs, daily driver

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Old Sep 4, 2008 | 11:40 PM
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Ride quality after changing springs, daily driver

just curious how the ride quality is on our stangs once they are dropped and you continue to use the stock shocks/struts?

I am considering Eibach Sportlines and dont want to drop the cash for a set of d-specs at this time.
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Old Sep 4, 2008 | 11:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Etnix
just curious how the ride quality is on our stangs once they are dropped and you continue to use the stock shocks/struts?

I am considering Eibach Sportlines and dont want to drop the cash for a set of d-specs at this time.
I picked up some noise but it's was worth it for the pleasure you get in the twisties.

Jed
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 05:30 AM
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I used the stockers for a while just had to watch out for the bigger bumps and holes. The sport lines have less of a drop than the pro's (if I remember correctly)you should be alright. When its time the tokico hp's are alright for everyday street use and 200 bucks cheaper for the set

Last edited by Glenn; Sep 5, 2008 at 05:32 AM.
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 05:33 AM
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Other way around. Sportlines drop more than the prokit.
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 06:20 AM
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Originally Posted by Etnix
just curious how the ride quality is on our stangs once they are dropped and you continue to use the stock shocks/struts?

I am considering Eibach Sportlines and dont want to drop the cash for a set of d-specs at this time.
It will be rougher than before. My struts were history after some 15k miles. I used Eibach Pro-Kit.

Now I changed to the STEEDA coil over kit (Tokico). Much better and I am happy as a camper.
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 06:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Cobrakev
Other way around. Sportlines drop more than the prokit.
oh alright I don't think I would run stock struts and shocks with those. They were not so good with the pro springs.
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 10:15 AM
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Springs didn't bother me at all.

Make sure you lower it correctly with the usual PH bar.
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 11:27 AM
  #8  
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and bump steer and
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 12:27 PM
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I have the prolines. They do make for a slightly harsher ride, but IMO the better handling makes up for it. To keep the car from bottoming out on bumps, I cut the top two sections off of the bump-stops. It's any easy mod, just unbolt the bump stops and cut them with a small saw.
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 12:51 PM
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*coughed* Steeda Ultra-lites
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by topoffGT
I have the prolines. They do make for a slightly harsher ride, but IMO the better handling makes up for it. To keep the car from bottoming out on bumps, I cut the top two sections off of the bump-stops. It's any easy mod, just unbolt the bump stops and cut them with a small saw.

I have sportlines and it rides like a log wagon with the factory shocks/struts. haha. my car sits on the bump stops. maybe i should cut them down too.
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 03:26 PM
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Originally Posted by SteedaGus
*coughed* Steeda Ultra-lites
Im gonna have to see some pics with the steeda ultra lites..and see how the drop looks
.
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 07:36 PM
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imo you shouldnt do springs without doing struts/shocks. Especially sportlines since they drop it lower than "normal". you're going to end up doing them anyway (and sooner than you think) and why not now so you can enjoy the better performance they bring?

With sportlines I seriously doubt the stock strust/shocks will hold up for as long as they do with the pro kit, which isn't long at all, and it's not like the stock dampers give out all of a sudden, it's a very gradual, evil and sneaky decrease in shock absorption, till you get to the point where the ride is so bad and only then do you realize how crap the car is riding as compared to before.

Plus, think about it, if your dampers are not dampening, then where is all that extra energy going? It's going into your car's frame and body(not to mention your own spine) and it may cause stuff to begin rattling and shaking when they shouldnt be, then youre just ducked.

My impressions about eibach and steeda springs:

-eibach sportlines: makes me cringe for spine of driver, huge front chin scrapage guaranteed, may damage undercarriage over unexpected bumps, may cause bolts and panels to fly off car. I will admit that I love the look of the car with sportlines the most. havent driven a car with these so cant comment on ride quality, but it just cannot be good.

-eibach prokit/frpp: top shelf. The balance between ride quality and performance is as good as it can, but it does lean toward the more performance-biased daily driver, and less toward the comfort side. Minmal brake dive, very low roll, comfort is completely tolerable but nowhere near as soft as stock. Provides really sweet looking stance for our mustangs. Reduces the factory rake to a more-appealing, less aggressive, but still very obvious rake.

-steeda springs: Steeda springs do not maintain the factory rake. The car looks too level, and sags when you have peeps in the back seat(compared to the eibachs, which get level with peeps in the back). Car still looks sweet for sure, but I like rake. Forgetting about looks, the steeda sport springs i have in my car increased the ride quality from the prokit tremendously(to the point of being too comfortable!). Brake dive is much more pronounced than with the prokit. Roll is also more pronounced around corners, less of an on-rails feeling. I didnt notice the progressive spring effect with eibachs, but with the Steedas wooo!! the car likes to tilt just a bit on the turns. Since the front of the car is about 1 inch higher than with the eibachs, I dont have to worry about scraping. It's also nice being able to drive people around in a semi-civilzed fashion, so I have kept the steedas in but still have my prokit stored for when that nagging feeling gets too strong.

-steeda ultralites: i figure if my steeda sports are too soft, then ultralites are for me.

good luck with your choice.
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 07:41 PM
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Nice Summary King Pin!

P.S.. Your Rent is Due!
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 07:45 PM
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I noticed it was somewhat harsh with just the spring swap. Adding shocks and struts hepled but lca's made it great...
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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 09:27 PM
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I just picked up a set of new Tokico HP's for 245 shipped. You might be able to get these just as cheap and keep things on a budget.
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 06:07 AM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by Kingpin2B
imo you shouldnt do springs without doing struts/shocks. Especially sportlines since they drop it lower than "normal". you're going to end up doing them anyway (and sooner than you think) and why not now so you can enjoy the better performance they bring?

With sportlines I seriously doubt the stock strust/shocks will hold up for as long as they do with the pro kit, which isn't long at all, and it's not like the stock dampers give out all of a sudden, it's a very gradual, evil and sneaky decrease in shock absorption, till you get to the point where the ride is so bad and only then do you realize how crap the car is riding as compared to before.

Plus, think about it, if your dampers are not dampening, then where is all that extra energy going? It's going into your car's frame and body(not to mention your own spine) and it may cause stuff to begin rattling and shaking when they shouldnt be, then youre just ducked.

My impressions about eibach and steeda springs:

-eibach sportlines: makes me cringe for spine of driver, huge front chin scrapage guaranteed, may damage undercarriage over unexpected bumps, may cause bolts and panels to fly off car. I will admit that I love the look of the car with sportlines the most. havent driven a car with these so cant comment on ride quality, but it just cannot be good.

-eibach prokit/frpp: top shelf. The balance between ride quality and performance is as good as it can, but it does lean toward the more performance-biased daily driver, and less toward the comfort side. Minmal brake dive, very low roll, comfort is completely tolerable but nowhere near as soft as stock. Provides really sweet looking stance for our mustangs. Reduces the factory rake to a more-appealing, less aggressive, but still very obvious rake.

-steeda springs: Steeda springs do not maintain the factory rake. The car looks too level, and sags when you have peeps in the back seat(compared to the eibachs, which get level with peeps in the back). Car still looks sweet for sure, but I like rake. Forgetting about looks, the steeda sport springs i have in my car increased the ride quality from the prokit tremendously(to the point of being too comfortable!). Brake dive is much more pronounced than with the prokit. Roll is also more pronounced around corners, less of an on-rails feeling. I didnt notice the progressive spring effect with eibachs, but with the Steedas wooo!! the car likes to tilt just a bit on the turns. Since the front of the car is about 1 inch higher than with the eibachs, I dont have to worry about scraping. It's also nice being able to drive people around in a semi-civilzed fashion, so I have kept the steedas in but still have my prokit stored for when that nagging feeling gets too strong.

-steeda ultralites: i figure if my steeda sports are too soft, then ultralites are for me.

good luck with your choice.

wow great write up, this exactly the info I was seeking, thank you very much for your informative post.
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 06:26 AM
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I have the sportlines and it's definitely low. Remember it will settle after break-in and be a tad lower. The ride was a bit harsh when hitting bumps. You can feel it busting through the compression and rebound of your suspension.

You will definitely want a Steeda bump steer kit and also an adjustable panhard rod. Thats a MUST because your car wont sit right w/out it. The axle shifts when lowered causing it to not be centered (and its very noticeable).

If you can, get the Tokico D-specs along with them along with the remote adjusters. I had them installed about a month later and its night and day difference. Not to mention you can change your suspension ride on the fly at that point.

Here is the stance of mine after all the mentioned installs.






Last edited by colbymh; Sep 6, 2008 at 06:27 AM.
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 09:05 AM
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Here are a couple of Steeda Ultralite photos. You'll like them. I did some other upgrades, so I can't tell you about them with factory struts, etc. But the package is great.
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 09:32 AM
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Can only support the stuff on STEEDA. Go for it.
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