the billetspecialties website has a lot of nice looking rims.. as well as some with spinners.. i had trouble finding which ones those in particular are though

 

Plus the fact that lowering improves handling. (lower center of gravity, less body roll, etc..) [/b][/quote]


Since when is making your car perform better considered rice. Some people need to be shot.

 

I'm not sure if the lowering makes it look better actually. It's too low for my taste. The factory stance of the car is awesome, so leave it be I'd say! Just slam on same 18's and roll.

Who made those springs btw? And who says it's not just photoshopped down an inch?

 

Those rims are nowhere on the billet specialties site so it must be another manufacturer. They did have these Legacy rims which I think look pretty cool.

 

it looks good lowered but i agree that it might be too low the stock stance is aggressive maybe a 1/2" drop would be better! if you hit an acorn with it that low you might bottom out

 

I agree, but keep in mind not every "rice" mod people make to their cars actually increases performance. Poor choice of exhaust or intake mods, big wheels that weigh 45-lbs and come in the wrong offset, bad suspension upgrades, etc., can all hurt performance.

 

I love it but not being a fan of chrome I think they should be painted but I don't know what color would go good with grey. Hey photochoppers give it a shot. Nice exhaust also I've been a fan of JBA headers but I don't know about their mufflers.

 

Easy on the lowering topic. It is not rice!! It handles better then stock and rolls less. Get in the know.

 

No lowering doesn't automatically improve handling. If it did, automakers would do it that way by default. Lowering can easily decrease handling as you have less travel in the suspension, and you usually have to firm it up to compensate. (Or feel bone-rattling slam when the suspension maxes out).

Usually what happens is because they stiffened the suspension AS they lowered it, THAT helps with body roll. The tradeoff is that you feel the road more, whether you want to or not. In Sunny roads, that's not as big a deal as if you live in the snow-belt or anywhere where the roads are less than stellar.

I'm pretty sure the difference of an inch or two in CG (Center of Gravity) on a car with that wide a stance really doesn't matter much. I believe it is the stiffening that matters far more. (I'm not an auto-engineer).

Personally, I like the new active and variable suspensions that can let you tune dynamically (adjust) for highway, sport, track, etc. And hope it will be an option (or standard) on the SVT.

The same with tires. Thinning up the walls (lowering the profiles) gives the tire a meaner look and a lot less flex/give. (And changes the weight). It helps with some things, and hurts with others. Many will give up drivability (day-to-day) for sex appeal -- but don't say "it handles better". I've driven in too many cars that would be great on the track, but rattle your fillings loose and make you sore day-to-day. Engineering is about tradeoffs. Ford made one set, and you might want a different one. But you don't get something for free.

All IMHO....

 

I put Eibach Springs on my car, it lowered it and "improved handling". So, it handles better. I didn't say it automatically improves it now, did I? Some people don't know how to do it right, I do. My point is (if you read) that lowering is not "rice". You have an M3? You know that.

 

RE: Mustangfun 101 -- I was responding as much to BLAKE's earlier post as to yours. And it wasn't meant as an attack as much as a clarification.

I'm with some others. Lowering isn't automatically rice, but it can easily be overdone. I like the look of a very slightly lowered stance. But usually on the inch or so that the factory tuners (SVT, etc.) do, not the stuff you often see on the street.

BTW: I loved the look of those wheels and that cars stance. I want to drive one before I'd buy it, and I'd look for crappy roads (to make sure I could live with it).

 

Whats the fun in riding in something with a suspension like a tank...inless of course its got a V8 pulling it...

 

lowering a M3 isn't rice... it's sauerkraut. (sp)

 

I bet that half the people discussing this thread don't know that roadholding and handling aren't the same thing, and will open up another window, hit Google, and come back here and claim that they do know the difference...

;-)

 

A good set of springs such as H&Rs or Eibach will improve the handling of the car. Couple that with some stickier max performance tires and you will see a big improvement.

 

1) I am all but positive those rims are 18" from here: http://www.introwheels.com/pages/w_exposed/pentia.shtml
(Budnik also sells some rims that look similar)
2) The lowering job looks like it could be a chop (hard shadow over the tires), but I could be wrong.
3) Lowering is NOT rice. Anyone who says so is an idiotic rice-o-phob who doesn't understand what rice really means.
4) Roadholding and handling are symantics people interchange all the time (much like shocks and struts). There are technically differences (more so in the shock/strut example), but everyone here knows what they are talking about, so to try to nit-pick on symantics is childish and counter-productive. DKE had it right in saying a lower suspension requires firmer springs due to the reduced travel, and you get more noticeable benefit from the firmer springs than the lower cg (although both help).
5) Aside from the lame PS attempt at decals, that is a beautiful car!

 

Here's the Budnik wheels I think he was referring to:

http://www.budnikwheels.com/roadwheelitem....53&pid=524&pg=2

I was going to get these wheels, but in the "fat lip" variant:

http://www.budnikwheels.com/roadwheelitem....55&pid=568&pg=1

I just love the look of a fat lip profile wheel and fat tires on a Mustang. B)

 

I work for JBAand can answer some questions for you guys. The JBA Mustang has 18 x 9 and 18 x 10 Intro WheelsPentia's. The car is lowered with Voghtland springs. The exhaust is JBA's new 2.5" system and it sounds awesome. The exhaust systems should be shipping in about a week. New headers are also on the way. Next week the car will leave for the SEMA show in Las Vegas where the new JBA products as well as others from different manufacturers will be unveiled for the first time. Check back on the JBA Websitefor more info (sound files, pics, product releases!)

 

I like it, not what I would do to my car, but still, it looks great.

I'm not a fan of plain 'lots-o-chrome' wheels but those are pretty sharp.

Whether it is what a person likes or doesn't like does not matter - only if the owner likes it. After all, we don't all want to have the same color, ride height, rims, etc do we?

Difference is good. Even rice done well is nice in my book.

 

Mark, thanks for clearing some things up!

Do you happen to know how much it has been lowered?