Newby Questions on Lowering
 

A few new guy questions for anyone willing to advise:

I just picked up a new 06 GT this weekend, and I'm interested in lowering it by 1" to 1 1/2" all around to get rid of the 4x4 look. The photos of lowered Mustangs on this site are very nice.

Could I just replace the springs and be done or would I also have to change out sway bars, panhard bars, etc. to maintain the suspension geometry?

I'm sure I couldn't do this by myself, so I would have to find an installer. What type of place would you recommend for the work? Any ballpark figure on cost to install?

Thanks in advance.

You really only need the springs. I have the Eibach Pro Kit on my car and would recommend it. The install is actually very easy too and can be done with simple hand tools, do a search and you'll find a few posts with instructions on how to do it. I think you'd be looking at about $200 for a shop to install them.

Thanks for the tip! I didn't have too much trouble when I lowered my truck by replacing the shackles, but I thought a spring change would be much more complicated (and more dangerous since a spring could pop out and impale my cranium!). I'll keep looking for some good instructions on a spring install.

I have the Steeda Ultralite lowering springs. Overall drop is something like 7/8" up front and 1" at the rear.
No additional components were used (LCA's, panhard bar, camber bolts, etc.) or necessary to bring the alignment back into specs.

I documented my install and have various pics in my sig (they're all over the place) to show what the drop looks like.

link

I chose the Ultralites because I didn't want to sacrifice ride quality (too much). It does ride a tiny bit harsher than stock, but much more compliant compared to more aggessive drops.

I believe shops charge around $200-250 labor, at here in SoCal.

TacoBill- Thanks. Your detailed photos are a wonder to behold. They almost make me believe I could do this.

And your car is fantastic. Very inspirational!!

Thank you. And I believe you can do it too!

The rear springs are the easiest. The fronts weren't too bad, but I had a buddy with that floor standing spring compressor, made life easy with that thing.

You have many options...
* Do the entire drop yourself.
* Do both ends, but take the front coil packs to a shop for them to swap out the springs.
* Just do the rear and have a shop to the fronts.
* Let the shop do it all.

Whatever you decide, post pics when your done! :nice:

You could also buy adjustable shocks to keep the ride smooth

I went with the springs and the adj panhard bar. On some vehicles the rear axle will push out to one side when you do the drop. A lot of people say it is not necessary, but I wasn't going to take the chance. Also an aftermarket panhard will save you a few pounds. Check out the Progress kit. I am extremely happy with the ride quality and looks.
Bill, next time we meet up, check out my new stuff.

Lookin' forward to it, Josh! :grin:

I put Vortland springs , on my 05 and love them , good ride and awesome looks

Do it all yourself. You can rent the spring compressor from most autoparts stores. Thats what I do whenever I need to change springs out.

Do not lower it too much ....
 

I would go with H&R OE Sport Springs. Lowers the front 1 inch and 3/4 on the rear. Part # 51655. Get some Tokico D-Spec Struts & Shocks. You could go with Steeda for the other suspension pieces.