My '14 GT with track pack handles just perfectly for my needs- and I like the suspension feel. I'm also fine with the size of the wheel gap up front.

However, the wheel gap in the back is just ridiculous! If the rear could be dropped just 1" or so, it would even out the appearance IMO...

So... does anyone make a rear only lowering kit? If so, I haven't seen it. My plan was to just buy the SR Performance springs on American Muscle, install just the rears, then decide whether I wanted to spring (pun intended) for an adjustable pan bar.

Any suggestions, warnings, or- ideally- feedback from someone who has done something similar would be greatly appreciated!

 

Check out the Brembo 55D kit. I think 1/2 inch lower.

 

Good question, I'm curious as well if the panhard bar is a guaranteed must when lowering? Was looking at some BMR springs to only lower around 1.5 front and back. With track pack I was told just springs alone should be fine, just unclear about the panhard bar.

 

You may not need one but you should get one since they aren't very expensive and will correct the rear geometry.

 

You could consider the Ford "P' springs, a lot of people use them because the drop is only 1 inch and it is a Ford product, get a set used or look for a deal, then throw the rear springs on and you should be very close to what you want.

 

I have the SR springs and it dropped my 3.7L down 1.5"-1.6" in the rear. With a little bit of gear in the trunk and a full tank of gas it could go down 1.7"-1.8"
My stock shocks gave out after a couple thousand mi. and we're replace with Koni shocks and struts.
This may be too much of a drop for the stance you are going for.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I checked out the Ford Racing "P" springs at AmericanMuscle and- what do you know- the very first review described my plans perfectly.
I'll order the springs, install them, and post before and after pictures to this thread as a reference to anyone else who might be thinking along the same lines (might take a couple weeks). Once I wear out the summer-only tires (doesn't seem like that's going to take very long ), I'm going to replace with a slightly taller tire which should help reduce the wheel well gap just a bit more.

What equipment will I need to remove and install the rear springs? The last time I swapped springs was on my '65 (front, of course), all I needed was a spring compressor (which you can usually get on loan/rent from your local autoparts store).

A "before" pic for now...

 

So do I need a adjustable panhard bar or will a non adjustable suffice?

 

Get one for both the aesthetics and for rear geometry correction. Or if you ever plan to track the car look at a Watts link.

 

I'm not sure if you've pulled the trigger or not but the eibach pro springs result in what you're looking for. I know from experience having started with the pros. Nearly no drop up front and just over an inch in the rear. The car was perfectly level after the fact. In the end, it wasn't low enough for my tastes so I wen't with the eibach sportlines.

Even with the relatively minor drop from the pro springs, I still BADLY needed an adj. panhard bar in the rear. I wen't with the J&M adjustable steel bar for about $110, it's a quality bar for sure.

 

Jack and Jack stands and the tools to undo the lower shock mounts and sway bar links.

 

Op, you aren't worried about changing the balance of the car by using a much higher spring rate in the rear but keeping the stock front spring rate? Most aftermarket springs sets for our cars use a softer rear spring in relation to the front. The opposite of the factory setup. You would be moving in the other direction by keeping stock front with aftermarket rears.

This is why I used the brembo55d rear springs, because they keep the stock spring rate. Although the drop may not be enough for you. If I didn't drive my car in the winter I would have either gone with the Steeda Sports or the BMR kit.

 

If you lower the rear more than about a half inch you'll probably need to replace the shocks as well. If you don't, expect them to blow their seals and wear out prematurely. They were designed for a specific travel length, and keeping them constantly compressed an inch more than they were designed for will wear them out faster.


Also an adjustable panhard bar is a MUST. Even with a 1/2" drop it moved the rear end of my car about 1/4" to the driver side. It's almost impossible to drop the back end without needing a a panhard bar adjustment.



As far as lowering springs for the rear goes, there are several good options. The Brembo 55D springs were mentioned (I have them and they work very well, but they don't entirely level out the car). Roush also sell a rear spring lowering kit. And of course you always have the option of going with a full set of springs and only installing the rears.


Brembo 55D springs on a base model '12 Mustang.

Before:


After:

 

^^this is why I recommended the 55 D because it seems to level the car for the 5.0s. I have friends with this and it looks pretty good. On the flip side if you have the track pack you should be able to change the springs without worrying about damaging the shocks and struts, no?

 

if you lower the rear you will 100% need a panhard bar. If not your driver side wheel will stick out and look silly. Plus it wouldn't be safe to drive. It's not a kit. Just buy rear springs. Tbh I wouldn't recommend lowering just the rear. You will need new shocks as well.

SR springs are crap. If something is cheap, it's cheap for a reason.

 

I went BMR everything and I love it

 

Could you message me which one, think they have 3-4 to pick from. Just don't wanna spend $200 on one if I don't have to.

 

Sorry, I should have answered this earlier.

Swapping the rear springs is super-easy. You'll need a floor jack, a pair of jack stands, a deep 18mm socket, socket wrench, and a torque wrench and 3" extension for the socket wrench come in real handy.

I completed the spring and panhard bar swap and had it adjusted in right about an hour using a floor jack and hand tools. It's the easiest rear end spring swap I've ever done on a street legal car.



With your car on jack stands use the floor jack to hold the rear end in place. Disconnect the bottom of the shocks, disconnect the top of the sway bar from the chassis and the entire rear end will just drop. Lower the floor jack to lower the rear end and then just pull out and replace the springs. Raise the floor jack so the rear end is moved back into place the reconnect the sway bar and shocks.

After that just replace the panhard bar, lower the car to the ground, measure the rear tire fit to see how it needs to be adjusted. If you're skinny you can actually crawl under and adjust the panhard bar without jacking the car back up. Alternatively, if you're not so skinny but have a level garage and sloped driveway like I do you can park with the back tires just inside the garage so when you lower the car there is enough room to crawl under the back and adjust the panhard. Otherwise you'll have to jack it back up to adjust it, then lower it to measure the change to make sure it's right.

 

nice write up. One change though. I wouldn't adjust the panhard bar with the tires on the ground. It needs to be up and don't forget to tourque down while the rear is in the air.

 

just go to the BMR website.