elscorcho

Good evening!

I recently purchased a set of 18X9 & 18X10 wheels with 255/45/18 and 275/40/18 GT500 style wheels from american muscle. Upon installation, there was an ENORMOUS amount of fender gap!!! Right now, the edge of my tires are pretty much flushed with the fender of the car. If i get the Eibach Pro-Kit for the 2011, will this get rid of the gap, and if not, will i at least see a noticeable difference in height? Am I better off getting the Ford 5300K springs to give it a more significant drop? At the same time, I rather keep my stock shocks/struts. I will also be adding an adjustable panhard bar and some camber bolts for the front.

50Reasons

You won't see a noticeable difference with the pro kit but the eibach sportlines you will close that gap

Fungusthestangman

im running some b&g progessive springs, getting rid of that gap is a must..... after, dont forget to align the frt end, currently my cambee is off and the road is coming through the wheel to much so i am also going to have to play with the caster a little to calm the wheel down im going to throw up a pic in my profile, it looks way better lowered

elscorcho

So Ur saying front camber bolts will not correct the fronts? I'm really not looking for extreme lowering. I rather not risk blown shocks or fender rubbing. So....how much of a gap can I expect with the eibach prokits? 2 finger gap is the best look in my opinion

FastRedPonyCar

sam strano says that the steeda sports are the best for ride comfort and their ultralite's for looks.

Anyways, regardless of what you get, if you lower the car, changing your shocks and struts are a must have. Koni has their stuff on sale right now.

sam strano

I disagree with the notion that you can't see or notice a drop that's less than Sportlines. That simply is not true.

That car has Steeda Sports on it, definitely isn't stock height.

If you want the best driving car you want to run moderate springs and really good dampers. Nothing will ruin how a car drives more than lowering springs and stock damping, especially as the miles cause the shocks to wear. They weren't ideal shocks for stock springs, let along lower and stiffer springs.

elscorcho

What do u suggest to get? I'm leaning towards good shocks and struts now, with a good 1.5" drop.

elscorcho

Also I won't be doing much auto x-ing, just want it to be lower but still handle a little better than stock with dependability

montreal ponies

Go with the Koni SRT'S. I'm sure Sam will agree ! Speaking of those, i will have to order a set from you soon...

FCMalie

Yea, I need to get my order in for those before the sale ends. STR.Ts seem to be the way to go for "spirited" driving. Just a bonus that they are on sale at the moment.

FastRedPonyCar

I was going to get the STRT's but decided to go with the sports instead as I can adjust them softer or firmer rather than simply having them as is without control. Right now, they're not a WHOLE lot more than the STRT's and the superior amount of control you can dial into your setup (even if you're just going to have it as a commuter/cruising car like what I'll use my car for) was worth spending a bit extra.

The extra $ it costs isn't that much considering how important it is in everyday driving. Kinda like a nice shifter. It's something that you use ALL the time rather than just when you stomp on the gas or what not.

Also, if you do get the koni's, you also have to put the FRPP strut mounts on or you can get the steeda ones that have a little camber adjustment but to use them, you still have to buy a set of the FRPP mounts to cannibalize a part from them (which is my plan). Whenever my car shows up, my plan is to grab the steeda sports and caster plates from sam and use the FRPP mounts that have already shown up to do the whole suspension and see where I'm at. I may toss in an adjustable panhard bar as well.

Fungusthestangman

If you want to do it right, you actually should get camber/caster plates for the strut towers..., you dont have to so anything if dont want too.. The factory shocks hold up just fine with a 2 inch drop. and if you get a progressive spring rate, the ride will be fine, but definetly stiffer. you will notice a ton more road noise,(easily covered up with the right exhaust) and 4-5 miles to the gallon on the highway. i actually went from 20 to 28. if you dont straiten up the camber, youll wear the tires sooner, as far as the caster, thats just a driver feel thing, so you might not notice it at all. im very picky about that stuff.

Fungusthestangman

i run 20x10 and 20x8.5, without the drop, my car looked like it had wagon wheels....lol. The factory tires are a big handling problem as far as corner lean, so you may not have the noise and rougher ride as mine does because the side wall of the tire will hide alot of that.

elscorcho

I might just wait it out for a bit and save for the a nicer set of shocks/struts and decide exactly what i wanna do with my 'stang. Im actually enjoying the muscle car stance right now, lol. except when it's next to regular cars! My buddy's STOCK gto make my car seem as if i installed a LIFT-KIT!

zilla8

Getting the look you want really depends on matching the tire/wheel combo and springs
IMO.

I went with a 19x9 wheel all around with 245/45-19 tire and with the Eibach Pro kit springs the drop was just what I wanted.The tires are plenty wide enough for me and most of all with all of my other suspension mods my car handles and rides good.

It looks like my car is dropped more then 1" FT and 1.5" RR because of the taller tire that closed up all of the fender gap.I have no rubbing and plenty of travel on the bumpstops.

before

after

BlackMamba03

i know its been multiple months since your original post but i figured id comment. it seems that to get the lowering that you desire, this is what id do, first, upgrade to 19" rims and go with 275/35/19's (Michelin Pilot Super Sports) and finally an Eibach lowering kit. that should give you the lowered stance youre looking for while closing the gap between the tires and fenders.