drop spindles

[Chrome_Rush]

OK I think I have my setup down. I'm thinking mm coilovers up front, mm bumpsteer kit and CC plates with the 87-93 v8 brakes. May go with the mark rotors depending on what wheels I chose. I like the fr500 if they will fit. Or the axis klassic 17x8.5 mesh wheels. Going for a hair over 2" of drop up front.

For the back I'm thinking I will use the eibach pro very springs. Should drop it a bit over an inch in back. Then a set of mm rear control arms with adjustable perches to really dial it in and cut down on wheel hop obviously. Will probably do discs in back just for appearence. I think it sounds like a pretty good setup. Feel free to chime in with any suggestions.

[Forever]

BUT .. you can use 2" drop spindles and OEM type springs and shocks AND it would be low enough to look good and ride smooth like stock

[Chrome_Rush]

I would rather have a bit of a stiffer spring in it to reduce body roll anyways so I will need some sort of performance spring. Plus I would have the added work and expense of going with the sn95 front brakes and the 500 bucks for the spindles on top of that. Then again, I wouldnt need the bumpsteer kit or the cc plates if I did JUST the drop spindles. I could always just get a stiffer spring with very little drop. Or I know a company that can custom make a spring for anything to whatever specs you like. I could get a stock height spring with a higher springrate wound up for me. THere are so many options, what to do?

[wraithracing]

I would rather have a bit of a stiffer spring in it to reduce body roll anyways so I will need some sort of performance spring. Plus I would have the added work and expense of going with the sn95 front brakes and the 500 bucks for the spindles on top of that. Then again, I wouldnt need the bumpsteer kit or the cc plates if I did JUST the drop spindles. I could always just get a stiffer spring with very little drop. Or I know a company that can custom make a spring for anything to whatever specs you like. I could get a stock height spring with a higher springrate wound up for me. THere are so many options, what to do?

The advantage of going to the coilover setup especially upfront is that you can run a softer spring than a stock spring, but yet get better handling and less body roll. The stock Mustang springs operate at an effective spring rate (wheel rate) of 25% of the actual spring rate. That means that a standard front spring for a Mustang with a rated 400 lbs has the wheel rate of 100 lbs. When you change to a coilover, the wheel rate is @ 90% so to get the same rate you can run a coilover spring of @ 110 lbs. So needless to say, which car do you think will have the better ride? This is especially true when you start moving into the high performance spring rates. Suddenly the normal 800lb road racing spring becomes a 200 lb coil over spring.

You can also adjust your ride height both with different spring lengths and the adjustability in the coil over setup itself.

As for front brakes, you can pick up the stock GT/V6 brakes for cheap if you don't want or need the 13" Cobra/Bullit brakes. The stock GT/V6 brakes will equal or better than the stock 87-93 brakes.

I won't guarantee that you won't need a bumpsteer kit no matter which way you go if you are still trying to get the big drop. I would also highly recommend the CC plates. This is the only way you are going to get a good alignment with this type of drop.

Good Luck!

Trey

[Chrome_Rush]

Well after checking out the car, im thinking a 2.5" drop is as far as I want to go up front, im thinking coilvers, a bumpsteer kit and c plates may be my best option up front.

[SVT Rob]

Trey, your pace car looks awesome, as always. With the uncut Eibach springs, it probably looks more like my Capri, as far as ride height goes. I've got MaxSpeed 2" springs on it:


I'm actually pretty happy with how the car looks, but the ride quality sucks. Reading the thread that RichardP posted about the RaceCraft spindles, that's more of what I would be looking for, something that a stock style strut would get full travel in, while still looking good lowered.

Otherwise, you have to start looking into bumpsteer kits and specially valved/built struts to manage your front end correctly.

I'm currently running:
MaxSpeed 2" lowering springs
KYB GR2's front/rear
UPR Caster/Camber plates

[Chrome_Rush]

One advantage I can see. Most shops wont touch a car with a hea vily modified suspension. Not even just for an alignment. If it isnt going to be to factory spec they dont want anything to do with it.Just using the drop spindles you could keep the rest stock and just tell them to use the alignment specs for an sn95 car. Plus the whole ride quality thing.

[wraithracing]

Trey, your pace car looks awesome, as always. With the uncut Eibach springs, it probably looks more like my Capri, as far as ride height goes. I've got MaxSpeed 2" springs on it:


I'm actually pretty happy with how the car looks, but the ride quality sucks. Reading the thread that RichardP posted about the RaceCraft spindles, that's more of what I would be looking for, something that a stock style strut would get full travel in, while still looking good lowered.

Otherwise, you have to start looking into bumpsteer kits and specially valved/built struts to manage your front end correctly.

I'm currently running:
MaxSpeed 2" lowering springs
KYB GR2's front/rear
UPR Caster/Camber plates

Thanks Rob! I love the way your Capri is looking too. Makes me want to get my 84 RS together! The best advice I can give anyone after dropping every Mustang/Capri I have ever owned is that matching your springs/shocks/struts makes all the difference in the world in handling and ride quality. I also highly recommend matching the setup to what you want the car to do. Don't install a road race setup if you plan on cruising it 99% of the time. Also you don't have to put heavy duty springs, shocks, and struts onto a Mustang/Capri just to get it to handle better. Subframe connectors, poly/delrin bushings, and some other upgrades make a huge difference in the way the cars handle. If you are unsure, I would recommend all the chassis stiffening first, bushings, etc. next and then decide on your spring and shock combo.

I can see a benefit to the drop spindles, but everyone needs to remember that anytime you change the suspension from stock and lower it (no matter how) you need to check the bumpsteer for safety. If you need to correct the bumpsteer, then get a bumpsteer kit, if the bumpsteer is minimal, you can forget the kit. FYI 96-04 spindles on a Fox with OEM K member tend to have more bumpsteer, due to the location of the steering arm on the spindle. Also the Race Craft spindle alters the steering arm to help alleviate bumpsteer. This doesn't mean that the change will make EVERY car not have bumpsteer.

One advantage I can see. Most shops wont touch a car with a hea vily modified suspension. Not even just for an alignment. If it isnt going to be to factory spec they dont want anything to do with it.Just using the drop spindles you could keep the rest stock and just tell them to use the alignment specs for an sn95 car. Plus the whole ride quality thing.

True, many shops don't want to do a "TRUE" alignment. I was a Firestone Service Manager years ago and the Techs generally wanted to "Set the Toe & Go"! If you have a shop set your alignment, first explain all that has been done to the car, expect to pay more than the standard $59.95 (or whatever the price is) cost. When you settle on a price for the alignment, tell them you want the technician to split the specs if using the factory specifications. Essentially this makes them take the nomal +/- range and cut it in half. For exampbe instead of the range being +/- 3 degrees of camber it's now 1.5 degrees. This makes the tech give a better alignment. The factory specs especially for our cars are pretty wide. The other option is to give the tech the specifications you want the car aligned to. Maximum Motorsports is a good place to get specs from, but you will have to check your tires after the alignment for awhile to make sure that it works well for your setup. Don't set it and forget it! The other option is to buy the couple of tools needed and set your alignment yourself. For the beginner it can seem like a daunting task, but once you get the idea, it's not that difficult at all. The tools can be expensive race car quality if you choose or you can save some money with less expensive tools that can be bought at Sears and Home Centers. There are several good examples on the internet that will walk you through the process. I can also point you in the right direction too if you need some help.

I personally quit taking my cars in for alignments for the exact same reason, I continued to get excuses as to why they couldn't align this or that. I even had them tell me that you can't adjust the camber on a Mustang. After a couple of poor quality alignments, I decided I could do it myself. Once you get started it's easy to tell what the car is doing and what you need to do to correct it. Just checking your tire wear everytime you wash your car (you do wash it right! ) will let you know what's going on and if you need to make adjustments. You will also find that different tires may need different alignments. Most of the time it is simply a toe adjustment, but sometimes you might need to adjust the camber too. Hope this helps a bit guys.

Trey