[Mustang#6]

As the owner of a base model, I love the look of the car but not necessarily the stance. In fact in my order of mods that I would like to do, lowering the car a tad is very high on the list. I can live with the base wheel/tire setup until the first tire replacement and I like the factory exhaust note now that I have the Airaid CAI installed. Anyway, I have a little Christmas Cash to spend and I was seeking opinions on installation of lowering springs w/o new struts (dampers?) and caster camber mounts. I am considering the Ford Racing units for the V6, which are supposed to be a drop of 1.2' front and rear or the Eibach Pro-Kit which is .8" front and 1" rear. If necessary, I will buy the elements as I can afford them and put them on when I have them all accumulated, but I'd really like to see the change ASAP.

[Sidewayzstang]

ive got the ford raceing lowering springs depends how low you truely want be ill tell you with the FR your gonna drop alot i cant even get low profile jacks underneath my car without someone lifting up on the car and youll scrape on moderate bumps and driveways if they are a little high imo i love them and im happy with them really makes the car feel stiffer and look great so if you dont mind a bit of a bumpy ride and want to be low id say FR is what to go with but if you dont like a little bumpy i wouldnt suggest them

[FiK]

You'll be fine with either drop, from what I've heard and read. Magic number seems to be 1.5" where things start getting dicey and mounts start popping.

Struts and dampers are the same thing, honestly, so your usage is correct. The most specific it can get is referring to the different function what is most often the same part used on cars (the strut being the metal rod that ties to the chassis, the damper the valving section). I've heard of the parts being separate before, never seen it though.

Know the spring rates for the springs? If you're trying to hold onto the stock dampers forever, you're probably best off going with the softest of the two.

[Mustang#6]

Thanks for the input. I would love to go with a lower stance, but I live in the land of asphalt topped roads. After a couple of recoats, the entrance and exits to parking lots are treacherous enough with stock height and the small lip spoiler on the base model, so I am leaning toward the eibach setup. I do expect to replace the dampers at some point, so how do you like the Tokicos?

[Macunicorn]

Originally Posted by Mustang#6 Thanks for the input. I would love to go with a lower stance, but I live in the land of asphalt topped roads. After a couple of recoats, the entrance and exits to parking lots are treacherous enough with stock height and the small lip spoiler on the base model, so I am leaning toward the eibach setup. I do expect to replace the dampers at some point, so how do you like the Tokicos?

Tokicos arent bad for the money, but IMO I would save up for a better set like Bilstein or Koni. That is just me. Whatever spring you choose do not go to low since you will run into clearance issues with exhaust.

[Sidewayzstang]

yeah if your roads are bad on stock suspension Ford Racing isnt what you want i dropped more than the 1.5" they said ive only got about 4.5" of clearence now

[FiK]

Originally Posted by Macunicorn Tokicos arent bad for the money, but IMO I would save up for a better set like Bilstein or Koni. That is just me. Whatever spring you choose do not go to low since you will run into clearance issues with exhaust.

I haven't had a problem with exhaust clearance? My drop was 1.7" Front, 2.4" Rear. All the same, there are a shit ton of issues that come with large drops. The whole electric steering motor grinding thing is obnoxious (does it when it's 80 degrees F and up outside, after cars been fully warmed and shut off less than three hours), and the strut mounts coming apart thing.

My D-Specs are a hoot. They're easy to adjust from soft to hard rides (seven positions total I think?). I leave mine just two twists off from go-kart mode and it suits my needs. I still say ultimately I wish I had just waited for coilovers to hit the market, but I did mine early and for a steal on every other piece (besides the CC plates, which had only been out about 2 weeks at the time).

By the by, there's a lot of incompatibility between struts and strut mounts for the 2011+ generation. Make sure you double check that what you want will fit each other.

[JayyVee]

Eibach's Pro System will drop your V6 approx 1" in the front and 1.5" in the back. That's what it advertises, and that's approx what I got from it as well. Not a rough ride at all really, depending on road quality of course. Have not had clearance issues yet but I'm being over-cautious - my last car sat a little lower on sportlines, so it 'did' have some clearance issues in some situations..

[Mustang#6]

Thanks, Jayyvee, that is very helpful. Is the photo in your post your car? before or after install? And do you have any other pics?

[JayyVee]

Originally Posted by Mustang#6 Thanks, Jayyvee, that is very helpful. Is the photo in your post your car? before or after install? And do you have any other pics?

Sure, lessee.. The sig pic is after suspension -


Pre-Eibach Pro Plus (Stock)



Lowered - Eibach Pro Plus




Not quite the same angle on the pics, but same parking lot and spot (lol), you can see the wheel-well clearance reduced especially the rear.

Sportlines would be a little lower, and a bit more rugged a ride. Pro ride has been fine so far, minus pothole/roadfill spots where it's very uneven.

[Mustang#6]

Thanks, that's what I'm looking for. Want to reduce the gap over the rear tires in particular and improve handling a bit. This looks like it will do the trick.

[Plumbago]

It you go over an inch you need to check if you need a adjustable panhard also. And the further you lower it the further off the correct axle angle goes out so you may also need upper and lower control arms....it never stops once you start, so be carefull who you listen to on these forums....I'd suggest you call and talk to Sam Strano, Strano Performance, as he is top dog in the Mustang suspension business and races a lot and wins with what he sells....tell him what you want to accomplish and he will help.........bets regards Plum

[BMR Tech]

I just had a customer replace his lowering springs on his 2011 V6 Auto with ours.

He had the Eibach Pro-Kit, and the ride height was identical.

The reason for the swap, is due to the ride. He wanted a less rigid ride, and our springs are hands down, 100% the best overall performance spring if ride quality is a concern.

We have a considerable amount of customers running our springs with the stock struts and shocks.

Our rates are a dual rate of:

Front- 120/165...with a Linear working rate of 165.
Rear - 120/160....with a Linear working rate of 160.

We also integrated the "hourglass" rear spring shape, to additionally help combat wheel hop. This is something that I do not think ANY of our competitors have done, up to this point anyhow.

If you have any questions concerning our springs, please ask.

Happy modding!

[JayyVee]

old thread dug up - check
new poster saying don't trust the local forum dwellers - check
reference to Sam for suspension Q's of any sort (God has a shorter waiting line..) - check
sales pitch for one over another - check

GL with your suspension setup, if you didn't already take all of the posts with a grain of salt (mine included I hope) then now is the time to break out your bottle of Morton's for sure.

[FiK]

Well, Plumbago offered well-intended, sound advice. Irrelevant, but sound advice. It really is reiterated time and again that the further you go, the more you have to support the change. Mind you, the OP made it clear he was interested in a modest drop (~1").

I tried to stick to just answering questions and giving my opinion where qualified.

Also,
Eibach Springs : NEWS : FORD MUSTANG 2011

[Cobra_Commander]

Just a word of warning but you probably already know..

I drove a old Camry before finally getting the Mustang I've wanted, my time with it has told me... never lower your car... Well, depends, maybe you have a different experience, but I drive over a lot of speed bumps. My camry would bottom out on these if it had more than me in it (no I'm not obese, thanks). Its suspension was that bad. Also, the front would lightly scrape some higher parking blocks.

So understand, the car will look better, handle better, but it will encounter some city issues. Also, if it's not done right, it will actually handle worse. My friend lowered his Tahoe, the thing fucking shook around on turns annoyingly, and his stereos in the back got air and busted up over time due to poor speed bump handling. Also I live in Miami, but if flooding is ever something you encounter, a lower car might suck...

Right now the stock '11 and '12 I never have any bottom out issue unless I go a bit too fast over the speed bump (25mph usually too much, 15-20 is okay always), and it always slides over all parking blocks I encounter if I get too ambitious and slide up close. Any lower and I bet that wouldn't be the case.

Just my 0.02

[Mustang#6]

Thanks to all for your responses, sorry that mine has been so long in coming. Long story short, I was perusing ebay one day and found that Roush was clearancing their DUB project springs, which from everything I can read, is basically Eibach's Pro-Kit. Same lowering specs as the Pro-Kit and they were marketed as "Eibach/Roush/DUB lowering springs. $125 and free shipping, the deal that I couldn't refuse. So they are here, waiting for a long weekend for install. If the specs are correct, and from all that I've been able to glean from this and other resources, this should not require adjustable damper mounts or new lower control arms. Once installed, I will advise re:results. At the moment I am dealing w/front end damage that occurred by virtue of a suicidal beaver that chose my vehicle as the means for his demise.

[solidhadriel]

I see those on ebay right now. I'm considering getting a pair myself now..

[Mustang#6]

Maybe not as nice as the BMR product, but the price is hard to beat.