[Foxmoto28]

I understand the fact that when you lower a vehicle you're changing the center of gravity.

I know you'll need the following:

Larger wheels and wider tires
Aftermarket springs, shocks and struts - leaf springs on some?
Thicker front and rear sway bar
Aftermarket caster chamber plates
Also, good time to replace ball joints, etc.


I currently have:
Eibach lowering springs (Getting the add on coil over kit for Christmas )
Aftermarket shocks and struts; I'll look at the brand, my brother did that one.
17" rims with wide tires, wider in the rear.
And I recently changed the ball joints.


What else am I missing?
and what are some good brands?

I'm thinking about getting the Eibach sway bar kit (front, rear, and bushings) whenever I get my coil over.

[johnGT]

Our cars don't have leaf springs or a place to bolt them in for that matter I don't think.
Most people say you will need a bumpsteer kit when you lower your car. I personally don't like them, but it's all preference I guess.
Adjustable camber plates are good to have with a lowered car. Depending on the size tire, it will be bowed outward in front.
For the sway bars, I would just get new bushings for the front one and get a thicker one in the rear. Most of the body roll is in the rear. Generally, the thicker the one in the front, the more understeer you will get but the car will feel more stable. This is because the sway bar essentially doubles the spring rate of the shocks because it makes them work together. The thicker the one in the rear does the same but will cause a tad more oversteer because there is less flex. Once again, it all comes down to personal preference.

What size width are the tires going on there?

[MANZO MUSTANG]

Full length Subframe connectors.

[brokenweasel]

where is jazzer?

I'll fill in for the kitty:

What are the ultimate goals for your ride?

One possibly overlooked thing to do when lowering: put those caster/camber plates to good use and get an alignment.

Originally Posted by Foxmoto28 I'm thinking about getting the Eibach sway bar kit (front, rear, and bushings) whenever I get my coil over.

What coil-overs are you getting? Read everything on these two websites and then you'll get a better idea of what you need to do. The best thing you can do for yourself is learn what everything does and how it works together, that should help you decide what suspension upgrades need to be addressed first.

http://www.griggsracing.com/
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/

[fogged306]

Originally Posted by johnGT Most people say you will need a bumpsteer kit when you lower your car. I personally don't like them, but it's all preference I guess.

Lol, got an explanation as to why you don't like bumpsteer kits? If you lower a car and change the angle of your tie rods enough, then your steering wheel will grab every little bump in the road. I lowered my car without a bumpsteer kit at first and you could see the tie rods were at huge up angle compared to the A-arms. The car was a nightmare to drive, grabbed every grove in the road and jerked the wheel when I hit a decent bump. I got a bumpsteer kit and got my tie-rods lined up with my A-arms and it was a night and day difference. The problem gets exponentially worse the lower you go, but once you lower a car, without a bump-steer kit on, your geometry will be off. A small amount you probably won't notice. I went probably 1.5" to 1.75" lower and you're not driving a car that much lower without a bumpsteer kit without fighting it all day long.

To answer the OP's question, You don't need larger wheels, or thicker sway bars. My sway bars are completely removed on my car. Caster camber kit, bumpsteer kit and lowering method of choice is all you need. New ball joints are a good idea as a preemptive replacement, but if they're not bad yet, it's not completely necessary. If you do lowering springs, make sure you do shocks and struts to match. I just cut a coil out of my rear springs and got a set of adjustable shocks for the rear and then went with coilovers for mine. My car is set-up for drag though. Guy at the suspension place I got all my stuff from said higher mileage V8 springs with a coil cut are actually great for launching if the rest of the suspension is up to par. He was right, car hooks hard.

[johnGT]

Bumpsteer kits just make the car feel slower in the turns. Like there isn't enough power to move the wheels I guess. I like being able to turn quickly. Personal experience made me dislike them. Although the car I was driving was only lowered 1".

[Daves94vert]

Brakes! minimum i'd go with is some slotted/cross-drilled rotors and a 99 and up 2 piston caliper conversion with some hawk hps pads. Or cobra 13" brake setup.

[StangBanger302]

Wtf? Hes asking about suspension and you suggest brakes? I'm clueless...lol.

[Foxmoto28]

Originally Posted by StangBanger302 Wtf? Hes asking about suspension and you suggest brakes? I'm clueless...lol.

[Daves94vert]

You need a good braking system to take full advantage of your suspension.

[Macunicorn]

You won't need sway bars until the end. They are used as a tuning aid.
You will need welded in subframe connector to eliminate chassis flex etc,
A good set of Lower Control Arms will control wheel hop etc,
And depending on ur goals you will need a pan hard bar to keep the axle
centered under the car by reducing lateral movement during cornering.
And you will need a good alignment and possibly bump steer kit depending
on how much is lowered.

[95StangMX]

What the heck does having those brakes have anything to do with "taking advantage" of the suspension, if the car doesn't have many engine mods, its not going to go fast enough that the brakes can't handle it, hell I am still running the stock brakes on my car or was until I took it apart, and will use them again with the 347 stroker thats going in, and our 1/4 mile is short as far as having room to slow down after the 1/4.... they work fine for me....

[Daves94vert]

The suspension pieces he's looking at are more for autocrossing than drag racing. Our stock brakes aren't sufficient for our stock cars much less a modified car. Not all cars go straight only. Some turn too. Go hit a road course and reply back if your stock brakes are good enough. Didn't realise this was a drag race only forum.

[Bullitt95]

Originally Posted by 95StangMX What the heck does having those brakes have anything to do with "taking advantage" of the suspension, if the car doesn't have many engine mods, its not going to go fast enough that the brakes can't handle it, hell I am still running the stock brakes on my car or was until I took it apart, and will use them again with the 347 stroker thats going in, and our 1/4 mile is short as far as having room to slow down after the 1/4.... they work fine for me....

You'll soon change your mind about the stock brakes if you swap in the 13" fronts from a '94-'98 Cobra. I've done that swap and the improvement in stopping power was very noticeable. The Cobra front brakes are also less prone to fade.

[johnGT]

Originally Posted by Bullitt95 You'll soon change your mind about the stock brakes if you swap in the 13" fronts from a '94-'98 Cobra. I've done that swap and the improvement in stopping power was very noticeable. The Cobra front brakes are also less prone to fade.

+1.^

I have the stock brakes (yes, they are horrible) but I noticed a HUGE difference when I had my front struts replaced. Less nose dive = better stopping power = better handling.

[GreenCobraClone]

Originally Posted by fogged306 Lol, got an explanation as to why you don't like bumpsteer kits? If you lower a car and change the angle of your tie rods enough, then your steering wheel will grab every little bump in the road. I lowered my car without a bumpsteer kit at first and you could see the tie rods were at huge up angle compared to the A-arms. The car was a nightmare to drive, grabbed every grove in the road and jerked the wheel when I hit a decent bump. I got a bumpsteer kit and got my tie-rods lined up with my A-arms and it was a night and day difference. The problem gets exponentially worse the lower you go, but once you lower a car, without a bump-steer kit on, your geometry will be off. A small amount you probably won't notice. I went probably 1.5" to 1.75" lower and you're not driving a car that much lower without a bumpsteer kit without fighting it all day long. To answer the OP's question, You don't need larger wheels, or thicker sway bars. My sway bars are completely removed on my car. Caster camber kit, bumpsteer kit and lowering method of choice is all you need. New ball joints are a good idea as a preemptive replacement, but if they're not bad yet, it's not completely necessary. If you do lowering springs, make sure you do shocks and struts to match. I just cut a coil out of my rear springs and got a set of adjustable shocks for the rear and then went with coilovers for mine. My car is set-up for drag though. Guy at the suspension place I got all my stuff from said higher mileage V8 springs with a coil cut are actually great for launching if the rest of the suspension is up to par. He was right, car hooks hard.

Thank you. You just explained why my car tracks with the ruts in the road. Bump steer kit is next on the list.

[F8L GT]

You dont need cobra brakes or 13" brakes to stop good. All you need a set of OEM GT rotors, new new edge calipers, a good set of brake pads, stainless brake lines and DOT 5.1 or better fluid.

And with this set up you will have brakes that will out perform factory cobra brakes