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Do I have everything I need for lowering

3K views 43 replies 13 participants last post by  Voltwings 
#1 ·
Hello everyone and thanks for reading this. As the title says do i have everything I need? I am about to start to buy the parts I need to lower my car. I just wanna know if I have everything.

Steedd ultra light springs
Steeda dampers
Steeda adjustable sway bars front and back
Steeda lower control arms
Steeda cast camber plates
Steeda adjustable panhard bar
Steeda bump steer kit
Steeda X11 balljoint

That is my list so far please let me know if I am missing anything. I am pretty sure I got it all.and thanks for all your help.


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#3 ·
you are doing better than most! That said I would definitely do shocks and struts while in there anyway. especially if you are over 20,000 miles. You can get a descent set for reasonable price and if paying labor it wont be anymore there.
 
#4 ·
When he says Steeda Dampers, i'm assuming that means shocks / struts.

Hello everyone and thanks for reading this. As the title says do i have everything I need? I am about to start to buy the parts I need to lower my car. I just wanna know if I have everything.

Steedd ultra light springs
Steeda dampers
Steeda adjustable sway bars front and back
Steeda lower control arms
-Insert brand - Lower control arm relocation brackets
Steeda cast camber plates
Steeda adjustable panhard bar
Steeda bump steer kit
Steeda X11 balljoint

That is my list so far please let me know if I am missing anything. I am pretty sure I got it all.and thanks for all your help.


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Now you have everything. Honestly, that is a very thorough list. Props for actually doing the ball joints and bumpsteer kit as well, thats something most people over look for the price. I know i'm guilty of bumping them down a few times on my own list, but they're really going to improve the feel of a lowered car.
 
#6 ·
When he says Steeda Dampers, i'm assuming that means shocks / struts.







Now you have everything. Honestly, that is a very thorough list. Props for actually doing the ball joints and bumpsteer kit as well, thats something most people over look for the price. I know i'm guilty of bumping them down a few times on my own list, but they're really going to improve the feel of a lowered car.

When you mean by lower control arm and relocate bracket it is for the back end of the car? Right ? And what about a panhard bar support brace? Do I need one ?


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#5 ·
Yea I am getting new struts and sHocks, I am going with steeda I do daily it so I want it to be like an oem ride, and at the same time be lower for some corners. I did my research and steeda is the best for me and has warranty and it's made in the USA. Can't go wrong with that


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#7 ·
I wish that ball joint geometry modifications were legal in my class. They make a lowered car not have worse roll center migration than already present (struts suck for performance).

Thorough list, good for street duty. A good thing to look at would be some good tires to make use of what you will have pushing them against the road.
 
#8 ·
Nice list. I would add the LCA relocation bracket. Check out BMR. They are bolt on. Some require welding. That said if you are planning on drag radials and take it to the strip then go with the weld on ones. You may or may not need the adjustable UCA depending on if you need to adjust your pinion angle. I didn't need one. I was also able to correct wheel hop with the relo brackets.


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#10 · (Edited)
Make sure you have a proper bump steer gauge and know how to use it- otherwise the ONLY thing that can possibly happen is making the bump steer worse. Simply buying a bump steer kit and bolting it on is pointless. It's like saying I have a set of feeler gauges and I'm going to adjust my valves, but I'm just going to guess which one to use and it will magically be right. Yeah, not.

If you do the extended ball joints, you will definitely need to do a bumpsteer adjustment or you are just going to throw your geometry in the trash....buying parts willy nilly and throwing them on is pointless. Do it right or don't do it at all.

I suggest you pass on the bumpsteer kit and extended ball joints unless you have somebody in your pocket who understands how to do this properly. Your baisc alignment shop or mechanic will not be able to do it properly beyond just bolting them on and setting the alignment. That is not enough. Its a complicated process and quite laborious. A proper job will be very expensive.

Parts retailers like to sell parts and enthusiasts like to talk about parts, but that is not enough.

Now before anybody gets their panties in a bunch, I am an ex professional chassis designer and builder. I know what I am talking about, trust me on this one.
 
#11 ·
I was going to have my friend help me who is a mechanic and graduated from Lincoln tech and is very big in to cars and suspension. But that was a lot of info I did not know about all of that. Thank you for Sharing


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#14 ·
Lots of youtubes on bump steer...I suggest you watch a bunch of them to get a better understanding on what is what. I haven't seen any of them yet so I can't recommend a good one. you are on your own for now. Enjoy.
 
#21 ·
Boy that's some great info on stuff I know nothing about. But I'm going to study up on it until all those lines in that animation, look like more than just a bunch of lines.LOL
On the lighter side, I loved that statement, "Parts retailers like to sell parts and enthusiasts like to talk about parts":lol::thumb:
 
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#24 ·
I personally would not use camber bolts. I'm sure that if a smaller diameter bolt would be appropriate for that application, that Ford would have used a smaller (read less expensive) bolt. I just don't trust them especially if you are going to drive aggressively. Just my opinion, some will disagree.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I have never used them myself, but there are a lot of others who have used them quite successfully. I have heard from a few that it is a vulnerability yet I have never heard of a failure. So the jury is still out on that one for me.
A little negative camber is good for the soul so I let it fly on mine but I do pay for it in tire wear as my car is much lower and camber more excessive than he is likely to have, but I run my car hard and the camber is justified. Kind of up to the user what use the car actually see's....camber plates are harsh regarding NVH so if he doesn't need them, why use them? Ford put those nice isolated strut tops on there and they work just fine for street.

Plus, they're free.
 
#29 ·
Isn't there another option using Ford's instructions to make the lower hole of the lower strut connection a slot? And I assume use a full size bolt.

Line art
 
#33 ·
I just saw a video on a popular mustang "How to" site that said just to align the tie rods with the lower control arm angle to bump steer the car....FAIL!
Guaranteed if you actually put a real bump steer gauge on it after doing that it would be way off....my God there is a lot of bad press out there. Unfortunately most folks don't know any better....anything to sell parts I guess.
 
#37 · (Edited)
I finally took the time to install a bump steer kit and extended ball joints on my 06 Mustang GT.
I thought it would be interesting to check the bump steer first stock, then with the extended ball joints and bump steer kit just thrown on there like most people do, then with the tie rods set parallel to the control arms like many suggest and then done up right with a proper bump steer gauge.
I'm making a how to video with all the information but the short answer is this:

1) Stock is actually pretty damn good for a production car.
2) Ball joints and bump kit thrown on-no gauge is beyond terrible. Don't be that guy.
3) Tie rods set parallel to the control arms is also terrible, but much better than not trying at all.
4) Setting it properly: Priceless.

Check it out:
Bump kit thrown on, no gauge used:
https://www.facebook.com/MauiSal/videos/10154109212173535/?l=1993633931699978189

Bump steer set with a proper bump steer gauge:
https://www.facebook.com/MauiSal/videos/10154109190708535/?l=3701783588659084186

Now you know the truth....you're welcome.
 
#41 ·
That's a Longacre bumpsteer gauge.
It came with a digital indicator but I'm old school so I switched it out to a dial indicator. Works the same but one has a LCD readout and the other has an old school dial. I find the dial is more indicative of the wheels movement via the dial while the digital is just numbers changing. I like to watch the dial move. It gives you a real feel for what's happening doesn't it?

Digital:
Longacre Digital Bump Steer Gauge 79015

Dial:
Longacre Bump Steer Gauge 79005
 
#42 ·
Thank you for the links man. Yeah I have never messed with bump steer and those videos were very eye opening. I have seen some bump steer tools but maybe I'm nuts, I don't think I've ever seen one quite as involved as this one. I think I would prefer the dial as well. This is def something I want to start looking into in mine.
 
#43 ·
This is actually the simplest one. My very first bump steer gauge 100 years ago had 2 dials. You had to watch them both and deduct one from the other as the wheel plate moved. Total PITA and very confusing. Longacre came out with a simplified gauge with one dial and a little wheel on the other side that takes the place of the other dial way back in the late 80's . Pure genius. It's still a laborious job but at least if you do it right, it's right. If if it is NOT done this way, the ONLY possibility is that you are going to make it worse. A LOT worse. I think I've proved that here.
 
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