Feedback on Lowering 99-2004 Stang?

After 2 years of driving on the lowered springs I am seriously considering returning it to stock., Like the look of lowered ride and the lowering springs make it tighter in the corners. However the roads are so patched around here that the ride is almost intolerably rough. As well the stang likes to head off on its own when driving on uneven roads. Always feeling I have to really hang on to the wheel to keep her on the straight path! There has continued to be a rattle in the front end on rough roads as well that I have not been able to track down...still suspect the caster camber plates maybe? If I do get on the occasional stretch of smooth pavement it is a different drive, alas those are few and far between! I did not upgrade sway bars but I doubt they will resolve the driving and steering issues on rough roads.
 
2001BlackGTvert said:
Strange that the ride is so harsh.

The sway bars made the car handle much better , more planted on the road. I have billsteens. Lowered alaways makes them run tougher. But I don’t feel it’s unbearable like you describe
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Feel like I am fighting with it all the time. Have redone alignment twice thinking that might be it but no help. Shops around here only seem to know what the stock manuals tell them.
 
Sway bars control body roll in corners.
That feeling of leaning to one side or the other.
They minimize that leaning feeling.
That’s probably what Charlie means by better handling.
They will not have affect either positive or negative on the “rough” ride that you are describing.

Rough ride is more a spring rate and damper issue.
 
CC plates may or may not be the source of the clonking noise you describe in the front end but are not the source of the steering issues.

There is a warning label on all after market parts that says “may increase NVH”.
That stands for Noise, Vibration and Harshness.
It’s being changed from factory quality, therefor it cannot be expected to keep factory level comfort or quiet.
If it does, good for you. Small victory!
If not, you either have to accept it or, as you are considering, go back to factory.

CC plates allow the person doing your alignment to have greater adjustability of your strut over factory capability.

If you have had alignment done twice to factory spec, than CC plates are not a big factor.

The other thing they do is replace soft or sloppy factory rubber strut mounts with hard and precise steel bearing.
This means sharper steering response because the top of your strut no longer deflects side to side when you are turning.

This new steering sharpness, in combination with tighter spring and damper rates over factory soft, can be more sensitive to road imperfections.
Especially if you lowering springs are an aggressive drop.

There is a certain lowering point where if you reach it or go lower, your car may start to suffer from bump steer.

I don’t know the New Edge Mustangs much and I don’t know that you are having bump steer issues but it is a consideration for investigation.

It usually happens when a car is dropped low enough to cause the outer tie rods to point upward on the outboard end.
In normal or factory setup, the outer tip of those tie rods should be pointing slightly down.
And you are generally safe to drop the car until they get horizontal before bump steer becomes an issue.

If this is an issue, you can get bump steer kits from a few manufacturers to correct.
Steeda is one of them and I think Maximum Motorsport also have something.
One of them is basically a new set of tie rods where the rod pivot is relocated to correct the angle issue.

This is one reason I am conservative with how low I drop my cars.
 
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67 AGAIN said:
Sway bars control body roll in corners.
That feeling of leaning to one side or the other.
They minimize that leaning feeling.
That’s probably what Charlie means by better handling.
They will not have affect either positive or negative on the “rough” ride that you are describing.

Rough ride is more a spring rate and damper issue.
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Thanks for clarifying for me!
 
Tires can contribute to tram lining.

3 ways they can do it.

First, if you get larger diameter wheels which will shorten your sidewall.

Second, closely related to number 1, when most people get new wheels and tires they also get higher performance level tires which means stiffer sidewalls.

So a shorter and stiffer sidewall does increase tram lining potential quite a bit.
Especially on rutted roads.
Like when big truck and heavy traffic make two ruts where the tires roll.

A soft or less performance oriented tire has soft sidewalls and they just fold in those ruts and forgive. Like a sponge.
However, performance tires have a stiff sidewall and they don’t fold, so they pull the car to the side of the sidewall that is not folding on the edge of one of those ruts.

Remember, you have two tires and the same thing is happening to each one at the same time in ruts.
If you are in ruts and rolling slightly to the right side of the ruts, your front right tire outer sidewall is fighting the right side of the outer rut.
At the same time, the inner sidewall of your left tire is also fighting the right side of the left rut under the car.
With stiff sidewalls, the tire wants to climd up the side of that rut.
Both tires are pulling in the same direction.

The third way tires affect tram lining is if they are wider.
Along with stiffer sidewalls, performance tires are usually wider.
And Mustang guys like wider tires.
A wider tire covers the entirety of the rut more than a narrow tire.
So there is less or no neutral area in ruts.
You either fight one side or the other constantly.

On other hand, a narrow tire can ride the lowest point or valley of a rut and not come into conflict with the side of that rut.
Usually narrow tires also have taller and softer sidewall so even if not completely centred at bottom of rut, any conflict with the side is absorbed by the softer and taller sidewall which just bends and forgives, like a sponge.

Now you know why manufacturers spec narrower and softer sidewall tires than most of us like to see on our Mustangs.
It makes driving them easier for most people.
 
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67 AGAIN said:
Tires can contribute to tram lining.

3 ways they can do it.

First, if you get larger diameter wheels which will shorten your sidewall.

Second, closely related to number 1, when most people get new wheels and tires they also get higher performance level tires which means stiffer sidewalls.

So a shorter and stiffer sidewall does increase tram lining potential quite a bit.
Especially on rutted roads.
Like when big truck and heavy traffic make two ruts where the tires roll.

A soft or less performance oriented tire has soft sidewalls and they just fold in those ruts and forgive. Like a sponge.
However, performance tires have a stiff sidewall and they don’t fold, so they pull the car to the side of the sidewall that is not folding on the edge of one of those ruts.

Remember, you have two tires and the same thing is happening to each one at the same time in ruts.
If you are in ruts and rolling slightly to the right side of the ruts, your front right tire outer sidewall is fighting the right side of the outer rut.
At the same time, the inner sidewall of your left tire is also fighting the right side of the left rut under the car.
With stiff sidewalls, the tire wants to climd up the side of that rut.
Both tires are pulling in the same direction.

The third way tires affect tram lining is if they are wider.
Along with stiffer sidewalls, performance tires are usually wider.
And Mustang guys like wider tires.
A wider tire covers the entirety of the rut more than a narrow tire.
So there is less or no neutral area in ruts.
You either fight one side or the other constantly.

On other hand, a narrow tire can ride the lowest point or valley of a rut and not come into conflict with the side of that rut.
Usually narrow tires also have taller and softer sidewall so even if not completely centred at bottom of rut, any conflict with the side is absorbed by the softer and taller sidewall which just bends and forgives, like a sponge.

Now you know why manufacturers spec narrower and softer sidewall tires than most of us like to see on our Mustangs.
It makes driving them easier for most people.
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Do tire sidewalls get stiffer with age? My Michelin Pilot Sports (stock size) were better ride than my older tires they replaced.
 
So basically, when you think about it, everything we do to improve the handling or the look of the stance of our Mustangs, on perfect or near perfect roads, does render them harder to live with on all those other less than perfect roads.

We put wider tires on with shorter and stiffer sidewalls.

We upgrade softish, spongy-ish factory rubber bushings and mounts with polyurethane or steel replacements and joints.

We put on shorter and stiffer springs than factory relatively soft units.

No two cars will react identically and no two owners will have same tolerance but all the above combined in some way will change how the car drives.

For some it’s considered improvement.
For others not so much.

Don’t you like first world problems?
 
GRIFF said:
Do tire sidewalls get stiffer with age? My Michelin Pilot Sports (stock size) were better ride than my older tires they replaced.
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No, the sidewall does not get stiffer with age.

But the Pilot tires will definitely have a stiffer sidewall than anything Ford would have specked as original equipment on your car.
And it will remain so for the life ot the tire.
 
Did you get the Pilots before, at same time or after the springs and struts.

Stiffer springs and original tires, you don’t feel so much difference.

New tires and original springs, you’ll appreciate tires but still not drastic difference.

Now combine Pilots with stiffer and lower springs, plus no more deflection of struts due to CC pates, and you have huge difference.

Stiffer sidewalls on Pilots do give slightly harsher ride than OE tires.
Because they don’t fold easily.

Everything affects something else.
 
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