I finally aligned my car today after installing my new front suspension stuff on Monday. I figure it's about time I do a review on the job now that I've had time to test it out with a proper alignment.
What I did:
New OE-style 3-bolt ball joint UCA's from Mustangs Plus (I got a deal, otherwise I would've gone elsewhere)
560lb 1" drop coil springs from OpenTracker (which they apparently source from Mustangs Plus)
Roller spring perches, courtesy of Day @ www.dazecars.com (awesome guy)
Shelby drop (template and 17/32" bit courtesy of Day, again)
Alignment (1/16" toe in, 3.8* caster, -.6* camber)
How the job went:
Painfully. Well, it wasn't really all that bad, but I wasted almost 2 hours trying to make a pair of external mcpherson strut coil spring compressors work on my coil springs. They don't, so don't try. Stupid, dangerous pieces of crap. They were the only things I could find at the shop (I did all of this at the shop at the local junior college I attend). A couple times I almost lost a finger when they slipped and smacked together. Fortunately one of the lab instructors dug up an internal hook-and-plate style coil spring compressor that made short work of the coils. It wasn't the external fork-style I was told we had, or the twin-plate style I should've borrowed from a friend, but it worked and didn't kill me or remove any digits.
The rest of the job went fairly smooth. I spent a bit of time and most of a can of PB Blaster drilling progressively larger holes for the Shelby drop. I'm lucky the shop had a drill that accepted up to 3/4" bits (even though it was a freaking huge electric), because my drill and the shop air drills only do about 7/8".
The only problem I had during reassembly was with the lower shock bushings and washers, and Day warned me about that beforehand. With the big tube for the bearings in place, there's not a lot of room for the lower bushings and washers. I ended up having to grind down the washers and cut the bushings on one side to clear. No big deal, but something to keep in mind.
How it works:
FREAKING AWESOME@#%$!!!! It's seriously like driving a different car. Before, the front end would roll during hard cornering, understeer, and generally keep my cornering speeds down. Now, the front end stays flat and planted. It actually wants to go where I point it, and the limiting factor during cornerig seems more to be how fast I can turn the wheel (stupid low ratio m/s box) rather than body roll. The rear still rolls a little, which I attribute partially to the unibody flexing, but that can be dealt with later by subframe connectors and possibly a rear sway bar. The front still understeers a bit, but that's to be expected considering the sloppy rear, and can be corrected to some extent by my right foot
Ride height is much better than before. I've got M+ 4.5 leaf mid-eye (1" drop) springs in the rear to snug the tires into the wheel wells. The stock front springs left about a 3" gap in the wheel well up front and left the car looking like it was sitting with a backwards rake (basically how the car looked from the factory). The new front end setup dropped the front about an inch, maybe an inch and a half, and I'm hoping the springs settle even more in the next couple months. The car looks much more level now.
Ride quality is excellent. The new springs are firm, but not jarring. They're definitely stiffer than the old stock springs, but not so stiff as to be overly jarring. I attribute part of this to the Edelbrock IAS shocks that soak up bumps and dips, and the roller perches Day made for me that allow the suspension to respond more quickly. I still think the ride might be on the stiff side for many daily drivers (driving on sections of freeway where the cracks are tarred over is slightly uncomfortable and annoying), but it's great for a weekend car or for someone like me who doesn't care quite as much about ride quality.
Moral of the Story:
Do it. Do it now. Seriously, the Shelby drop does amazing things to your handling, and there's no reason not to replace the springs and perches while you're in there.
What I did:
New OE-style 3-bolt ball joint UCA's from Mustangs Plus (I got a deal, otherwise I would've gone elsewhere)
560lb 1" drop coil springs from OpenTracker (which they apparently source from Mustangs Plus)
Roller spring perches, courtesy of Day @ www.dazecars.com (awesome guy)
Shelby drop (template and 17/32" bit courtesy of Day, again)
Alignment (1/16" toe in, 3.8* caster, -.6* camber)
How the job went:
Painfully. Well, it wasn't really all that bad, but I wasted almost 2 hours trying to make a pair of external mcpherson strut coil spring compressors work on my coil springs. They don't, so don't try. Stupid, dangerous pieces of crap. They were the only things I could find at the shop (I did all of this at the shop at the local junior college I attend). A couple times I almost lost a finger when they slipped and smacked together. Fortunately one of the lab instructors dug up an internal hook-and-plate style coil spring compressor that made short work of the coils. It wasn't the external fork-style I was told we had, or the twin-plate style I should've borrowed from a friend, but it worked and didn't kill me or remove any digits.
The rest of the job went fairly smooth. I spent a bit of time and most of a can of PB Blaster drilling progressively larger holes for the Shelby drop. I'm lucky the shop had a drill that accepted up to 3/4" bits (even though it was a freaking huge electric), because my drill and the shop air drills only do about 7/8".
The only problem I had during reassembly was with the lower shock bushings and washers, and Day warned me about that beforehand. With the big tube for the bearings in place, there's not a lot of room for the lower bushings and washers. I ended up having to grind down the washers and cut the bushings on one side to clear. No big deal, but something to keep in mind.
How it works:
FREAKING AWESOME@#%$!!!! It's seriously like driving a different car. Before, the front end would roll during hard cornering, understeer, and generally keep my cornering speeds down. Now, the front end stays flat and planted. It actually wants to go where I point it, and the limiting factor during cornerig seems more to be how fast I can turn the wheel (stupid low ratio m/s box) rather than body roll. The rear still rolls a little, which I attribute partially to the unibody flexing, but that can be dealt with later by subframe connectors and possibly a rear sway bar. The front still understeers a bit, but that's to be expected considering the sloppy rear, and can be corrected to some extent by my right foot
Ride height is much better than before. I've got M+ 4.5 leaf mid-eye (1" drop) springs in the rear to snug the tires into the wheel wells. The stock front springs left about a 3" gap in the wheel well up front and left the car looking like it was sitting with a backwards rake (basically how the car looked from the factory). The new front end setup dropped the front about an inch, maybe an inch and a half, and I'm hoping the springs settle even more in the next couple months. The car looks much more level now.
Ride quality is excellent. The new springs are firm, but not jarring. They're definitely stiffer than the old stock springs, but not so stiff as to be overly jarring. I attribute part of this to the Edelbrock IAS shocks that soak up bumps and dips, and the roller perches Day made for me that allow the suspension to respond more quickly. I still think the ride might be on the stiff side for many daily drivers (driving on sections of freeway where the cracks are tarred over is slightly uncomfortable and annoying), but it's great for a weekend car or for someone like me who doesn't care quite as much about ride quality.
Moral of the Story:
Do it. Do it now.
Seriously, the Shelby drop does amazing things to your handling, and there's no reason not to replace the springs and perches while you're in there.
