Stance, your thoughts

[Mister 4x4]

I too ordered the Super Suspension Kit from Laurel Mountain Mustangs, with the 5-spring leaf packs and 1" lowered front coils.

I know that my old leafs were probably really tired, but when I installed the new ones, the rear end shot up an additional 2"-2.5" - and that's without shocks at all (still working on my upper shock mounts). Of course, stuffing the new shocks in there with the old leaf springs still in-place did the same thing. As well, I'm missing most of the sheet metal that comprises the trunk, and there is a lot of weight missing from my car because of everything that's been removed.

I have no idea if the front is going to sit where I want it because currently, the engine and transmission are not in the car. I guess "we'll see" when that time comes.

My plan is for 235/60-R15s on 15x7s up front, and 275/60-R15s with 15x8s out back - maybe even go up to 295/50-R15s... but I'm also wanting BFG T/As, and finding 50-series tires might be tough.

 

[NoLimitssjca]

Looks to me like you're missing the 2" front drop and the wider 295 tires out back.

Well, the 295/50/15 is the same diameter than the 245/60/15 one, only wider, so that does not make a difference. The 2" drop does.

One thing you may wanna consider is using different tire sizes. For example, a 255/60/15 in the rear and a 235/60/15 up front will give you a +-1/2 inch drop, look good and will not rub anywhere.

That is if it´s legal in the UK to do so, in my country it isn´t, but....

I guess, your main problem are the stock height front springs. By the way, the tail dragging will even be worse as you sit in the car (you just don´t see it), as the car usually only sags in the rear.

Shorter front coils will get you closer to where you want to go.

Check the stance on my car in the vid in the sig and the pics in the garage.

I don´t think you can go much lower than mine without air ride for a normal road driven car, as ground clearance will be a serious issue.

I could measure the distance from the top of the wheel arches to the ground, so you could compare the height.

But a lot of the problem is in the design of the car. The body lines make the front look higher and it takes a lot of lowering to make that go away.

I mentioned the tire width because this seems to be a "visual" problem. The wider tires fill the wheel well and the apperance of the rear of the car looks bigger. If you drop both end the appearnce won't change. Dropping the front and filling the rear wells should help.

 

[roger1197]

Guys, thank you ALL for the input, really appreciated.

Droptop 73, good info on the spring cutting math, thanks

MT91106, Would be grateful for a link to the leaf spring helpers, I'm in the UK & we dont have pep boys here

LUXSTANG, I can do the staggered wheel/tire size here in the UK with no legal problems, the link below is a few photographs of a recent meet, couple of shots of my Mach 1 & you can see front end pointing skyward ........







From what I gleaned from your advice I'm pulling out the new Laurel Mountain stock length front springs & cutting maybe a quarter at a time till I get near, the leaf spring helper trick maybe a nice addition if I can get hold of a set as I'm opposed to air shocks and cheap shackles, hopefully I can "fine tune it" with a staggered front - rear wheel & tire set up

Thanks again all, appreciated!

 

[NoLimitssjca]

Now I see your problem... You're on the wrong side of the road. ::

 

[Qcode351mach]

Looking at your pictures something just doesn't seem right..I would set the car up on a flat rack & check the ride height against the factory specs in the specified locations..Why in the world should you have to start making a band-aid fix to the rear (helper springs) & trimming front springs on brand new stuff ? Confirm that in fact the car is sitting at stock ride height..If it isn't than there's a problem with the kit you bought..It wasn't installed correctly..or you have chassis damage...

 

[c9zx]

Guys, thank you ALL for the input, really appreciated.

Droptop 73, good info on the spring cutting math, thanks

MT91106, Would be grateful for a link to the leaf spring helpers, I'm in the UK & we dont have pep boys here

LUXSTANG, I can do the staggered wheel/tire size here in the UK with no legal problems, the link below is a few photographs of a recent meet, couple of shots of my Mach 1 & you can see front end pointing skyward ........







From what I gleaned from your advice I'm pulling out the new Laurel Mountain stock length front springs & cutting maybe a quarter at a time till I get near, the leaf spring helper trick maybe a nice addition if I can get hold of a set as I'm opposed to air shocks and cheap shackles, hopefully I can "fine tune it" with a staggered front - rear wheel & tire set up

Thanks again all, appreciated!

I agree with Qcode. The front suspension seems to be at almost full travel sitting still. Pulling the front springs is where to start, as you said you were going to do. Some of the parts almost have to be wrong. Please take no offense to the following questions, just trying to help. How thick is the spring isolator installed on the top of the spring? Some are thicker to raise the front of a car. Is the pigtail at the bottom of the spring seated against the stop on the spring perch? Was the spring perch on the upper control arm replaced? Was it almost impossible to get the top of the shock secured? Do you still have the stock springs to compare the uncompressed free height of the old and new? Chuck

 

[roger1197]

Looking at your pictures something just doesn't seem right..I would set the car up on a flat rack & check the ride height against the factory specs in the specified locations..Why in the world should you have to start making a band-aid fix to the rear (helper springs) & trimming front springs on brand new stuff ? Confirm that in fact the car is sitting at stock ride height..If it isn't than there's a problem with the kit you bought..It wasn't installed correctly..or you have chassis damage...

Apprecite your comments/help!

I can confirm the new kit was installed correctly by myself & 2 guys who own a well respected auto repair shop in this neck of the woods.

I can only trust the Laurel Mountain kit was all good, we didnt see or encounter any problems during the refit, the rear raised approx 2 inches with the new 5 leaf springs & KYB shocks, the handling improved 100%

I have full history on the 1 owner, 32k mile car from the original owner whose information I have no reason to doubt.

We chassis jigged the car before I got the LMM kit just out of curiousity & all was good, there are no signs of repair under the car or anywhere else although the paint has obviouly been "refreshed" ..... in 2001 as declared by the original owner.

Here's a shot from stateside just before being shipped to the UK

another at my workshop just after the suspension work

& finally just prior to that previous skyward stance shot

I would hate to have to resort to band aid fixes

 

[Tnfastbk]

Drive it the front will settle mine is down about 1-1.5 inches already just from driving it.

 

[turtle5353]

shackles in the back isnt that bad. mine rides pretty nice and i like the stance. easy was to get the ass up a bit

 

[Qcode351mach]

Ok so seems you have it under control..Looking at the before pics the stance is not the same after you did the kit. Which you confirmed saying the rear raised up..they only thing left at this point is confirm the kit did what it say's it does & that's "stock ride height" If it did, then your stuck with what you have & if you want to change the stance either cut the springs or order the correct lowering springs to achieve the stance your after. If the kit didn't put the car at stock ride height then call LMM & see what they have to say.

 

[c9zx]

It will settle some but, from the pictures I assumed the car has been driven some distance since the springs were installed. Given the shipping costs involved, returning the parts may not be a real option. You can cut the front springs in increments to get the height you want. If you want the correct springs contact these people. http://www.eatonsprings.com/

Good Luck, Chuck

 

[roger1197]

Thanks again guys for your help & no offence taken Chuck, all input welcome.

The new spring isolator thickness was pretty much near the original although the original was pretty well compressed & worn, didnt measure though.

The spring pig tail is in the correct position against the stop & the spring perch on the UCA was replaced as part of the LMM kit, no problem with securing the shocks, I still have the old springs, from memory & just an estimate, I would say the new springs, side by side with the old, were around 100mm+ longer, I assumed this was due to compression of the old spring over the years.

I took a few shots when changing the suspension, not great quality as I used phone camera but posted below just in case anyone spots anything untoward

Thanks again all ........................

& one of the original set up before removal

Could anyone tell me where/what measurements to take & maybe I can run what I have past you here

Many thanks again

 

[droptop73]

In my opinion the rear looks good if anything the front looks just a touch high. Like Roy said get some miles on it and see how it ends up. I have 2" blocks on the back of mine with 255/70/15 on 8" magnums with no issues. After the front settles, if you're not happy with it cut the springs. I agree, sneak up on it cut a little at a time.