Any recommendation for drop springs for 05 mustang gt?

I got the Steeda Sport springs. It drops the front and back about an inch. I've read a lot of places that if you drop the s197 anymore than an inch you start negatively affecting the geometry of the car. This is an article was a post by a guy who claims to have worked on racing suspensions for 30+ years. I've read most of his post and he sounds like he knows what he is talking about. You can decide for yourself.

Can you do the installation yourself or find a local car guy to help you with advice and maybe tools? I highly recommend trying to find a local car guy with tools if you lack them and mechanical experience. You can afford to buy much better suspension components if you do the installation yourself.

Here is what I suggest first:

Dampers; If you have the budget for them Koni Sports or if watching your money and prefer a slightly better ride Tokico D-Specs can save you the price of a set of sport springs.

Springs; Look at Steeda Sport or Ultralite springs, H&R Sport or OE sport springs, all of these are excellent springs that are available at more reasonable ride heights. The Steeda springs are linear rate springs and are effectively stiffer sooner so they will not bottom out as often as the H&R's do which are progressive rate springs. I have to add the H&R springs do not bottom out a lot just a little more often than the Steeda springs.

My most important advice on springs is to not go any lower than a 1" reduction in ride height in front and no more than 1.2" out back or you will get into issues with suspension geometry. If you do lower your car more then that 1" number you will very likely find yourself spending a lot more money on stuff to fix what lowering too much messed up. This is be avoided because it's cheaper allowing you to spend that money where it's needed instead of fixing what you messed up. Additionally your car will handle and ride better if it is not riding on the bumpstops all of the time like a car that has been lowered excessively.

Some folks who have slammed their cars claim their cars magically do not bottom out much if at all. But in my experience they have no idea what their car is doing and/or do not drive their cars hard enough to make the suspension work. More than likely these folks just have nothing to compare their car to and and have never done any testing to see if the car is bottoming out like I have done.

Camber adjusters: I like the SPC camber bolt kit for a street car, it is the strongest and can take the most torque which is only about 60% of the factory spec so you can see this can be a problem for heavy use. If you plan to put the car on the track EVER save your money up for a Steeda billet camber plate kit, absolutely solid and bombproof with the most camber adjustment available bar none.

These are the first three items I suggest you install. For a DD street car on Steeda Sport or Competition springs I suggest -1.75 to -2.0 degrees negative camber and 0/0 toe. You can go up to 1/16" toe out for more aggressive steering turn in but most folks on the street want stability vs. steering response. The difference will be HUGE and you may decide it is all you need to do to be very happy with your chassis.

Here is a price breakdown, pick one from each group:

Koni Sports about $750-$800
D-Specs about $550-$600

Steeda Sport/Ultrlite $260

SPC Camber bolt kit $50
Steeda Billet Camber kit $210

Here is the second stage to consider for your DD suspension. You may want more suspension stuff if you get hooked and have high performance rubber. You can't help but get a big old smile on your face when you drive a Mustang that is tuned just so. I know I come back grinning like the village idiot even after short hops in my Mustang!

Anti-roll bars: The larger front anti-roll bar helps to increase front tire grip which balances out understeer. You do not actually need a larger rear anti-roll bar to balance the chassis' handling out but it can help in tight turns to get the rear to rotate. Both are excellent quality, front adjustable and well sized for the street or road course. The larger anti-roll bars with stiffer bushings and links will add a little bit of extra tire and road noise to your cabin. But this is not too bad depending on your tires and local road surfaces.

Like the larger front anti-roll bar the Steeda X5 balljoints increase front roll stiffness. But the X5 balljoints increase roll stiffness without increasing roll couple. This is good because you can get extra roll stiffness with adding more harshness due to stiffer springs or adjusting the front bar to full stiffness. This means more front grip with less compromise. Additionally the S197 is know to have sort of weak ball joints, mine were gone by 25k miles. One caveat, you will need to have 18" or larger wheels for this little gem to fit.

LCA's: The GT500 LCA's are all you need for a N/A motor and they ride OE quiet and are the cheapest serious suspension part you can buy for an S197. Order them from FRPP and they include $40 in fasteners you NEED to replace when doing this upgrade.

The S197 chassis K-member is unsupported between the front lower control arm mounting points and this is a cheap way to sharpen steering precision and reduce flex. Steeda and FRPP braces are the same price but the Steeda tubular brace is stiffer and has better hardware.

Bumpsteer correction is not usually something people get to until much later into their suspension and driving skills. But I like my car to go where I tell it to go and not require a lot of correction on bumpy roads. There are a lot of bumpy roads in the canyons of Mulholland and Malibu so I quickly became a believer in these kits. Both are good kits and both cost about the same.

Steeda anti-roll bars, about $310, no billet links here
FRPP anti-roll bars about $380-460 comes with billet links nice

Steeda X5 balljoints, about $150

GT500 LCA's, about $130

G-Trac Brace, about $60
FRPP control arm brace, about $60

Steeda BumpSteer Kit, about $160
Baer BumpSteer Kit, about $160

You may also want to consider upgraded brakes when your front pads are worn out. Get the parts early so you can be sure you have all of the stuff you need BEFORE your brakes become an issue! For a DD street car that is not going to get on the track regularly I suggest buying a high quality premium but still stock size rotors. Brenspeed and StopTech offer complete kits with pads.

For a lightly driven street car Ceramics are the rage but they are easy to overheat so I can't recommend them. Look into the upgraded pads from EBC, Hawk or Performance Friction, all are really good for street car use. I've tried them all but favor the EBC Yellow compound pads or PF Carbon Metalic street pads.

Brake lines are important for increased brake pedal feel. This is important even in day to day driving and adds a special pleasure to your drive. Also consider installing spindle mounted brake duct kits if you plan to go to the track often. If not just keep the stock shields inplace.

My last suggestion is to completely flush your brake system once a year for best results and minimal brake system corrosion. I highly recommend Motul RBF600 or ATE Super Blue/200 fluids. Motul is a bit more money but for heavy use has slightly better performance specs.

If you have any related questions please just ask!

was tryin to avoid typing the long list but..

- Steeda Sport Springs
- Tokico D-Specs
- Steeda Front & Rear Sway Bar with Billet Mounts
- Steeda Lower Control Arms, Upper Control Arm & UCA Mount
- Steeda Bump Steer Kit (Tie Rods)
- Steeda X5 Ball Joints
- Steeda Adj Panhard Bar & Panhard Brace
- Steeda HD Strut Mount w/ Camber Plate combo (1* negative camber)

Uhh... I think thats it

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