How long does the stock 03 Cobra suspension last?

Stevenbekah · Oct 9, 2018

I'm at 80K miles...I've got HR sport springs and still have the original struts/shocks

Here's the question I'm having a hard time answering...

I know they've got to be past their "life" but I honestly can't tell, how do you know?

It's always ridden a bit 'harsh' and I usually would just chalk that up to being lowered and on aftermarket low profile tires (PZeros) on TF wheels. So yeah, it's not a Caddy

But still, I'm so used to the way it is cause' like with anything that slowly wears out, you don't really notice a "big event" until a failure happens

Makes me wonder if a stock swap to new would make the ride that much better?

hotcobra03 · Oct 9, 2018

i’m at 419k car still rides nice.

Revvv · Oct 9, 2018

Is there a comfortable Mustang?

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01yellercobra · Oct 10, 2018

Throw some new ones on there. You'll notice a difference. I had my rears rebuilt and replaced the fronts at around 100k. The car rode a lot better than with the stock stuff.

And it's not always about the ride per say. Theres other issues that pop up. Like the car getting twitchy over bumps. Or even skittering sideways. My wife's 06 would jump sideways coming off a ramp by our house. New shocks and struts fixed that.

Roots-type · Oct 10, 2018

You could probably stand new struts/shocks by now, but 18in wheels combined with this chassis make for a rough ride any way you cut it. I've got new bilstein hd's everywhere and when I switched from 17s to 18s the difference was huge. The 18s look great and cornering is a lot better, but the cost paid (besides out of my wallet) is in ride quality. A gain in one area is always balanced by a loss in another. Reality.

HudsonFalcon · Oct 10, 2018

Stevenbekah said:
I'm at 80K miles...I've got HR sport springs and still have the original struts/shocks

Here's the question I'm having a hard time answering...

I know they've got to be past their "life" but I honestly can't tell, how do you know?

It's always ridden a bit 'harsh' and I usually would just chalk that up to being lowered and on aftermarket low profile tires (PZeros) on TF wheels. So yeah, it's not a Caddy

But still, I'm so used to the way it is cause' like with anything that slowly wears out, you don't really notice a "big event" until a failure happens

Makes me wonder if a stock swap to new would make the ride that much better?

In the same boat Steve. Have H&R Race Springs and stock shocks/struts.

According to the chart on MM's website the stock struts don't work well with the H&R setup so I'm going to have my stock Bilsteins revalved to the HD Bilstein spec or go with Tokico.

Matching spring rates with dampers

Stevenbekah · Oct 10, 2018

HudsonFalcon said:
In the same boat Steve. Have H&R Race Springs and stock shocks/struts.

According to the chart on MM's website the stock struts don't work well with the H&R setup so I'm going to have my stock Bilsteins revalved to the HD Bilstein spec or go with Tokico.

Matching spring rates with dampers

Hmmm... Didn't know that, thanks. Which ones, D Spec?

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HudsonFalcon · Oct 10, 2018

Stevenbekah said:
Hmmm... Didn't know that, thanks. Which ones, D Spec?

Sent from that shiny thing in my hands

D-Spec or Illumina.

Lethal has both with D-Spec being cheaper. EBay has both with Illumina being cheaper.

I'm going to call Bilstein over the winter to see how much it would be to have our stockers revalved.

Stevenbekah · Oct 10, 2018

HudsonFalcon said:
D-Spec or Illumina.

Lethal has both with D-Spec being cheaper. EBay has both with Illumina being cheaper.

I'm going to call Bilstein over the winter to see how much it would be to have our stockers revalved.

Cool, post up if ya get some news
Thanks!

Sent from that shiny thing in my hands

Wade_GT · Oct 29, 2018

One way is to push on your fenders and see how much bounce there is. There shouldn’t be any continuing bounce after lifting your hands off.

You are at the point when you could replace your sway bar end links and sway bar bushings. You’d be amazed at the connectedness gained by adding new urethane there.

I’d skip the Tokico offering and go with the MM version 3 dampers or Bilstein HD depending on how you use the car.

How long does the stock 03 Cobra suspension last?

Stevenbekah

Cobra bitten

hotcobra03

Well-Known Member

Revvv

Infinity Poster

01yellercobra

AKA slo984now

Roots-type

+displacement

HudsonFalcon

Well-Known Member

Stevenbekah

Cobra bitten

HudsonFalcon

Well-Known Member

Stevenbekah

Cobra bitten

Wade_GT

Member

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