Looking to lower the Shelby

Pauliejr

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I’m looking to lower my 14 GT500 (equipped with the bilstein performance package)

I was to lower it to improve the stance (the car has too much wheel gap) and also to tighten up the handling, or at the very least keep it just as good.

I lowered my S550 and opened up a can of worms and was constantly chasing a correct setup as those cars have the IRS, and 1 part led to another led to another.

What do you guys suggest on these cars for a nice visual drop, without compromising the cars stability, and even gaining some handling, and what other mods are needed.

My s550 is low and have bad clearance with driveways and such. Not looking to slam the Shelby, however I also don’t want to have such a minimum for that I don’t even notice it.

I’m very familiar with the s550 suspension at this point, bower this Shelby I am a new comment as far as what you guys are running and what other mods do I need without going crazy.

I may end up going a step further down the road and doing other suspension mods if this car become for of a track car, however at this time just looking for a nice drop setup

Thanks
 

paluka21

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I did the Ford “L” springs along with a BMR adjustable panhard rod. Looked like it lowered the car a little more than an inch.
 

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merkyworks

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I'm running non-adjustable Bilstein's with Eibach pro-kit springs and its a nice ride. My car was a PP car so it was already lowered a little but the eibach springs lowered it further around 1/2"-3/4".

Edit: +1 on adjustable panhard bar, you will need it. BMR is a good option/brand.
 

Pauliejr

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Will I need an adjustable panhandle bar to get the rear back into alignment? As is this something that I can adjust/set or will and alignment shop know what to do.

I unfortunately have a bad track record with alignment shops in my area as I had to get my s550 dialed in at 4 different places till I finally got it close. Most places didn’t even know it was an IRS and everyone claimed there where no fear adjustments.


I will be installing the springs myself so is there anything else I should know on this vehicle before hand?

Will I need camber bolts/plates up front with that drop or will the rear bar basically be what I need to get the rear in spec.
 

Willie

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I have FRPP front springs (1-1/4" I believe) and Revan Racing's Dead Hooker rear springs (comes with adjustable perches).

As far as an adjustable Panhard, I do not believe it's necessary. Some simple math, assuming a 1.25" drop yields a Panhard bar length that's only ~0.02" longer. I would not worry about this.

FYI, if you have, or plan to have your engine lowered and or long tube headers (excluding Kook's), consider what lowering the car will do to exhaust ground clearance. I learned this from experience, lol...
 
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Catmonkey

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FYI, if you have, or plan to have your engine lowered and or long tube headers (excluding Kook's), consider what lowering the car will do to exhaust ground clearance. I learned this from experience, lol...
^^This! I've closed my eyes a couple of times for chunks of concrete in the roadway when there was no way to change lanes. No impacts yet, but I intend to adjust my coil overs to suit my comfort level.

As far as the panhard, it depends on the width of the tires and where the tires sit within the wheel wells. I don't think they're centered all that well from the factory, but until you have side walls that push the limits of stock sized tires and/or wheel offsets, you might not have a problem.
 

Pauliejr

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^^This! I've closed my eyes a couple of times for chunks of concrete in the roadway when there was no way to change lanes. No impacts yet, but I intend to adjust my coil overs to suit my comfort level.

As far as the panhard, it depends on the width of the tires and where the tires sit within the wheel wells. I don't think they're centered all that well from the factory, but until you have side walls that push the limits of stock sized tires and/or wheel offsets, you might not have a problem.

Currently running stock PP wheels 285 out back.

No plans to lower the engine or long tubes anytime soon. Will most likely go with a careless orx/h for the time being.

Pretty satisfied with the current exhaust. Could use a little more bite though
 

SCGallo2

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96gt02

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Just lowered my 12 on bilsteins with the eibach pro kit, very happy with the stance and ride quality is probably better vs the stock track pack suspension honestly
 

tomshep

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Will I need an adjustable panhandle bar to get the rear back into alignment? As is this something that I can adjust/set or will and alignment shop know what to do.

I unfortunately have a bad track record with alignment shops in my area as I had to get my s550 dialed in at 4 different places till I finally got it close. Most places didn’t even know it was an IRS and everyone claimed there where no fear adjustments.


I will be installing the springs myself so is there anything else I should know on this vehicle before hand?

Will I need camber bolts/plates up front with that drop or will the rear bar basically be what I need to get the rear in spec.

I have a 14 with PP.

I have Ford Racing L Springs and the ride is the same as OEM. They are the same spring rate as your springs, just lower the car so they work fine with the Bilsteins.

Yes, you will likely want an adjustable panhard bar. If you look closely, the tire gap side to side is already uneven when looking from the rear of the car. It will be more noticeable when lowered. The springs are more difficult to install than the panhard bar, so go for it. I used a Ford Racing unit.

I didn't change my alignment and used the OEM strut plates. I have watched my tire wear for 7,000 miles and the tires are wearing perfect. I have also tracked it and it was fine.

DSCN7757.JPG


So, to answer your questions:

Ford L Springs
Ford Racing Panhard Bar
No strut plates
No alignment

Tom
 

Klaus

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I did the FRPP with viking shocks in back. I went with panhard although a lot of guys prefer the watts link. I am sure if you enter this in search bar you will find lots of threads on this. I would do UCA and LCA while I was at it and be done with it.
 

biminiLX

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Welcome. I would suggest sticking to ‘13-14 guys who have lowered with the 2-mode Bilsteins.
On the springs, for a street car, 3 best options:
1) Ford Racing ‘L’ springs. These are designed specifically for the SVTPP Bilsteins and match the stock rates. The rear lowers the car very nicely about 1” and looks great BUT the front barely lowers 3/8” and you’ll probably wonder if it lowered it at all. For that reason I’d go with the others as it takes away the good rake and makes even or opposite rake.
2) Eibach Pro-kit. Rate is progressive and should ride nicer and only firm up while driving aggressively. It’s a more aggressive lowering but in my opinion looks the best. Do you have the lower ‘13-14 specific secondary front spoiler. If you’re already scraping this might be tough.
3) BMR GT500 specific. These are the only springs other than the ‘L’ springs designed for the heavier front GT500s. I run their Drag fronts with Revan Racing ‘dead hooker’ rears and they ride and look great, just a touch of lowering like the ‘L’ but I can’t comment on the rears. BMR has great info and support and I think it’s drag, street and handling options.
Other than the springs you’ll need:
1) Most definitely go with an adjustable panhard rod. It will allow the shop to very easily center the rear in the car. These cars usually come with one side wheel sticking out a slight bit more and this can be amplified with the lowering. It’s a cheap upgrade I’d consider mandatory.
2) You probably will NOT need caster camber plates. If you like the option to set better specs and don’t mind the cost, get them. Otherwise it’s likely it’ll align in spec, and if not, it’ll be close for the shop to use camber bolts to correct. Mine didn’t need anything with either L or BMR drag springs.
These cars look MUCH better with a small drop, so it’s worth it and won’t be a headache or shouldn’t be. You just might want a new front splitter to keep handy before they go out of stock from Ford.
Good luck.
-J
 

Catmonkey

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J brings up a good point. A given lowering spring end up with the same approximate ride height, but how far it drops from the stock height will be different between model years. The 13-14 had the lowest ride height out of all year models. Maximum Motorsports shows the following for the Eibach Pro by year model.

Approximate lowering
  • 2007-2010 Shelby Mustang GT500 hardtop: (Front: 1.5", Rear: 1.7")
  • 2011-2012 Shelby Mustang GT500 hardtop: (Front: 1.0", Rear: 1.2")
  • 2013-2014 Shelby Mustang GT500 hardtop: (Front: 0.9", Rear: 0.9")
  • 2007-2010 Shelby Mustang GT500 convertible: (Front: 1.2", Rear: 1.8")
The iron block is also a factor, so the earlier cars had a much higher ride height than the later cars. With 250 lb/in springs, the extra 100 lbs would account for another 1/4" drop over an aluminum block.

I'd study as many pics as you can find to figure out what you want your stance to be and figure out what springs will get you there. I've gone with coil overs and I'm still working through my final ride height. I think it's too low in the front right now. I have adjustable strut mounts and you can still see the front has a lot of camber. Our roads are just too crappy to get away with a lot of drop.

As to the splitter. The 13-14 uses the same splitter as the 10-12, but the 13-14 has 3 additional pieces that mount below it. These lower pieces can be removed for more clearance and can likewise be added to any 10-12.
 

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