2003 cobra coil over issue

josh0490

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My 03 cobra has maximum motorsports coilovers that were installed prior to me getting the car. It has the complete kit with the caster/camber plates. I’m not sure how many inches it was lowered but it does sit pretty low. My problem is that I have taken it to several alignment shops and no one can seem to get the camber aligned properly. The driver side front is out to the max and still isn’t in spec. The passenger side is in to the max and won’t get close to spec. My other problem is that my coil over spring on the drivers side front is rubbing something and causing a major clunk sound when making left turns. I’m assuming this is because the camber is out to the max. Is there any one who knows how to fix these problems? Will raising the car back up closer to stock help with the alignment? I would appreciate any help.
 

01yellercobra

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Raising up will probably help with the alignment. For the clunking there's a tab on the inner frame rail that needs to be bent. If you look up the install instrument you'll see the tab.

As for the camber the plates that the struts mount to can be flipped 180 degrees to get some more camber. That being said I'd guess the shops have no clue what they're doing. I'm pretty low on the same set up and I was able to get 0 degrees of camber. But I dialed in some negative camber to help with handling.
 

josh0490

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Raising up will probably help with the alignment. For the clunking there's a tab on the inner frame rail that needs to be bent. If you look up the install instrument you'll see the tab.

As for the camber the plates that the struts mount to can be flipped 180 degrees to get some more camber. That being said I'd guess the shops have no clue what they're doing. I'm pretty low on the same set up and I was able to get 0 degrees of camber. But I dialed in some negative camber to help with handling.

can you post your specs so that I can show them an ideal setup ?
 

Blkkbgt

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My 03 cobra has maximum motorsports coilovers that were installed prior to me getting the car. It has the complete kit with the caster/camber plates. I’m not sure how many inches it was lowered but it does sit pretty low. My problem is that I have taken it to several alignment shops and no one can seem to get the camber aligned properly. The driver side front is out to the max and still isn’t in spec. The passenger side is in to the max and won’t get close to spec. My other problem is that my coil over spring on the drivers side front is rubbing something and causing a major clunk sound when making left turns. I’m assuming this is because the camber is out to the max. Is there any one who knows how to fix these problems? Will raising the car back up closer to stock help with the alignment? I would appreciate any help.

Your alignment issue is most likely caused by the elongated hole in the lower strut mound ear at the spindle. Ford had this hole elongated to make up for the wide production tolerances these cars have. Download MM's coilover instructions, they explain exactly what I am talking about. It sounds like one spindle is full negative camber (spindle tilted in toward the body) and the other is full positive (spindle tilted away from the body). You'd be surprised at how many people screw this up when installing springs, coilovers or just doing maintenance. You can always tell when someone doesn't know about this adjustment when you look at their CC plates and the camber adjustment is nowhere near matching and the plates are moving in the same direction. I have dealt with this same problem on my car as well as one other, the other car had the coilovers "professionally installed". Trust me check the strut mounts and set them to either full positive or full negative camber.

This is what is most likely causing you coilover contact issue as well. Once you adjust the spindle put the car back down and set your right height and find a way to mark it in relation to the car NOT the floor. Jack the car back up and mark the position of the threaded collar. Use a jack to raise the control arm to your ride height location, you'll probably have to thread the collar down to get there because the spring will fight you and lift the car, this is why you mark the collar, don't fully loosen it but keep the spring snug. Now turn the wheels full lock to lock and check for contact of the coilover with the strut tower. You can do this with the CC plate all the way out and all the way in to see at what CC plate location the contact happens.

Hope this helps.
 
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josh0490

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can you post your specs so that I can show them an ideal setup ?
Your alignment issue is most likely caused by the elongated hole in the lower strut mound ear at the spindle. Ford had this hole elongated to make up for the wide production tolerances these cars have. Download MM's coilover instructions, they explain exactly what I am talking about. It sounds like one spindle is full negative camber (spindle tilted in toward the body) and the other is full positive (spindle tilted away from the body). You'd be surprised at how many people screw this up when installing springs, coilovers or just doing maintenance. You can always tell when someone doesn't know about this adjustment when you look at their CC plates and the camber adjustment is nowhere near matching and the plates are moving in the same direction. I have dealt with this same problem on my car as well as one other, the other car had the coilovers "professionally installed". Trust me check the strut mounts and set them to either full positive or full negative camber.

This is what is most likely causing you coilover contact issue as well. Once you adjust the spindle put the car back down and set your right height and find a way to make it in relation to the car NOT the floor. Jack the car back up and mark the position of the threaded collar. Use a jack to raise the control arm to your ride height location, you'll probably have to thread the collar down to get there because the spring will fight you and lift the car, this is why you mark the collar, don't fully loosen it but keep the spring snug. Now turn the wheels full lock to lock and check for contact of the coilover with the strut tower. You can do this with the CC plate all the way out and all the way in to see at what CC plate location the contact happens.
Thanks for the response. I will take it to a suspension shop and have them re installed.
Hope this helps.
 

SVT_Troy

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Have you checked to see if the K-member is squared? Doesn’t matter if it is a stock or aftermarket K.


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com
 

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