Soliciting long-term reviews of lowering springs experiences

[geezer stang]

Virtually all reviews/posts are first impressions, so it would be nice if people could share insights on their choices / experiences that have come from at least several months or years of use.

I'm interested in lowering springs for my Magneride equipped PP1 GT. 90% daily driver usage, 10% spirited driving / backroads etc. I'm slightly leaning towards Steeda's magneride sport progressive lowering springs. Also their Minimum Drop springs and the Ford Performance lowering springs.

Specifics I'm interested in:

• Has a 1 inch drop made life too tedious for anyone?
• Does it rule out the occasional post-snowstorm drive?
• Anyone wish they picked Linear instead of Progressive springs or the other way around? Or left it stock?
• Was the 'just like stock' daily-ability of any spring misleading?

Most roads here are atrocious so anything significantly stiffer than stock would be punishing for me and the car.

I had steeda minimum drop linears with ford performance track struts and shocks installed at a dealership that does "RTR CONVERSONS",mainly because of the less that 1 in drop,I chose linear because that was what I felt I was use to with the factory springs.while the "ride quality" is not as comfortable as stock,it's more stable and tighter than the factory setup,the factory suspension (to me) was pedestrian at best with a quick"overload"(felt as if it was giving up)if pushed past 20%,in general,the ride is "tight and sporty" but not uncomfortable!in my case I started to experience numerous noises(clunks and rattles),after a couple of install checks from the original installer,their inspections noted nothing wrong with the install...they said it was a "product incompatibility issue",with zero solutions in sight,I decided i'd drive to "STEEDA" in VALDOSTA GA,the only problem they were able to see was "coil contact",they wrapped a spiral type rubber cushion on the fronts and a net like material on the rears and my problems were 97% solved....the overall ride quality with this setup is what I wanted,no complaints...i can still experience some noises at very low speeds on rough surfaces,at normal city traffic speeds or highway/interstate it's much more secure that stock,the "floaty" feeling is gone.i'm thinking about removing the minimum drop springs and going with the "ford performance track springs!

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[Bluemustang]

I just ordered Koni Active struts. Was close to ordering the Eibach ProKit dampers but found a deal on the Konis.

Looking forward to getting front B6 off. Rears are fine.

I also trashed the new Pirellis. Really like the Falken FK 510.

Post covid many companies have ruined their products I have literally changed 85% of the brands I used to buy faithfully, to previously second tier who are now clear leaders. Takes 20 years to build a brand and 2 years to destroy it.

The Bilsteins are bad? Why?

 

[S550HPP]

Hey are great on highway and Twisties but too harsh in city compression and rebound way to much for low speed chop and juno roads.

200lb lighter Ecoboost front end doesn't help either.

While I'm at it I will install new Eibach bump stops, new spring isolator and new strut bearing, new strut to spindle hardware, and reuse the Bilstein dust boot if they fit, otherwise Ford ones I ordered.

 

[High Velocity]

I have the FP Track Handling Pack, and I really want to drive the point home that it's important that your springs and shocks match. Just replacing one or the other may not have a desirable effect.

Some min drop springs like Steeda's will be fine on OEM shocks, but I wouldn't put something like the FP Track springs or BMR SP083 on factory shocks. If you have the PP shocks, consider the Ford Street Lowering (X) Springs if you want a 1" drop.

• Has a 1 inch drop made life too tedious for anyone?
  • In general, no, but there are a handful of speed bumps and dips I need to be extra careful with. In reality, should be careful with things like this in general to avoid excessive suspension wear.
• Anyone wish they picked Linear instead of Progressive springs or the other way around? Or left it stock?
  • I do not wish I left it stock.
  • The FP track springs are a "dual-rate" spring in the rear and a linear up front. The dual rate rear only triggers if you really lighten the rear end. It's not an issue and linear is generally more predictable when pushing the car.
• Was the 'just like stock' daily-ability of any spring misleading?
  • Not sure the FP Track Pack is advertised as this lol, but it is not too harsh for the road. Maybe if you live in Michigan or somewhere that the highways are not well cared for.
  • I drove my mom somewhere in the car yesterday (she is 70) and she said the suspension is fine.
  • Small bumps are smoother than stock, harsh bumps are worse than stock if that makes sense.

Can you post pictures of the stance of your car with those springs?

 

[MrMike]

Can you post pictures of the stance of your car with those springs?

I don't have anything straight from the side of it not in motion, this is as close as I have. I've had the FP Track Pack for a bit over 2 years now and I have zero regrets.

 

[High Velocity]

I don't have anything straight from the side of it not in motion, this is as close as I have. I've had the FP Track Pack for a bit over 2 years now and I have zero regrets.

Thanks for posting a picture. I’m currently trying to decide between the ford track kit and the RTR kit. RTR uses a progressive spring design and I’m wondering if that would be better for a street car. I also think RTR lowers a hair more and has a better stance. A lot of the ford track kits I see have a lot of rear wheel gap. Do you have any advice on those two?

 

[MrMike]

Thanks for posting a picture. I’m currently trying to decide between the ford track kit and the RTR kit. RTR uses a progressive spring design and I’m wondering if that would be better for a street car. I also think RTR lowers a hair more and has a better stance. A lot of the ford track kits I see have a lot of rear wheel gap. Do you have any advice on those two?

I have no knowledge of the RTR kit, I’d suggest making a thread or seeing if there already is one on it.

The rear of my car took longer to settle than the front, but it did drop.

I bought the kit primarily for function, wasn’t too worried about the look but I’m pleased with the final result.

 

[NightmareMoon]

It really shouldnt drop much at all if you clock the bushings. If you dont clock the bushings then that drop is probably your bushings tearing themselves from the constant preload

 

[dmills4229]

Just a quick post that I have the regular Steeda Linear rate lowering springs, on a PP1 car. Since the stock springs were linear, I wanted to stay with that style. I have no regrets and honestly don't understand why more people don't go with the linears. I love it but I don't know, maybe the PP1 struts are that much better at controlling them than non-PP1 GTs.

 

[tj@steeda]

The Linears, Progressives & Dual Rates are all fantastic springs - they all complement the car slightly differently.

Happy to help if you have any questions - you can reach me at [email protected].

Happy to help!

TJ

 

[S550HPP]

OP it would help if you shared your use case because usage conditions define experience.

For me on trashed roads the stock HPP suspension with EIBACH antiroll bar and PP1 rear bar plus Steeda vertical links was best after I wasted several thousand and many hours on two different set ups where Bilstein B6 and 2 sets Koni Active were short life span or defective.

Achieved lowered look but that was offset with more wheel poke.

For glass roads and low speed posing without cracks heaves and troughs can't beat lowered look though.

If you can do the work yourself it derisks trying to beat the thousands of hours of Fords chassis calibration and development with aftermarket parts.

 

[Arkane]

A bit of an old thread but for anyone curious, I have the Ford Performance Street Handling Lowering Kit installed on my 2019 GT PP1 which lowers the car 1”. Turns out the “Street” kit utilizes the SAME shocks/struts and sway bars found on the Performance Package 1 Mustangs.

Which means, if you have a PP1 (with or without MagneRide) you can save yourself some money by just upgrading the springs and bumpstops, assuming your shocks are good.

Secondly, something critical that hasn’t been mentioned is the NEED for adjustable front Camber Plates and rear Camber Control Arms, to fix alignment. Ford and some of these other guys claim they’re able get the alignment back within spec after lowering the car, however that’s extremely unlikely and not something you should gamble with.


As far as the 1” drop goes:

It’s completely daily-able. There’s the occasional steep inclines or tall speed bumps to watch out for but you’ll be fine.​

Progressive/Linear Springs:

There’s a lot to say but linear springs are just more superior for handling performance. Progressives are slightly more comfortable over bad roads, but can be unpredictable during hard cornering. I’d rather sacrifice the marginal comfort for predictability especially with how numb the steering is. However, progressives are still capable and effective, just beware of its limits.​

Other words:​

Progressive = comfort but unpredictable​

Linear = less comfort but predictable​

Aesthetics:

Something worth mentioning, is that a 1” drop isn’t that low. You’ll still have a slight wheel gap depending on your wheel and tire setup, unless you got on some jumbo-size 45R/50R tires. If you care about wheel gap, here’s a simple heuristic for a 1” drop:​

Least Wheel Gap​

1” drop - 20” rims / 30R tires (Best)​

1” drop - 19” rims / 40R tires​

1” drop - 18” rims / 40R-45R tires​

​

Slight Gap​

1” drop - 19” rims / 35R tires​

Don’t want to go down the aesthetics rabbit hole, but a 1” drop will be enough for most people, especially for a daily-driver. If you care more about fitment and aesthetics, then coilovers are your best bet.

 

[NightmareMoon]

OEM camber specs are overrated, esp if you are lowering with the expectation of improving handling. Its ok to let it ride with a bit more front camber and it will only handle better for it. Tire wear is minimally impacted if you make sure to set the front toe properly to 0 or a very slight toe in.

OEM Rear camber has a pretty large adjustment range stock. Front, yes you’d need to throw parts at it to get it as boring and minimal camber as stock. On the rear I highly doubt any additional parts are needed.

 

[Hack]

Another positive review of the FP Track Handling Kit. I've had it on my 2017 GT PP1 for a few years. I think it's the way a PP1 option car should come from Ford. It's good for daily use in my opinion. Similar in stiffness to the LT1 Camaro I owned and the RT SP Challenger I have now. The Challenger might be slightly softer, but not much.

It lowers the car, but I don't have trouble with it scraping. No real issues.

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