Help with suspension parts

tykempster

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Hi guys, I'm going to be lowering my car, along with some other suspension items in the coming weeks. I'm ready to order parts, but I'm not sure what exactly to get.

1) I'm getting ball joints. Can I go with moog or do I need the expensive Steeda X2 ones with a lowered car? going to be dropping the car an inch, to an inch and a half

2) steering rack bushings, do I need the offset ones for a slightly lowered car?

3) CC plates, is UPR ok? prices vary so widely for something that seems to do the same thing as another

4) rear strut tower brace is on sale via AM.com, will this give me any appreciable difference or is it a waste of $50?

5) full bushing kit, how much of a ***** is it to replace all the bushings? my steering is a bit sloppy, and I'm 99% sure I need ball joints. Just not sure how to tell if replacing the rest will be worth the time

6) if I need ball joints, is there a chance I need inner or outer tie rods? If so how do I check these parts?

Thanks for the help guys, after getting my suspension upgraded and some new wheels and tires I'm ready to add some boost
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Orange 94

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Moved to suspension and brakes.

We need more info, how much lower are you going? What is your car going to be used for
 
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tykempster

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Moved to suspension and brakes.

We need more info, how much lower are you going? What is your car going to be used for

One to one and a half inches, mostly DD and roll races, but I don't want it to be a total hog in the corners.
 

RichV

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WTF is roll races? lol. Go to a track, street racing is gay.

Lowering the car, but what springs and shocks? They need to work together.

The rear brace is a complete waster of money. Complete bushing kit is definitely a job in itself, think about that one. On the rear I'd do aftermarket LCA/UCA and some axle bushings. Front bushings are a pain to do, get a set of control arms from craigslist, do the bushings, and just swap the arms for your old ones, then sell the old ones. I would do the X2, just personal preference, it makes the suspension geometry correct. Do the standard steering rack bushings and get a bumpsteer kit tie rod end setup if necessary.
 

OnyxCobra

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Hi guys, I'm going to be lowering my car, along with some other suspension items in the coming weeks. I'm ready to order parts, but I'm not sure what exactly to get.

1) I'm getting ball joints. Can I go with moog or do I need the expensive Steeda X2 ones with a lowered car? going to be dropping the car an inch, to an inch and a half

2) steering rack bushings, do I need the offset ones for a slightly lowered car?

3) CC plates, is UPR ok? prices vary so widely for something that seems to do the same thing as another

4) rear strut tower brace is on sale via AM.com, will this give me any appreciable difference or is it a waste of $50?

5) full bushing kit, how much of a ***** is it to replace all the bushings? my steering is a bit sloppy, and I'm 99% sure I need ball joints. Just not sure how to tell if replacing the rest will be worth the time

6) if I need ball joints, is there a chance I need inner or outer tie rods? If so how do I check these parts?

Thanks for the help guys, after getting my suspension upgraded and some new wheels and tires I'm ready to add some boost
cool.gif
smile.gif


Imo get regular ball joints, Moog or low friction 03 cobra would be my suggestion. at that amount of drop you probably won't notice much or any bumpsteer but if you do I'd suggest a bumpsteer kit.

with that said you probably won't need offset bushings until you go more extreme, but if yours are worn it wouldn't hurt to replace them. more or less you want your control arm and tie rods to be parallel to eliminate bumpsteer.

I'd go with a big name in suspension for your parts, I have had great luck with MM stuff and their quality is top tier.

To test for ball joints jack your front tire up off the ground and grab the top and bottom of the tire. if you can rock the wheel top to bottom you may need ball joints. to test for tie rods grab the wheel at the 3 and 9 position and try to turn it left and right. if you feel slack or if it moves at all chances are you're due for tie rods.
 

the5.ohh

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I dropped like 1.25" .. I changed the front swaybar endlinks and bushings, J&M rear upper & lower control arms, kyb shocks and struts, ford racing upper axle bushings. Car is solid and tight. But maybe thats because its only got 58k miles lol. As for cc plates, I didn't need them. What springs were you looking at? I went with ford racing b springs.
 
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tykempster

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I have been keeping an eye for a good used set of springs. Not wanting to go super low, just something firmer that closes the fender gap a bit. beyond that, moog ball joints, CC plates, upper and lower rear control arms, anything else?
 

Pete@FTR

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1) Steeda x2 ball joints will (slightly) help correct your rc on the lowered car. Might as well go with them
2) Helps with bumpsteer
3) No. Maximum motorsports, their design is great (and patented)
4) Total waste. Especially if you aren't on coilovers. Literally will do nothing for you

WTF is roll races? lol. Go to a track, street racing is gay.

Hahaha :slowclap:
 

B.mad

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Hi guys, I'm going to be lowering my car, along with some other suspension items in the coming weeks. I'm ready to order parts, but I'm not sure what exactly to get.

1) I'm getting ball joints. Can I go with moog or do I need the expensive Steeda X2 ones with a lowered car? going to be dropping the car an inch, to an inch and a half

2) steering rack bushings, do I need the offset ones for a slightly lowered car?

3) CC plates, is UPR ok? prices vary so widely for something that seems to do the same thing as another

4) rear strut tower brace is on sale via AM.com, will this give me any appreciable difference or is it a waste of $50?

5) full bushing kit, how much of a ***** is it to replace all the bushings? my steering is a bit sloppy, and I'm 99% sure I need ball joints. Just not sure how to tell if replacing the rest will be worth the time

6) if I need ball joints, is there a chance I need inner or outer tie rods? If so how do I check these parts?

Thanks for the help guys, after getting my suspension upgraded and some new wheels and tires I'm ready to add some boost
cool.gif
smile.gif


it would also help to know your budget. We can mention all these parts that are the best in the market but if you just dont have the funds for it then you wont get them.

1.25 in isnt such a big drop, so you might be able to get away with not needing CC plates, x2, and bumpsteer kit. Ive heard that the off set steering rack bushings create more problems than they solve, so i would avoid those, unless you know how to turn the suspension. Again the rear shock brace is a waste money, but it does look cool which is why i want to get it, and if you do lots of turns i would probably get it just in case, people reporting feeling a difference. for steeering just replace balljoints, tie rods, rack bushings, end links. I wouldnt worry if the control arm bushings arent in the best condition, because thats a PITA to relace if you dont know how to do it. I would also ditch the rag joint for a solid shaft.

i would go with some ford racing springs (dont know to much about them, but they are good springs), i would recommend some H&R or some EIbach but they drop it about 1.75" on average, and youll need CC plates and bumpsteer kits. And the spring rates are a little higher for some HPDE. And coilovers would be the #1 thing to do.

shocks i personally prefer bilsteins over koni's. But koni is still a good shock. I have the koni oranges for now and they work amazingly good for a budget shock.

if youre adding boost i would really invest in the rear. get some good solid RLCA, since with larger tires youll most likely need to ditch the quads. J&M is a cheap knock off of MM, but still work pretty decently. I would do some research for different control arms, especially because it can get complicated when the issue of binding comes into play.
 

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