lowerd car rides like crap, need advice

[Overboost]

ok, so I bought my car and it was already lowered, I was going to return it to stock ride but after reading the suspension sticky in this sub board, I have decided to keep it.

problem for me is, it rides harsh and will shimmy like a tire out of balance with the slightest road imperfection.
it has 9" cobra R wheels (factory) front and rear and a set of cheap looking camber plates and stock struts.

I dont like the look of the wheels as the front sticks out of the fender about 1/4" and the rear is in the quarter about 1"

dont really handle all that great.

so my question is,
what wheels that look stock and have which backspace and offset would I run to make the front and rear look equal while bringing the fronts within the fender and what springs would be a good choice, the current ones are blue, so I am thinking steeda...

I can post some pix if it would help you guys understand my dilemma.

car is also a 98 cobra convertible

 

[Overboost]

here are some pix

 

[Jakespeeds]

That car really does not look that low but it does look like the tie rods coming out of the steering rack are at an extreme angle. That would affect you steering and drive-ability in a number of ways. That would be the first thing I would address in the front. In the rear if you put all your weight on one of the quarter panels does the suspension move? I am wondering if the shocks are too long in the rear for the ride height.

I would make small changes rather than a whole bunch at once. The Steeda springs can be pretty stiff but it sounds a bit like you don't have the proper suspension travel for the roads.

Jake

 

[trebor3170]

I also don't think your car is that low, the look of the angle of the tie rod could just be a factor of the photo angle. You said it has a shimmy, that should be first thing, before worrying about the harsh ride. Check all the joints and bushings for wear and/or play, shimmy is usually caused by something worn, also make sure the spherical bearing in your caster camber plates are tight. Your CC plates are the less expensive 3 bolt style, but, if not wore out, are fine unless to decide to go coil-over.
By their very nature, lowering springs are stiffer than stock, so they are going to ride harsher, and by the same token, OEM shocks and struts generally don't have enough damping for the stiffer springs. Upgrading to quality sport shocks and struts will help.
Are you sure the wheels are factory and not replicas? I think a 9 inch factory wheel shouldn't stick out like that in the front. Are they 17, or 18 inch? Wheel spacers? I have SVE 18 x 9s on the front of my 94, and they are just about flush.
American Muscle, Late Model Resto, and others, have wheels, and wheel and tire packages with the proper offsets to fit our cars. I'm sure they have replicas of the Cobra R, if you are wanting to keep that look.
I also recommend going to Maximum Motorsports web site, in the FAQ and Tech section, even if you don't use their products, is a plethora of useful information about shocks, struts, springs, etc, but be careful, it's easy to get lost in there and find you have wasted a whole evening.

 

[Overboost]

thank you both for the info and replies, the shimmy I am believing to be bump steer, it has no problems going down the highway or even a smooth surface street, it is only when it encounters a wavy road or bumpy surface. I was looking at a set of steeda bump steer tie rods to help solve this issue.
I was going to keep stock dampeners because I dont feel it is too low, but if need be, I can change them out. I was even still considering converting the ride height back to stock but with a set of GT springs as the cobra units are almost impossible to find with the dual rate springs, and I dont toss it in corners anyways, I just would like a nicer ride quality, the jury is still out on this.
I am fairly positive the wheels are factory, they have a ford part number cast into a spoke and a ford with a circle in another, I would take a pic but the rotors are blocking the view.
the car has travel, its difficult to compress it, but it does move with a bit of effort.
I was thinking about changing out the caster plates to MM units as it give a wider and finer range of adjustability in the camber dept.
I was thinking about picking up a set of SVE 03 cobra wheels from LMR and selling off the cobra R units, I like the look but they are designed for a diff stance and body panel, they guy at LMR said if they come out of the fender in front, they are more than likely factory units due to the wider fenders on the 95 R, they was on the car when I bought it.

 

[Overboost]

also, a couple of pix of the tie rods more straight on, they do apper to be angled up more so than usual, how much, I am not sure, I have never had a lowered car and this is also my first SN95, I have had fox and gen 2 1971 mach in the past.

 

[PinkieT]

I have two sets of stock 98 GT convertible springs, both off southern cars with under 70k on them. Pay for boxing and shipping and you can have a set. That, or pick them up in Cleveland. LMK.

 

[RAU03MACH]

ok, so I bought my car and it was already lowered, I was going to return it to stock ride but after reading the suspension sticky in this sub board, I have decided to keep it.

problem for me is, it rides harsh and will shimmy like a tire out of balance with the slightest road imperfection.
it has 9" cobra R wheels (factory) front and rear and a set of cheap looking camber plates and stock struts.

I dont like the look of the wheels as the front sticks out of the fender about 1/4" and the rear is in the quarter about 1"

dont really handle all that great.

so my question is,
what wheels that look stock and have which backspace and offset would I run to make the front and rear look equal while bringing the fronts within the fender and what springs would be a good choice, the current ones are blue, so I am thinking steeda...

I can post some pix if it would help you guys understand my dilemma.

car is also a 98 cobra convertible

Car looks pretty good where it sits , and I have noticed that on some stangs the front wheels stick out a tad , mine are even with the fenders and quarter panels on my 95 , and that's all about the back space or offset you want
As far as shimmy balance and wheel alignment

 

[Overboost]

thank you for the offer, I will probably take you up on it, that would give me the option to try it out. I am in the flint MI area so Cleveland is a bit of a drive for me.

I have two sets of stock 98 GT convertible springs, both off southern cars with under 70k on them. Pay for boxing and shipping and you can have a set. That, or pick them up in Cleveland. LMK.

thank you for the reply, we have wavy roads here in michigan, and I do not get any noticeable vibrations at speed or anywhere in between if I am lucky enough to come across a newly paved road. but it will be going in for an alignment soon due to the fact I am going to change out the plates and put in some stock style dampeners in the next few weeks. they will be able to tell me if I need anything replaced in the front end. I dont mind either way because I like new parts.
once I get the ride and stance how I like it, I will be moving on to add a style bar and replace the Mach system in it. it dont sound bad, but it dont sound all that spectacular nor does it live up to the hype ford gave it. it is mediocre at best.

Car looks pretty good where it sits , and I have noticed that on some stangs the front wheels stick out a tad , mine are even with the fenders and quarter panels on my 95 , and that's all about the back space or offset you want
As far as shimmy balance and wheel alignment

 

[Jakespeeds]

Its hard to tell without doing actual measurements But I don't think that tie rod is off too much. I would think the way it looks it would just be jittery on a crown or uneven pavement. I think you could really benefit from just an overall inspection of bearings and ball joints.

On the back if you take a felt marker and mark the shock as the car sits and take the shock off. Compress it down to that mark and I bet you will find only about an 1" or so of travel past the mark. That could be a be contributor to the bumpy ride.

Jake

 

[Overboost]

thank you for the input, that is kind of what I was thinking. I drive it as is and have no real issues, just my nit picking about ride quality. since this is my first lowered car, I was inquiring if I had an actual concern or if I was just looking for something to be wrong.
it is not my daily so until it becomes an issue, I will address other problems I find.

 

[TrickVert]

I have Eibach Pro-Kit springs and Tokico Illumina shocks, and my '95 'vert rides *better* than stock. Much better, actually. If someone simply cut stock springs to lower yours, then *that* is where your harsh ride is coming from. EDIT: I just re-read your post, and noticed you said the springs are blue, so not cut stockers. If they're "Steeda Competition" springs, then yeah, probably stiff. (Stock shocks with lowering springs won't do you any favors, either.) Something else to consider is tire pressure. Believe it or not, going from 35 PSI to the recommended 32 PSI had a noticeable effect on smoothness. My car is lowered 1.5", and I did not need to add a bumpsteer kit.



As for sticking out in the front and sucking in in the rear, what brand and size are your tires? I have 275/40-17 Nitto NT555's on Steeda UltraLite wheels, and the fronts are probably 1/4" exposed like yours, and are sucked in in the back a bit, too. If you want to move the rears out, spacers would work, but many people cringe at the suggestion. I don;t know if there's a 9" wheel with a different offset for the rear. If not, a wider tire on a wider wheel is likely your only other option.





EDIT: I can't remember where I read a rather in-depth explanation of the phenomenon (corral, most likely), but If your "shimmy" is happening about 50-55 MPH, it might be "normal." Mine did this until I replaced the front LCA's with '03 Cobra units. Once I did that, it disappeared completely.

 

[ttocs]

looking at some of those pics the tire wear looks like it needs an alignment. When was the last time?

 

[Overboost]

thank you for the replies, my shimmy comes in at very low speeds, about 5mph and quits about 25-30
as I go over this car, I am finding new things here and there. it does not look like this guy went cheap.. the shifter is a B&M ripper pro, it has factory 95 cobra R wheels, tires are nice pirelli... so I would assume that other components are equally quality products.
my tires are 275 40 all around, rear are new, fronts are on the change list.
I am thinking about going with stock looking 03 cobra wheels with 8" front and 10.5 rear.

 

[myk]

I have eibach pro kit springs on my 98 GT and eibach sportlines on my 01 GT; both cars have Koni STR shocks/struts, both have stock 17" wheels. The cars are lowered right in my opinion but they ride like crap. Any time there's a dip or whatever in the road the cars bounce up and down and throw my head right into the headliner. I used Koni STR's and Strano springs on my two 4th Gen F bodys and they ride and look great. I think the volatile handling is just an SN95 thing...

 

[Overboost]

I have eibach pro kit springs on my 98 GT and eibach sportlines on my 01 GT; both cars have Koni STR shocks/struts, both have stock 17" wheels. The cars are lowered right in my opinion but they ride like crap. Any time there's a dip or whatever in the road the cars bounce up and down and throw my head right into the headliner. I used Koni STR's and Strano springs on my two 4th Gen F bodys and they ride and look great. I think the volatile handling is just an SN95 thing...

well, I guess I dont feel too bad, I have corrected a few other issues such as tire pressure and shock mounts, but still continues to ride like, well, shit....
this is just a toy to me so I guess I can learn to deal with it...

 

[01yellercobra]

I have eibach pro kit springs on my 98 GT and eibach sportlines on my 01 GT; both cars have Koni STR shocks/struts, both have stock 17" wheels. The cars are lowered right in my opinion but they ride like crap. Any time there's a dip or whatever in the road the cars bounce up and down and throw my head right into the headliner. I used Koni STR's and Strano springs on my two 4th Gen F bodys and they ride and look great. I think the volatile handling is just an SN95 thing...

You can't really say it's the SN95 chassis when you had a different brand of spring on the F-bodies. Change the Eibachs to something decent and they'll ride a lot better. I've had Eibachs on two 98 GT's, currently a 99 GT, and an 06 GT. They all rode/ride like crap. This was with stock, Koni, and KYB shocks/struts. the KYB's came on the car. I had H&R's on my 04 and it rode fine with the stock Bilsteins. It rides even better with the coilovers. I'm not sure what brand springs are on my daughter's V6 as they came on the car, but even with a set of low budget KYB's it rides fine. We had a rutted out road we'd drive on going to the gym and it handles that just fine.