Replaced 20" wheels with original 15"

[Freddie Lauritzen]

Bought a 1994 convertible 3.8 V6 a few weeks ago and the initial ride was too stiff and harsh.

Having replace the enormous 20" wheels for a set of original 15" wheels, I still think the car is less then acceptable to drive regularly. Feels like it is still stiff, all be it much better then the 20" drive, but not a car I would voluntary to drive 50 miles in let alone a few hundred miles...

Any suggestions as to what can cause this?

 

[Jepostang]

Check the coil springs to see if they've been cut. Also check struts/shocks. Pretty easy fixes.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[Freddie Lauritzen]

Those are my two next area to check, but unsure what to expect as my first Mustang. Rear coil springs looks like they are 50% too long Unless they are supposed to be that long.

 

[ttocs]

yea that does look tall. with wheels that big they might have put some large bump stops in it to keep the tires from scraping the wheel wells.

 

[Freddie Lauritzen]

yea that does look tall. with wheels that big they might have put some large bump stops in it to keep the tires from scraping the wheel wells.

There is something inside the rear coil spring that looks like a large rubber tube. The spring itself looks really tall too.
Will remove a wheel tomorrow and investigate further.

 

[ttocs]

that tube in the spring needs to go more than likely.

 

[delling3]

Out of curiousity, what are you comparing the Mustang's ride to? By modern car standards, the mustangs don't have a very plush ride. Looking at your picture with the 15" wheels, the wheel well gaps appear about correct for a car with stock ride height, so unlikely that you have cut-down springs. Keep in mind it is a solid-axle rear suspension that basically dates back to a 1970's design.

 

[lwarrior1016]

@Freddie Lauritzen welcome to the forum. Good luck getting your ride fixed.

Also, I saw that that this thread was a duplicate of your first. This one got the attention so I have deleted the other, just to keep things cleaned up.

 

[Freddie Lauritzen]

Out of curiousity, what are you comparing the Mustang's ride to? By modern car standards, the mustangs don't have a very plush ride. Looking at your picture with the 15" wheels, the wheel well gaps appear about correct for a car with stock ride height, so unlikely that you have cut-down springs. Keep in mind it is a solid-axle rear suspension that basically dates back to a 1970's design.

I am comparing it to recent cars that I have owned (last three years) or still owner of like 1978 Alfa Romeo Spider, 1984 Alfa Romeo Spider, 1984 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV, 1981 Fiat 124 Spider. I drove my 1981 Fiat 124 Spider from London to Milan in March and I would not drive my Mustang 100 miles the way it works now. Pretty sure this is a previous owner modification issue as this is also totally crap compared to a long gone 1968 Camaro Convertible RS/SS Indi Pace car I owned in the 80s

 

[Frank.JD.Perez]

oh, dope. an export!

 

[Daryl]

Freddie,
First off... welcome to the Forum! Along the lines of earlier suggestions (shocks, springs), of course inspect and replace old and/or worn bushings.
Your car is 26 years old so things wear out. If you’re displeased with the quality of ride and the bushings need replacing, consider rubber bushings as urethane will ride stiffer. Sounds like you are ok with sacrificing the longevity of urethane bushings for comfort of rubber bushings.

Other obvious places to look: type of tire; rubber compound (soft or hard); tread depth (new tires or worn down?). You get the idea...

Keep us posted on what the problems ended up being.

 

[94StewFord]

Out of curiousity, what are you comparing the Mustang's ride to? By modern car standards, the mustangs don't have a very plush ride. Looking at your picture with the 15" wheels, the wheel well gaps appear about correct for a car with stock ride height, so unlikely that you have cut-down springs. Keep in mind it is a solid-axle rear suspension that basically dates back to a 1970's design.

When I purchased my '94 GT convertible new, I thought it was the nicest riding car I had ever owned. I put 8K mile on it that summer and loved every minute of it. Now, purchasing a completely stock 37K mile car and I agree with Freddie, the ride is stiff and the suspension is making noise. I will be checking out all the bushing's in the spring as well as the shocks/struts, etc. Not the ride I remembered ;(