Properly Lowering a T-Bird

Scott D

Registered User
So, if I get a set of Eibach Pro-kit Performance springs to lower my '97 (non-SC) V6 'bird, what else would be needed to assure I didn't cause premature wear on suspension parts?

I did a quick search and came up empty, so I apologize if I missed a prior thread about it.

TIA
 
Expect uneven tire wear on the front inner edges if you drive many miles in the car. There really isn't such a thing as properly lowering a T-Bird and not altering the front suspension geometry. You can help the situation by replacing the rack mounting bushings with eccentric ones and lowering it as much as possible.
 
So, would it be better to just put bigger anti-sway bars on the car, and front/rear support braces as opposed to lowering the car? My goal is to make the car handle better without causing undue wear on the suspension & driveline.
 
You'll be fine. Just get a good alignment on it after you lower the car. Sway bars will be a help too, but I think most of the available bracing is unnecessary.
 
Not my experience Will. After lowering my car 1.25" with Tokico lowering springs I went through a pair of front tires a year with about 15K miles driven per year. Front suspension had been completely rebuilt too with no difference in wear. Multiple alignments....alternate and stock settings...made no difference. I had Chuck Weiss look at the car and then we discovered the amount of angle on the tie rods compared to stock. Raised the car back up to stock ride height in the rear and down 0.5" in the front and have had no issues since.

The problem is the toe changes that occur in jounce due to the car being lowered.

But as always....your car your choice.
 
Not my experience Will. After lowering my car 1.25" with Tokico lowering springs I went through a pair of front tires a year with about 15K miles driven per year. Front suspension had been completely rebuilt too with no difference in wear. Multiple alignments....alternate and stock settings...made no difference. I had Chuck Weiss look at the car and then we discovered the amount of angle on the tie rods compared to stock. Raised the car back up to stock ride height in the rear and down 0.5" in the front and have had no issues since.

The problem is the toe changes that occur in jounce due to the car being lowered.

But as always....your car your choice.

Really ? I had my car lowered 2 inches and never went through a Tire. Then I lowered it 6 more inches with the air suspension, and still put about 50k miles on the car - the only substantial tire wear I had was from the tires rubbing in the rear inner wheel well. The car always had a great alignment and was driven at a "lowered" height .. Ive lowered over 10 different Tbirds and the only tire wear problems were from cheap tires.


- Dan
 
Really....(as have many others experienced too)........... but as always we all have to make the choices that fit our situation the best.
 
I can't speak for every owner. But there are a ton of lowered cars in this club, and it's not as if everyone is complaining about chewing up tires.

I haven't had any problems with either of my two lowered T-Birds. But I will admit to buying tires that tend to have relatively short (20k mile) life on any car.
 
10+ years with H&R springs, 90K + miles, daily driver for 8 years. 2 sets of tires, 255/45-17 Nitto 555's (junk) and 245/45-17 BFG KDW's. And I use very aggressive alignment specs, 1.5 neg camber in the front.

Everyone's experience is different. ;)
 
mine is lowered (wish it wasnt) but the alingment comes in to factory specs when I use our hunter alingment machine. I have no strange wear showing up on my tires either. I just done like how the car feels almost sitting on ground. (it was lowered when I bought it and not sure on what springs are in it)
 
I appreciate all of the replies, gang. I'm going to order up some bigger sway bars and see how everything goes, from there.
 
Stan,

You are correct......directionally challenged when I wrote that post. The other alternative is to use a tie rod with a longer stud.
 
I have H&R springs on my '90 w/ 5.0L, going on seven years. The handling change was night-and-day over stock springs, obviously, and the stance is great. Tire wear has been unimpressive but not terrible. I have routinely managed 30k miles on a set of tires, going on my fourth set (two sets of Toyos, two sets of Federals). I get my car re-aligned every year and they are always able to get it in specs.

For me, the biggest issue -and the reason I'm not going to lower my '94 SC- is that it drags on everything.
 
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