Since I think we have established here that raising the back is not a great idea, does anyone have any tips on lowering the front, since i am very broke buying lowering springs is not a great option. I figured it would be a good idea to ask more knowledgable people before i dive in and start choppin springs. thanks, jordan
i guss i got in late to the pevous posts why is it not a good idea to raise the back . i was going to raise the back 1 in and lower the front 1 in; not good???:16suspect
. i dont think raising the back an iunch would be bad, my plan was to raise the back a little over 2 inches. but somebody told me about their exspierence with the "bowling ball effect" where their back end slid out around a corner and they damn near crashed into a power box, which doesnt sound like fun. i think a combo of slightly raising the back and lowering the front would balance things out nicely though. jordan
The main reason not to raise the back is that it is not the 80's anymore . Plus it is not good for handling. I cut a coil out of the back and put 2" lowering blocks in the back.
at first i thought raising the back would get me the look i wanted because i figured i wouldnt have the clearence in front to do any substancial lowering but i checked out the fender wells and you can fit an elephant in those things, this wasnt the case in the last car i lowered.
Stance Hi all, For those that missed the other thread, I'm the guy who just about got wiped off the planet by my first Comet (actually at least three times ... I was really rowdy in my early 20s, not much better now, LOL). BTW, that car was did not have a raised rear end. It had adjustable shocks on it and they were set full stiff out back. I was pushing my luck, 90 mph on a sweeping left turn and hit a small patch of water. Went off the road backwards. Anything you can do to make these handle better is a good thing. Econobox cars that are out now can outhandle and outbrake original Mavs and Comets, and if you are in traffic it is a good thing to be on at least an even basis with them. The car in the picture above is my current Comet. It has the original rear springs which have probably settled and inch or so over the years. I cut 1 coil off of the front springs and that drops the front by about 2 inches. The rest of the rake that this car has is tire height. 205/60/15s front, 265/50/15s back. I love the stance of this car now. I have been using the car as a bracket racer, so I am not set for handling right now. Loose front shocks, etc. If I were to go for handling, I would go in these steps as you can afford them. V8 coil springs up front, cut one coil. Making it shorter raises the effective rate of the spring a bit, and a one coil cut is OK. Cut it with a die grinder, hacksaw, sawsall, whatever. DO NOT use a torch. This can change the temper of a spring, and weeks later, you might find it sagging. There is a Shelby Mustang mod that was done to the early cars, and that is to move the upper A arm attachment points. This give the suspension better geometry when pushed into a corner and helps prevent the tire from rolling under. Some Mustang places sell drilling templates to guide you in re-drilling the holes. I believe that the new mounting points are 1 inch lower on the tower and 1/8th inch further back to dial in a bit more caster. Seems like it would raise the front, but it doesn't. Just changes the angle of the upper A-arm. Polygraphite bushings all around, front and rear. Firmer than rubber, but don't squeak like straight poly bushings do. Better shocks all around. I have really loved Monroe SensaTracs on two other vehicles I have right now. New technology ... they call them "active shocks", because they ride firm until hitting a bump. Then an internal valve releases in milliseconds and allows the shock to soften a bit, absorb the bump, and then go back to firm. I don't know if they are available for Mavs, but a Mustang application might be made to work. Add a rear sway bar. This will help keep the front end from plowing in corners. While you are at it, buy a matched set. Addco (spelling?) is one company that I have seen offer these for Mavs. Oh yeah, almost forgot ... disc brakes! I have Granada 11 inch brakes on mine. It had four wheel drums, and as soon as I added a four barrel to the original 302, I found I could easily overdrive the brake's abilities. After leaving a few skidmarks (in my underwear ... LOL), definitely knew I needed to step up in braking power. These cars are nose-heavy, and the front brakes do at least 2/3rds of the stopping duties, so I still have not been convinced that rear discs would help, but I would leave that to someone who has tried it. I have an adjustable proportioning valve on mine and it is dialed in to lock up the rear drums just a bit before the fronts. Much better than the original brakes. Wheels and tires ... gotta' get it to the ground. Upsizing the wheel size means less rubber sidewall on the tire to flex. It does mean better brakes are needed too, though. More wheel equals more weight to have to stop rotating, so I would go conservative there. It is a small enough car, that 16 inch wheels look fairly large on it anyway. I like my 15s. Any of these mods will help. With almost any V8, these light, short cars are pretty fast. They are a lot more fun to drive with some confident handling.
Cutting a coil out of the front is easy and cheap. You will need a spring compressor to get the spring in and out safely. Here are two shots. With Rally wheels a 2 coils cut from 6 cyl springs + 2" block in the rear. and Magnums with 1 coil cut on V8 springs and no block
At one coil cut, I don't recall mine ever hitting. I don't think you can compress the springs that much. Like I mentioned, as you cut a spring, you increase it's effective rate. The more you cut it, the choppier the ride will get. With my car set the way it is, and the short front tires, the crossmember that the lower arms struts run to, has 7 inches of ground clearance. Measuring yours should give you an idea on how much drop this is. Bob, Sharp Grabber there ...
Thanks, It's become my favorite to drive and take to cruz nights. Even with two coils cut I never hit the stops, but I raised it cause the spoiler hit the driveways and tire stops in parking lots.
Hijack What about raising front. I am interested in having my front raised, I think it looks mean. I am far away from doing it yet, but thought I'd ask. /Hijack
