Will these springs work?

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Will these springs work?

January 03, 2005, 09:21:48 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33582&item=7945490283&rd=1

Well, will they work on my 87 3.8? Will I end up dragging my ass end?

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #1 – January 03, 2005, 10:06:16 PM

2" drop on a 2700 pound car is quite a bit, our cars are quite a bit more than that and I think it might be a bit too much. The strange thing is those springs are listed for 79-03 which are two different generations completely which makes me wonder.

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #2 – January 03, 2005, 10:06:18 PM

Why not ask them for some actual spring and load rates?

Also, 2700#? That's light for a Stang. A 4 cyl notch maybe, or a stripped V-8 one. Fox hatchbacks can weigh as much as 3200#.

Still, without any REAL info....I wouldn't trust them to hold themselves up in the corner.....

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #3 – January 03, 2005, 10:13:30 PM

Quote from: Chuck W

Why not ask them for some actual spring and load rates?

Because they're just numbers to me, I'm not well versed in the suspension department.

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #4 – January 03, 2005, 11:19:07 PM

Well, the point of asking was so the rest of us might be able to tell you a bit more. Non-actual pictures from an ebay ad don't tell us anything. If you don't give good info...don't expect good input....

Ask for "spring" rate and "load" rate.....

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #5 – January 03, 2005, 11:22:10 PM

I used Ford Racing lowering springs for 79-93 mustangs. They say they lower a mustang about 1.5" in the front and almost and 1" in the back but on my cougar with 3.8 it turned out to be about 3" inches in the front and about 3.5" in the rear. The spring rate on these are 600 for the front and 200-300 for the rears. The higher the rate the stiffer the spring. I could only imagine how much those springs would drop a cougar or bird.

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #6 – January 04, 2005, 01:58:45 AM

Asked the guy for rates on the springs. What numbers are acceptable if I want a slightly lower stance without too much drag? In other words, I don't want to play limbo with my car; I don't need to drag my bumper and tailpipe over every speed bump.

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #7 – January 04, 2005, 07:10:54 AM

Quote from: lowcat

The higher the rate the stiffer the spring. I could only imagine how much those springs would drop a cougar or bird.

Yes, the higher the spring rate the stiffer the spring, but that does not always correlate with a higher load rating. The load rating is how much the spring is able to support. You can have springs with a similar spring rate, but have different load ratings.

I've said it several times that the load rating on the C-kit springs (like what you are using) is far too low for a heavy rear ended car like the TBirds/Cougars....

Anyway, we'll see if they actually give you some numbers that you can use.

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #8 – January 04, 2005, 08:27:22 AM

Quote from: amooset

Asked the guy for rates on the springs. What numbers are acceptable if I want a slightly lower stance without too much drag? In other words, I don't want to play limbo with my car; I don't need to drag my bumper and tailpipe over every speed bump.

If you are worried about dragging the car over speed bumps I would not recommend lowering it. I have sed my car going over so many speed bumps it is not even funny. At first it scared me, but after a while and nothing fell off :giggle: I didn't really care. I just go real slow, so the suspension doesn't move that much and try to get over it with as little sing as possible.

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #9 – January 11, 2005, 10:25:55 AM

Suspension geometry is a little different on a stang and bird/cougar/mark, and regardless of spring rate, they are shorter as are the shocks and struts. This is why you can't use Stang shocks/struts on a stock height bird for very long without destroying them because they are not designed to have that much travel in them.

Re: Will these springs work?

Reply #10 – January 11, 2005, 05:22:57 PM

I drag on almost all speed bumps with stock springs, although I doubt that they have been changed in the 200,000+ miles on it