Ride Height Issue with 05-10 Struts on 11-14 Mustang

Napoleon85

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I know I'm not the only one by far running 05-10 spec struts and mounts on an 11+ body, but has anyone else noticed ride height issues? Unfortunately, I don't have any precise measurements, but I have had two other people I know personally run into the same issue.

In all three cases we were running lowering springs (three different brands) and switched from the oem struts to Koni struts (two on STR.T, one on Sports). We all noticed that the front end sat noticeably lower after installing the Koni struts. We all replaced the rear dampers with matching shocks as well. The height of the rear was unchanged in all three cases.

We noticed this by the apparent visual rake that was changed post install, as well as difficulty getting a jack under the front side of the car, but not the rear, where we had no issues before even when the springs were well settled.

Now I'm well aware that this should not have caused a change in ride height, but maybe there is a variance in the strut or mount that none of us accounted for? I thought the only difference was the diameter of the shaft, but is it possible that the 05-10 struts are shorter, or that the mounts sit lower?

I'm somewhat at a loss here, so if you have any thoughts please chime in.
 

Sky Render

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Hrm. First of all, the rear shocks are the exact same for all years, from '05-14. So there would be no effect whatsoever. I'm running '05-10 struts up front. However, I am using the Maximum Motorsports caster/camber plates, which include these little spacers that allow the use of the earlier-design struts.

I have noticed that my car has a rake to it; the rear end has about an inch more wheel gap than the front. However, I installed the shocks/struts, springs, and caster/camber plates all at the same time, so I don't know if there should be a different in front ride height.

I thought maybe because the motor weighs more but who knows.

I thought the Coyote actually weighed a little less than the 3V?
 

Redfire_WNL

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I thought the Coyote actually weighed a little less than the 3V?

I thought I read somewhere that the 5.0 weighs around 450 lbs as the 4.6 weighs around 410. I don't know if this is true and maybe someone who does know will chime in but seems like enough to lower car a little bit more.
 

JEWC_Motorsports

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Curb weight 05-10 Mustang Gt is 3450 and the curb weight for a 2012 Mustang Gt is 3600. The springs you are using are designed for a lighter car, put them on our cars and they will sit lower.
 

19COBRA93

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Curb weight 05-10 Mustang Gt is 3450 and the curb weight for a 2012 Mustang Gt is 3600. The springs you are using are designed for a lighter car, put them on our cars and they will sit lower.


The 5.0L and 4.6L engines are within 20lbs of each other so that makes no difference. And curb weight for both cars is right around 3550 depending on options. Things like superchargers and other additions can effect the weight, so consider that as well.

I'd look at the strut mount as a possible cause.
 
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Napoleon85

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Curb weight 05-10 Mustang Gt is 3450 and the curb weight for a 2012 Mustang Gt is 3600. The springs you are using are designed for a lighter car, put them on our cars and they will sit lower.

I think you may have missed a crucial piece of information in my original post. All three cars were lowered already, but the ride height changed when installing the struts, re-using the same springs. This is what I find a bit baffling.
 

J.Kidd

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I thought I read somewhere that the 5.0 weighs around 450 lbs as the 4.6 weighs around 410. I don't know if this is true and maybe someone who does know will chime in but seems like enough to lower car a little bit more.


From the little bit of research I did, the Coyote is around 430 lbs. while the 4.6L is in the 550-580 lbs. range.


For the OP, are the struts the overall same length as the stock ones?
 

BMR Tech

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I have been pondering this for some time now. I usually do not like to mention these things, unless it is brought to my attention atleast 50%+ of the time. I wouldn't say I have gotten this feedback from 5 out of 10 customers who purchase Koni's from me, but....

Of course, I deal with suspension-related issues more than most....and I have actually received a pretty large number of customer feedbacks, with similar issues. One recently, a guy was very unhappy that our lowering springs (front) dropped his car more than it should have. This was a complicated issue, as he also installed a Twin Turbo Kit as well, adding a substantail amount of weight to the car. It is a 2012 GT with full BMR, TT Kit, and Koni Yellows / GT500 USM.

Maybe there is something to it. I would love for someone (or I may, if I get the time) to thoroughly compare the measurements from the stock strut, to an aftermarket version (various brands) to see how accurately the aftermarket brands are with their manufacturing-design. Just a slight difference in spring perch, or strut mount height....can cause an issue like this.
 

Napoleon85

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For the OP, are the struts the overall same length as the stock ones?

I wish I had measured, but we all had this conversation after the install. Koni doesn't list that detailed of specs on their site either.

I have been pondering this for some time now. I usually do not like to mention these things, unless it is brought to my attention atleast 50%+ of the time. I wouldn't say I have gotten this feedback from 5 out of 10 customers who purchase Koni's from me, but....

Of course, I deal with suspension-related issues more than most....and I have actually received a pretty large number of customer feedbacks, with similar issues. One recently, a guy was very unhappy that our lowering springs (front) dropped his car more than it should have. This was a complicated issue, as he also installed a Twin Turbo Kit as well, adding a substantail amount of weight to the car. It is a 2012 GT with full BMR, TT Kit, and Koni Yellows / GT500 USM.

Maybe there is something to it. I would love for someone (or I may, if I get the time) to thoroughly compare the measurements from the stock strut, to an aftermarket version (various brands) to see how accurately the aftermarket brands are with their manufacturing-design. Just a slight difference in spring perch, or strut mount height....can cause an issue like this.

FWIW - we're all running GT500/FRPP strut mounts as well. Maybe the issue is in the design of the mount. Could be a lot of things though, as you said. Thanks for chiming in - I've been debating making a thread about this for a while since I figured we couldn't be the only ones that noticed this.
 

riored4v

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I had been wondering this as well. I had actually wondered this (and brought this up) back when I was trying to get the car alinged and the camber was really far off from what everyone was saying it would be with just basic K-springs. It seemed lower in the front than it should have been, and even with the camber bolts, it barely got to spec. FWIW, I'm running the K-springs with STR.t's and GT500 mounts also.

Would love to see the results if some in depth research was done on this.
 

19COBRA93

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Has anyone compared a stock strut to a Koni? Are the spindle mounting points the same distance from the spring seat?
 

JEWC_Motorsports

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Fwiw I have had strange, frpp, and koni struts and the ride heights were all the same.
 

BAKnBLK2010

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I have the BMR springs, Koni STR's and GT500 mounts and my car is 1/2" lower in the front than the back. When I bought the BMR springs they said the drop would be 1" in the front and 1.25" in the rear so my car should sit level but it doesn't.
 

BMR Tech

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I have the BMR springs, Koni STR's and GT500 mounts and my car is 1/2" lower in the front than the back. When I bought the BMR springs they said the drop would be 1" in the front and 1.25" in the rear so my car should sit level but it doesn't.

We typically see about a 1/2" rake with our springs.

Typical ride height for a 2011+GT is:

Front: 28.550" - 28.875"
Rear: 29.450" - 29.550"

So yes, even with lowering the rear 1/4" more...you will still have a rake.
 

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