JeffS197
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- Apr 22, 2015
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Hello,
I have a 05 GT Convertible that I bought used just over a month ago.
I really enjoy driving that car (100+KM daily commute) and have been looking into rear springs as I feel the back is ridiculously high for stock. The front ride height doesnt really bother me that much.
The car also seems to be "unpredictable" in hard turns like highway onramps but I figured thats just part of the whole solid axle deal and did not think too much of it.
I have been reading alot about S197 suspensions and was looking into some springs and figured I should go out and measure where I am at first before making any decisions.
What I found kind of surprised me.
Running 245/45/18 in the front, 275/40/18 in the rear on some sort of cheapo asian wheels (says Sport Max with some asian writing signs..? no indication of offset specs on them either? rears are definately different offset than the front) that the previous owner installed.
The front DS and PS are both 3" gap between the fender and height of tire (not the most visually appealing but not that bad).
The rears..
DS rear I measured just over 4" gap.
PS rear I measured just under 3.75" gap.
something doesnt seem right here.
I jacked up the rear and took a look at everything underneith and nothing appears to be broken which is good, though I figure if something is bent then really there is no way to tell just looking at it.
Then I took a look at how "centered" the axle is and I can see that the DS rear wheel looks to be sticking outwards almost a 1/4" when compared to the PS rear tire.
I did some googling and it seems that being off center is fairly normal even for stock.but is 1/4" off normal? seems like alot to me.
Then I noticed that the DS rear spring appears to be a bit cleaner than the PS side..
Now I am starting to wonder if the previous owner perhaps had the DS rear spring break and replaced with coupe spring?
I know they are different spring rates but would that account for the difference in ride height between the DS and PS rear?
to me the car definitely handles funny. All of my previous cars were FWD so I do not have much experience with RWD or S197s and with mustangs at all aside from helping out my buddies with their fox bodies back in high school.
I am starting to think this could be the reason for the flaky handling characteristics.
Is there any visual way to tell a coupe spring from a convertible coupe spring?
Any ideas on what else I can check with basic tools in my driveway before bringing it into a shop?
Now my story gets a little weird:
I was told by the dealer that sold me the car that previous owner curbed the stock wheels really bad and that is why he replaced them (was actually in my carfax report that the wheels were replaced by insurance).
Now I am starting to wonder if in reality he smacked into a curb at speed and caused all sorts of other problems.
I also have a dent on the passenger side frame rail right where the foot guard is. He told me that the wind slammed the door shut while there was something in the way and that caused the dent. I figured this was a feasible explanation and knew I was getting the car inspected before I bought it so I didnt think too much of it at the time.
now I am starting to think that maybe this guy smashed the car into a curb or maybe hit the wall at the track and maybe bent the whole frame or something. the front right fender has also been repainted (they painted right over the clear bra-looks retarded) and someone also tried to buff or sand the fender and they just screwed up the paint.
who knows maybe I am just being paranoid.
I did have the car checked out by two "competent" shops before buying and neither mentioned anything about it, but then again they both missed the difference in ride height so perhaps they are not the greatest inspectors after all.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Heres some pics of how it sits:
Thanks, Jeff
I have a 05 GT Convertible that I bought used just over a month ago.
I really enjoy driving that car (100+KM daily commute) and have been looking into rear springs as I feel the back is ridiculously high for stock. The front ride height doesnt really bother me that much.
The car also seems to be "unpredictable" in hard turns like highway onramps but I figured thats just part of the whole solid axle deal and did not think too much of it.
I have been reading alot about S197 suspensions and was looking into some springs and figured I should go out and measure where I am at first before making any decisions.
What I found kind of surprised me.
Running 245/45/18 in the front, 275/40/18 in the rear on some sort of cheapo asian wheels (says Sport Max with some asian writing signs..? no indication of offset specs on them either? rears are definately different offset than the front) that the previous owner installed.
The front DS and PS are both 3" gap between the fender and height of tire (not the most visually appealing but not that bad).
The rears..
DS rear I measured just over 4" gap.
PS rear I measured just under 3.75" gap.
something doesnt seem right here.
I jacked up the rear and took a look at everything underneith and nothing appears to be broken which is good, though I figure if something is bent then really there is no way to tell just looking at it.
Then I took a look at how "centered" the axle is and I can see that the DS rear wheel looks to be sticking outwards almost a 1/4" when compared to the PS rear tire.
I did some googling and it seems that being off center is fairly normal even for stock.but is 1/4" off normal? seems like alot to me.
Then I noticed that the DS rear spring appears to be a bit cleaner than the PS side..
Now I am starting to wonder if the previous owner perhaps had the DS rear spring break and replaced with coupe spring?
I know they are different spring rates but would that account for the difference in ride height between the DS and PS rear?
to me the car definitely handles funny. All of my previous cars were FWD so I do not have much experience with RWD or S197s and with mustangs at all aside from helping out my buddies with their fox bodies back in high school.
I am starting to think this could be the reason for the flaky handling characteristics.
Is there any visual way to tell a coupe spring from a convertible coupe spring?
Any ideas on what else I can check with basic tools in my driveway before bringing it into a shop?
Now my story gets a little weird:
I was told by the dealer that sold me the car that previous owner curbed the stock wheels really bad and that is why he replaced them (was actually in my carfax report that the wheels were replaced by insurance).
Now I am starting to wonder if in reality he smacked into a curb at speed and caused all sorts of other problems.
I also have a dent on the passenger side frame rail right where the foot guard is. He told me that the wind slammed the door shut while there was something in the way and that caused the dent. I figured this was a feasible explanation and knew I was getting the car inspected before I bought it so I didnt think too much of it at the time.
now I am starting to think that maybe this guy smashed the car into a curb or maybe hit the wall at the track and maybe bent the whole frame or something. the front right fender has also been repainted (they painted right over the clear bra-looks retarded) and someone also tried to buff or sand the fender and they just screwed up the paint.
who knows maybe I am just being paranoid.
I did have the car checked out by two "competent" shops before buying and neither mentioned anything about it, but then again they both missed the difference in ride height so perhaps they are not the greatest inspectors after all.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Heres some pics of how it sits:
Thanks, Jeff
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