Cost to lower your mustang GT

spikiera said:

Dear all,

I am planning to lower my GT, 1" for front and 1.5" for rear. I got a quote from a shop...which is roughly $580 including the spring and labor after tax.

Is that a good price? I live in Canada by the way...I know there is a bit of discrepancies between the US and Canada =)

Thank you in advance!

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That's not too bad depending on the make of spring ... so you'd have to be more specific on the make.

That said, you should also consider replacing the struts and dampers (or at the least the struts) now because they'll have them out anyways. The stock struts are more of a weak point than the springs and when you lower them it'll make them worse. Yes, it'll add some cost to the drop but it's either a little pain now or more later since you'll have to pay again to replace the struts if they fail prematurely.

Also consider that you should get an alignment to save your rubber and may need an adjustable panhard bar to realign the back end with that much drop in the rear.

spikiera said:

Dear all,

I am planning to lower my GT, 1" for front and 1.5" for rear. I got a quote from a shop...which is roughly $580 including the spring and labor after tax.

Is that a good price? I live in Canada by the way...I know there is a bit of discrepancies between the US and Canada =)

Thank you in advance!

Click to expand...

WoW that's like $8,000 a square foot! lol Im just thinking out loud comparing it to real estate prices by the square foot.
Quote wise: that's pretty cheap considering spring (s) labour and taxes,roughly broken down, $280 in labour,$200 in spring(s) and the rest tax.
That's pretty reasonable, guess he did not factor in an alignment after the drop.
Have you researched the quality of work this shop does? satisfied customers?
If you were in Toronto I would highly recommend DeSilva racing, highly rated quality workmanship by Joe... they basically specialize in Mustangs.

2011 Mustang GT 5.0 Ford Racing Lowering Springs Install - LRS Blog - Read Here Shop Here

Do the install yourself, it's fun!

If you drive the car daily I would invest in nothing less than;
-springs ~$200-250
-shocks/struts~ $390
-upper strut mounts~ $85
-panhard bar~ $115-150

parts total= $875
plus alignment= $975-1000

Strano Performance Parts - Part Details

Strano Performance Parts - Part Details

2005-12 Mustang Ford Racing GT500 Style Strut Mount Pair, M-18183-C at LRS - Same Day Shipping!

Strano Performance Parts - Part Details

Grimace427 said:

2011 Mustang GT 5.0 Ford Racing Lowering Springs Install - LRS Blog - Read Here Shop Here

Do the install yourself, it's fun!

If you drive the car daily I would invest in nothing less than;
-springs ~$200-250
-shocks/struts~ $390
-upper strut mounts~ $85
-panhard bar~ $115-150

parts total= $875
plus alignment= $975-1000

Strano Performance Parts - Part Details

Strano Performance Parts - Part Details

2005-12 Mustang Ford Racing GT500 Style Strut Mount Pair, M-18183-C at LRS - Same Day Shipping!

Strano Performance Parts - Part Details

Click to expand...

Agreed.. though in my opinion with a mild drop like that if your budget is a concern the springs and panhard should be all you need for now... shocks/struts/mounts soon.

He's right that thats the complete/through way to do it... but not necessary all at once in my opinion... I've got a few thousand miles on my springs/panhard only drop and the car rides stiff (due to being an agressive spring drop) -- but its alignment is in spec and seems fine for now until I can upgrade to some coilovers.

Also in the past the most i've spent to do springs was $200 .... but on this car with the LRS its crazy simple to do the rear... and the front a little work but really really really simple compared to the hondas I've worked on.

If you have any ability to follow instructions and have the tools I really suggest trying it yourself.

5.0 Candy REDCS said:

If you were in Toronto I would highly recommend DeSilva racing, highly rated quality workmanship by Joe... they basically specialize in Mustangs.

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For the ontario area guys...
This is the quote I got from Dasilva for Eibach 1"-1.5" - it's not too bad:

$319 for the springs
$49 for the camber bolts
$175 labour to install
$120 wheel alignment
$169 for comp adjustable pan hard bar
$50 to install pan hard bar and adjust
$15 shop supplies

$897+ hst = 1013.61

And like has been mentioned, you know they wont mess it up!

starbai said:

Agreed.. though in my opinion with a mild drop like that if your budget is a concern the springs and panhard should be all you need for now... shocks/struts/mounts soon.

He's right that thats the complete/through way to do it... but not necessary all at once in my opinion... I've got a few thousand miles on my springs/panhard only drop and the car rides stiff (due to being an agressive spring drop) -- but its alignment is in spec and seems fine for now until I can upgrade to some coilovers.

Also in the past the most i've spent to do springs was $200 .... but on this car with the LRS its crazy simple to do the rear... and the front a little work but really really really simple compared to the hondas I've worked on.

If you have any ability to follow instructions and have the tools I really suggest trying it yourself.

Click to expand...

While budgets should always be a concern it is always better to save your money to do it right(by right I mean accomplish your goal) the first time. The problem with doing the same thing twice is twice the labor, as well as reusing factory parts(upper strut mounts) that can and will probably fail.

In my opinion the shocks and struts help retain a comfortable ride when lowering the car, and help retain control of the car when going over bumps. I feel that is more important than the stance of the car and any percieved increase in cornering performance.

terrabit2001 said:

for the ontario area guys...
This is the quote i got from dasilva for eibach 1"-1.5" - it's not too bad:

$170usd for the springs
$49 for the camber bolts - dont need
$175 labour to install - dont need
$120 wheel alignment - dont need
$169 for comp adjustable pan hard bar - dont need
$50 to install pan hard bar and adjust - dont need
$15 shop supplies - dont need

$897+ hst = 1013.61

and like has been mentioned, you know they wont mess it up!

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fixed for ya!!!!!!!!! I bought the FRPP K springs, and what you are looking for are the FRPP P springs. They have less of a drop than the K springs. Anyway, I installed them myself and didnt need any of that extra fluff. You shouldnt need the alignment because how little your drop is. Same for the panhard par. But bare bones to get the job done is a few hand tools, two hours and the springs themselves. Use that Latemodelresto.com how-to. Its well written and you should have no issues getting them in.

Jiggy_One said:

fixed for ya!!!!!!!!! I bought the FRPP K springs, and what you are looking for are the FRPP P springs. They have less of a drop than the K springs. Anyway, I installed them myself and didnt need any of that extra fluff. You shouldnt need the alignment because how little your drop is. Same for the panhard par. But bare bones to get the job done is a few hand tools, two hours and the springs themselves. Use that Latemodelresto.com how-to. Its well written and you should have no issues getting them in.

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You are almost guaranteed to need an alignment after lowering the car as the front will toe-out quite a bit. Mine was out 0.2" left and 0.8" right. That would be some serious pull to the right and heavy tread wear.

I have the alignment sheet in my glovebox, I'll see if I can scan it tonight.

Grimace427 said:

You are almost guaranteed to need an alignment after lowering the car as the front will toe-out quite a bit. Mine was out 0.2" left and 0.8" right. That would be some serious pull to the right and heavy tread wear.

I have the alignment sheet in my glovebox, I'll see if I can scan it tonight.

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I had mine checked after installing the K springs, and it was still within factory spec.

Grimace427 said:

While budgets should always be a concern it is always better to save your money to do it right(by right I mean accomplish your goal) the first time. The problem with doing the same thing twice is twice the labor, as well as reusing factory parts(upper strut mounts) that can and will probably fail.

In my opinion the shocks and struts help retain a comfortable ride when lowering the car, and help retain control of the car when going over bumps. I feel that is more important than the stance of the car and any percieved increase in cornering performance.

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To each their own..

It didn't cost me any labor to put on a set of springs/panhard myself which is what I suggested to the OP.

I was told about the upper strut mounts, but so far I haven't had a single issue with them. I guess when they fail they fail though. Personally I'm okay with leaving them the way it is until I'm ready to move into coilovers.

Performance on track is not my primary concern, though it maybe the OPs.

If it was, I wouldn't have gone with Eibach Sportlines... car rides just fine on the street... and the most abuse it gets is a spirted highway on ramp lol.

Again what you're saying is not wrong... I'm not saying you dont need those things... I'm saying if you're on a budget its perfectly possible to safely and comfortably lower the car for a year or more until the budget catches up to the failure of parts due to premature wear.

If OP has the budget to do it once, do it right then I agree with your way.

I only felt this necessary to say because when I was going through figuring out how to lower this car, everyone said dont do anything till you can afford to do it all at once... which was a rediculiously expensive proposition. I was told to do upper 3rd links, lower control arms, bumpsteer kits, strut mounts, etc... etc... and with enough research I figured out that the panhard and springs were all that were really necessary until I was ready to really attack the suspension.

If all you want to do is find a way to get rid of the 4x4 look and you're on a tight budget... springs panhard do it yourself call it a day... start saving up some dough to do it right in a few months... thats just one man's opinion.

Jiggy_One said:

I had mine checked after installing the K springs, and it was still within factory spec.

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I work for Ford, in a factory, and I can tell you that every car is different. In our plant our alignment machines (dynamic alignment machines -- the alignment is basically tested and adjusted on a rolling dyno) are calibrated every day between shifts and the calibration does change; any car can be "within spec" and be at the "outside portion" of that spec (that's why there is a "spread" ie tolerance range in the spec). If it is on the border and you modify the suspension it may very well end up outside of spec, or it may not.

The OP's car will in no way be guaranteed to be the same as yours. $100 for an alignment is cheap compared to premature tire wear.

OAC_Sparky said:

I work for Ford, in a factory, and I can tell you that every car is different. In our plant our alignment machines (dynamic alignment machines -- the alignment is basically tested and adjusted on a rolling dyno) are calibrated every day between shifts and the calibration does change; any car can be "within spec" and be at the "outside portion" of that spec (that's why there is a "spread" ie tolerance range in the spec). If it is on the border and you modify the suspension it may very well end up outside of spec, or it may not.

The OP's car will in no way be guaranteed to be the same as yours. $100 for an alignment is cheap compared to premature tire wear.

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That is where i'd agree with throwing a bit of money into it as well... I got a lifetime warranty at tires plus on my alignments for like $130... transferable up to 2 times i think to a different car if you ever sell it too...

totally worth it.

Just something to add; if your front tires are toed-in/out evenly on both sides the car won't pull but front tread wear will increase dramatically.

I will always mention doing it right the first time because I learned that the hard(er) way myself. I initally did springs only and after the excitement of having lowered my car wore off the piss-poor ride drove me nuts. I took advantage of the Koni sale earlier this year and found adding shocks/struts pretty painless.

When someone mentions the stock upper strut mounts, it's no joke. Mine literally fell apart in my hands. The GT500 mounts are an upgrade but are still not perfect. I would have gone with the Steeda HD mounts if they worked with 2010 struts with no issues instead of needing a spacer.

Also for the DIY'ers something else to consider, doing the shocks/struts with the springs together makes the install waaayy easier. You can assemble the new struts and springs on the ground and replace the complete assembly in a single motion.

Grimace427 said:

Also for the DIY'ers something else to consider, doing the shocks/struts with the springs together makes the install waaayy easier. You can assemble the new struts and springs on the ground and replace the complete assembly in a single motion.

Click to expand...

Soo true... disassembling the stock front setup to replace the spring was a pain in the ass without a nice compressor.... I just used the free-to-rent autozone compressors. Did the job but was without a doubt the most annoying part of the process.. not difficult just a PIA... still worth it over dropping $200+ (or 500+ like the OP) to get them put in.


Rear was so simple its ridiculous.

OP,

I paid $200 for the sportlines here: Eibach Sportline Lowering Springs

$100 for the Panhard Bar here:J&M Mustang Adjustable Panhard Rod (2005-2012 All) at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

$23 for the adjustable camber bolts here:5.81260K MUSTANG EIBACH CAMBER ADJUSTMENT KIT 2005-2011

$90 for alignment

In total under $500.

In time I will go with a more luxurious setup, but for now this is fine; I don't drag or track.

I can say I have not one complaint with my setup.

I should state that I did the install myself and would reccomend anyone who has the will-power/tools/time to do it. Save you some money and make you cooler than your friends for having done it yourself! :bigthumbsup

Life is all about being cool right?:afraid