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boss 302 lowering springs and supporting mods

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sorry, don't know what happened on my first post. anyways, its gonna be tracked about 3-4 times a yr and i'm a newbie track guy. so i don't wanna go over board. just looking to drop it down a little and make it handle a little better.
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,529
5,242
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Illinois
First priority, safety then drivers mods. Lowering, if for track only is not where you will get your best bang for your buck. Bang defined as performance and enjoyment both.
Brakes, fluids and pads will help make your brakes dependable. Titanium shims once you learn how to brake.
When you do lower, springs are the only Must Do item. An adjustable panhard bar to recenter the axle, and caster camber plates finish off the lowering parts list.
Personal safety. Spend money on a good helmet. The more you spend the better the comfort and protection, to a point. $4k for nice carbon composite is possible. Good starts in the $350.00 ish and up range. Gloves, suit and shoes are also a good idea, later.
Drivers mods, learning is where the return was for me. I spent money on brakes and lowering to learn that driving the way I did was not all that fast. Get a good instructor and learn. Oh yea......have fun.
 

Norm Peterson

Corner Barstool Sitter
939
712
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
a few miles east of Philly
sorry, don't know what happened on my first post.
I think it got posted into a different section . . . https://trackmustangsonline.com/threads/boss-302-lowering-springs-with-supporting-mods.16051/ . . . I think this thread just got moved there while we weren't looking . . .

Anyway, I find your car to be a 2012 and 'T' springs being what you're currently considering (side note, I can't find any information about those springs regarding either rate or the amount of lowering).

Is this car going to be primarily for track driving with no more than a little street driving, or are you shooting for a car that's reasonably capable at both?


anyways, its gonna be tracked about 3-4 times a yr and i'm a newbie track guy. so i don't wanna go over board. just looking to drop it down a little and make it handle a little better.
I'm going to suggest a different suspension modification path (and I'm going to avoid the appearance side completely), where if you do any single thing up front (before your first track day in this car) make that better shocks and struts. The ones that are in there now are probably 8 years old with some unknown number of miles on them, so an improvement here is going to make the car more 'composed' in its behavior. They can certainly be done as a stand-alone mod, while you give yourself a little more time to decide what else you really want to do or need to do as far as springs and/or sta-bars are concerned. You might be surprised by how the car drives once its suspension motions are under better control.

Beware the slippery slope here . . . wider wheels and tires, choices in track-capable brake pads, alignment, etc., etc., so try to make changes after you know what you want to fix rather than guess ahead of time what you might want to do. It helps to have some of your own experience involved; you'll at least have a little "feel" for what's going on.


Norm
 
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TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,529
5,242
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Illinois
Fully agree with a slow approach to mods. Ignoring brake mods, specifically brake fluid upgrade, could lead to unexpected mods to the body. LOL. Make her safe by flushing the current fluid and adding a good dot 4.
Good advise on the slippery slope. Go slow with the changes, enjoy the car, mod as budget and need meet.
Lowest buck approach. Change the fluids, drive with a good instructor and continue planning as needed.
 
Thanks for all the great info. I’m coming from the foxbody crowd and straight line performance was the only thing people cared about. Seen countless 5-600hp foxbodys with stock brakes and stopping was a after thought. Hell, I was guilty of it to a lot. But I’ve wanted this boss since they came out and it’s light years away from the foxbodys in every category. There seems to be a different vibe in the track community then the drag racing community. Way less douche bags and attitudes. And people just seem like they don’t mind helping out. I Will be changing out the brake fluid and pads since the car is 8 yrs old and with about 18,000 miles on it. It really sounds like seat time with a good instructor will be my best investment. So now just need to find some place in my area and go from there. Thanks again.
 

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