Plain Ls Or Sport, Heeeeelp!!

[TDUB]

No I bought the car from the original owner. He had nothing special done to it other than the fact that it has a starter shut off and a bulletproof trunk because he was a jewelry dealer lol. Its an 01 V8 Sport and it has the woodgrain steering wheel and woodgrain shift knob.

 

[Lincoln ave]

So lets see some pics of that trunk. And by the way you could order the Ls however you wanted the thing. As long as you were willing to shell out the dough and wait a little while. I gotta fing the pics of my buddies 06 Ls, He had it ordered with matching maroon leather interior from the factory. He waited almost 2 months for it but he got it.

 

[skizot722]

You sure about the wheels part of that? My 2002 LS V8 has 17" chrome wheels (it has chrome inserts on both bumpers, half wood steering wheel and wood shifter knob, AdvanceTrac, VCS (Vehicle Communication System), no SST). Any ideas what mine is?

Its a non-sport. The original buyer may have ordered the vehicle with the 17" wheels or purchased them later on.

Actually, just found something out about my LS. It did come with the 17" chrome wheels because it has the "special suspension" package, which also includes sport shocks and sport sway bar.

 

[cmack]

Actually, just found something out about my LS. It did come with the 17" chrome wheels because it has the "special suspension" package, which also includes sport shocks and sport sway bar.

How did you find out about that? Because mine has 17" Lincoln wheels but it has the chrome and woodgrain. So if I happen to have that package it would suck because I need to hopefully change just the bushings on my swaybar and I already read the bushings on the sport LS's sway bar are molded on. Oh yeah mine is an 02 v8 also

 

[skizot722]

How did you find out about that? Because mine has 17" Lincoln wheels but it has the chrome and woodgrain. So if I happen to have that package it would suck because I need to hopefully change just the bushings on my swaybar and I already read the bushings on the sport LS's sway bar are molded on. Oh yeah mine is an 02 v8 also

Max at Five Star Ford was able to determine that from my VIN #. After that, I got under there and used a mirror to read the back side of the shocks, where the part number is stamped in. Sure enough, it was the sport shock part number: XW4Z-18125-BA.

 

[S117MC]

How did you find out about that? Because mine has 17" Lincoln wheels but it has the chrome and woodgrain. So if I happen to have that package it would suck because I need to hopefully change just the bushings on my swaybar and I already read the bushings on the sport LS's sway bar are molded on. Oh yeah mine is an 02 v8 also

The '02 Premium package looks like a base model LS but has 17" chrome wheels and the Sport model suspension. A quick way to tell if you have the premium package is your seats. If you have the basket weave inserts in your seats, you have the premium package.

 

[cmack]

The '02 Premium package looks like a base model LS but has 17" chrome wheels and the Sport model suspension. A quick way to tell if you have the premium package is your seats. If you have the basket weave inserts in your seats, you have the premium package.

Thanks I have the weave inserts in my seats along with the 17's.

 

[02LincLS]

yep, my '02 has woven seats, 17's, (had) sport shocks (now special), sport sway bar, woodgrain, chrome, advancetrac, moonroof- Premium.

 

[skizot722]

yep, my '02 has woven seats, 17's, (had) sport shocks (now special), sport sway bar, woodgrain, chrome, advancetrac, moonroof- Premium.

Hey, 02LincLS. Just curious as to what you mean by "now special". I believe "special suspension" is how Ford refers to the sports shocks/sway bar.

 

[02LincLS]

as stated above, there was a 3rd (firmer) shock option. Ford called this the special suspension. It's nicknamed the euro shock around here. I put those in along with eibach springs (very firm but not harsh combo). The sport shock i believe is called the performance suspension. I think it has a brown dot on it.

 

[skizot722]

as stated above, there was a 3rd (firmer) shock option. Ford called this the special suspension. It's nicknamed the euro shock around here. I put those in along with eibach springs (very firm but not harsh combo). The sport shock i believe is called the performance suspension. I think it has a brown dot on it.

No, Ford refers to the sport shock as the "special suspension". The sport shock has a lavender dot on it. The following is from Max at Five Star Ford:

PART NUMBER DESC LIST PRICE YOUR COST
xw4z-18125-aa std shocks 106.75 Xea yellow color
xw4z-18125-ba spl susp shk 106.75 Xea lavender color

And in a later email he says 'You have the "special suspension" package
Pn XW4Z-18125-BA'.

I think there is some confusion on this board as to what the "special suspension" is, and that's why I posted up the question.

 

[skizot722]

Looks like Bill Jenkins at Team Ford touched on this in another post, too:

The only thing I can tell you is that I think they are still what they should be. There are 3 listings for the rear:

Yellow dot, standard, XW4Z-18125-AA
Lavender dot, special, XW4Z-18125-BA
White dot, performance, XW4Z-18125-CA r/b 5U2Z-18V125-VA

All still have different part #'s, none cross over to the same one. So I would say the the new part # is still specific to the performance suspension.

 

[JWerner2]

Your correct, but keep in mind as said you can get that special suspension ( sport package ) on a non-sport from the factory or those parts are some that are commonly added as many members do here later on in the life of the suspension. But like said if it is non-sst and sports the chrome bumper trim it is not a sport.

 

[skizot722]

Your correct, but keep in mind as said you can get that special suspension ( sport package ) on a non-sport from the factory or those parts are some that are commonly added as many members do here later on in the life of the suspension. But like said if it is non-sst and sports the chrome bumper trim it is not a sport.

Never said mine was. Just said that it had the sport suspension.

 

[JWerner2]

I went back again to see if you said so or not, I saw that part. Im just referring to the topic in general.

 

[02LincLS]

No, Ford refers to the sport shock as the "special suspension". The sport shock has a lavender dot on it. The following is from Max at Five Star Ford:



And in a later email he says 'You have the "special suspension" package
Pn XW4Z-18125-BA'.

I think there is some confusion on this board as to what the "special suspension" is, and that's why I posted up the question.

oops, yeah i could have messed that up, it was a while ago and i stopped worrying once i put the euro shocks.

I called up a ford dealer to confirm the part numbers that Ken sent me when I was trying to get euro shocks since ford changed the part numbers on those. He said there was a standard suspension, performance suspension, and special suspension. I think the only difference between performance and special was the shocks. I had "sport" option package's shocks in the car originally (is that the special?). and then the "performance suspension" is actually the euro shocks option?

i had no issue with the front. the "performance" (euro) shock with brown sticker just came under a different part number.

rear first gen:
Yellow dot, standard, XW4Z-18125-AA
Lavender dot, special, XW4Z-18125-BA
White dot, performance, XW4Z-18125-CA r/b 5U2Z-18V125-VA

i believe i got the white dot part for the back, so performance is euro and firmest?

 

[skizot722]

oops, yeah i could have messed that up, it was a while ago and i stopped worrying once i put the euro shocks.

I called up a ford dealer to confirm the part numbers that Ken sent me when I was trying to get euro shocks since ford changed the part numbers on those. He said there was a standard suspension, performance suspension, and special suspension. I think the only difference between performance and special was the shocks. I had "sport" option package's shocks in the car originally (is that the special?). and then the "performance suspension" is actually the euro shocks option?

i had no issue with the front. the "performance" (euro) shock with brown sticker just came under a different part number.

rear first gen:
Yellow dot, standard, XW4Z-18125-AA
Lavender dot, special, XW4Z-18125-BA
White dot, performance, XW4Z-18125-CA r/b 5U2Z-18V125-VA

i believe i got the white dot part for the back, so performance is euro and firmest?

Yup, the Euro is the firmest. How do you like yours? I don't know if I could handle feeling every bump in the road. LOL It's kind of confusing because on here we use different terminology (Base, Sport, Euro) for the shocks than Ford uses (Standard, Special, and Performance). This would be the mapping (from softest to firmest) for the shocks:

Base <=> Standard
Sport <=> Special
Euro <=> Performance

 

[02LincLS]

I actually get compliments about the ride quality. It's firm, but not abusive one bit. A good pairing with the eibach's (and very stiff sidewalled g-force super sport tires). If your roads are reasonably smooth, and you like the handling improvement, then you won't have regrets. Rough roads may sway your choice though. On a 1-10 scale, 1 being pothole heaven and 10 perfectly smooth, the roads I drive on probably average a 7, +/-1-2. If your roads average a 5, I would stick with the sport/specials. I think most of the difference in feel however was just switching to a new shock, after driving around on shocks with 90K on them.