Suspension and Alignment Questions!

[broggi007]

Hello All,
I love this forum and it's time for me to take my LS to another level and hopefully y'all can help! I'll try and make this as short and sweet as possible because I know people can get bored reading long and exhausting posts. I have a 2000 LSV8 w/ Sport Package and everything is completely stock. I have been considering putting 18" wheels and lowering the car with eibachs. My questions/wanted advice is as follows:

a.) I believe it need an alignment after putting larger wheels and for lowering a car. How much, on average, does an alignment cost? Should I seriously consider doing both modifications at the same time so I can align it all at once?

b.) As mentioned I have a 2000 LS and as far as I know it has the same shocks from 2000. (If memory serves me right, I believe I read somewhere on here that the LS only has coil-over shocks and no struts.) Is it ok to lower the car on my 7 year old shocks because I know that lowering a car puts excess stress on the suspension of a car and I don't want to end up screwing myself. Anyone lower a car on older shocks?

c.) Since I plan on getting 18 inch rims, an offset of 40+ would be a fit without any modification right? I know the stock offset for the 17" stock rims is 60mm and I just don't want to go through any hassles.

Thanks for reading my post and hopefully I didn't bore anyone!

Broggi007

 

[SoonerLS]

a) Going to 18" wheels should not require an alignment (unless they're really crappy wheels), but the lowering springs will. If you go far from the stock tire circumference, you'll probably want to get the speedo recalibrated, but it shouldn't affect the alignment.

b) Yes, it has coil-over shocks, not struts, although the Ford parts catalog incorrectly calls one set struts. You can keep the worn shocks; they're involved in ride quality and controllability, but they're not really important as far as suspension stress goes (struts are structural; shocks are not). You will probably want to replace the worn shocks, but they're not critical for this project.

 

[broggi007]

Hey Sooner... Thanks for the reply! Well i was planning on getting 18" wheels with an offset of around 40mm because I see this tends to be the correct decision. With 245/45/18 tires it appears to be within a good range so Thank you for the insight.

On to the suspension... Thanks again! The shocks aren't that bad but since the LS doesn't have struts then what is the structural part and will I have to replace something by lowering the car? Thanks again Sooner!

 

[NateRW21]

Check it out... Anytime you get new tires, it's a good idea to get an alignment for the simple reason that you don't want your brand new tires to ware uneven. Obvious exception for this is if you just recently had one done.

Lower with eibach's... you're replacing the springs, that's it. Nothing else. Nothing else is required to replace. You do have to get the alignment after it's done. I usually pay no more than $100 for a front/rear alignment; my shop charges depending on how much work they have to do.

Shocks... Depends on miles; if you've got 70k + miles on it... might be a good idea to replace them. Although not complex, it is a pain to remove the shock/spring assembly, tear it down, put it together and reinstall. At 70k +, it pays to just do it while you can.

As for your choice in wheel size, you're headed in the right direction

 

[broggi007]

Hey Nate... Thanks for the advice! I have 95k miles on my LS and my shocks don't seem to be acting up so you'd say its safe to have the car lowered and then get the shocks when I can? I just don't want to end up screwing myself! lol... also is there a difference between a front and rear alignment and do I need both or do they come together in a package? I have no clue when it comes to alignments... Thanks again Nate!

 

[NateRW21]

Hey Nate... Thanks for the advice! I have 95k miles on my LS and my shocks don't seem to be acting up so you'd say its safe to have the car lowered and then get the shocks when I can? I just don't want to end up screwing myself! lol... also is there a difference between a front and rear alignment and do I need both or do they come together in a package? I have no clue when it comes to alignments... Thanks again Nate!

Depends on the model of car what is adjustable for an alignment; on the LS, front and rear are adjustable. So you need both done.

Shocks... you might THINK they are fine... and they might not be in horrible condition. BUT, with 95k miles... they are far from factory spec. Let me stress this; it is a 4-8 hour job to install the springs, depending on your skills. OR, I'd venture to guess around $200-$400 in LABOR (depending on how bad they rape you). You will REQUIRE (not a maybe...) shocks within the next 40k miles at a best; shocks are a wear-out part, just like tires, spark plugs and the like. It would be in your best interest to wait to install the springs until you can install shocks as well.

But either way, you don't HAVE to replace them when you do your springs. It's just a good idea.

And on second thought, I'm not sure how mechanically informed about the LS you are. I'll explain this... What the LS has is called a coil over shock. Basically you have two suspension arms fixed to the uni-body on one side, and a spindle on the other side. Attached to the bottom suspension arm is a shock, this attaches at the top, to the uni-body. Mounted on this shock is your suspension spring. This is the part you swap out for the eibach lowering springs. So, to change out your springs, you must remove the shock, compress the spring with a special tool, take off the hardware, take the new spring, compress that one, install it with the hardware on the shock, uncompressed the spring, and reinstall in the vehicle. That's pretty simplified, but that should give you a picture of what you're looking at. If you've never done anything like this before, it will take you at-least 5-6 hours. My point here is, in reality, with 95k miles... your factory shocks are due to be replaced; they might still be doing their job to an extent, but their performance is without a doubt diminished. Since you have to remove them anyway, save yourself the time (or the money) and replace them when you do the springs.


That is... unless you like throwing away money, or burning time doing something you already did once. But long story short... no, they are not a "requirement" to replace

 

[lseguy]

I have 18 inch rims and the Eibachs. Had the Eibachs put on at around 70k. At that mileage, I wanted new factory Sport package shocks all around. Had it all done at the same time at the Ford dealer. they installed the springs/shocks and did the alignment for me. I rotate tires every 5k miles and have no odd wear issues at all.

 

[broggi007]

Nate... Thanks for all the info. I greatly appreciate all your help! I will have the shocks replaced when I do the install. Thanks again!

Broggi007