Lowering the Ford GT

[Mike87]

Hi members,

Well, I'm a newbie here and I'm looking for 2 things for my FGT:
1: A good mechanic recommendation near the PV, Torrance, or Long Beach area
2: A good suspension guy that can lower my FGT

Any help in these areas would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Ed Sims]

I, and other members, have used Scott Ahlman for suspension, lowering, alignment, etc. That was what he did for Ford on the FGT program. He is on this forum so he may contact you after reading this or reach out to him.

Ed

PS Welcome aboard Mike87!

 

[nota4re]

Hi Mike,

We have a Ford GT only shop in Santa Clarita and we do maintenance, performance (engine and suspension), and repairs for Ford GT owners in the Western US. We have lowered dozens of GTs. Send me an email at kpond@sbcglobal.net and we can discuss what you may need.

 

[Vince H]

Cooltech is the best place for maintenance and Scott Ahlmans Shock package for improved suspension and ride height is everything you need.

Vince H

Congrats on the GT!

 

[Specracer]

+1, or plus what ever, on Scotts shock package:

http://ahlmanengineering.com/products#/ford-gt-shock-overview

 

[GTMikey]

Kendall and his son Ryan at Cooltech are an awesome local option for your FGT. He has a garage/barn/workplace outback of his house. He replaced a clutch, put in a transaxle cooler, and added the Accufab exhaust on my Heritage. You are lucky to live so close, look no further.

 

[MNJason]

+1 on Kendall / Ryan

 

[ChipBeck]

Yeah, for your location look no further than Cooltech. I live in Scottsdale, AZ and I have trailered my GT all the way to their shop on multiple occasions to have them work on my GT.

Chip

 

[Mike87]

Thank you all very much for the contacts and warm welcome!

 

[KJRGT]

Welcome Mike and congratulations on your new GT!

As you have heard, Kendall and Ryan are the only way to go here in SoCal.

I look forward to meeting you and your GT in the near future…I'm in Pacific Palisades.

Kevin

 

[FBA]

There are two ways to achieve what you want; one way is by using the lowering perches (Alix - T&A lowering kit) and costs about $500.00 plus a few hours of labour. The 2nd way is a new spring / shock kit (Scott Ahlman is as was said, the one to go with here) and cost is about 7-9k, depending on options. Both will achieve the identical look.

I went the inexpensive route, as the car is NOT being tracked and there is no need to change out parts to get the identical look, in only minutes. I lowered 1.25' in the front and 3/4" in the rear. The car sits as it should now, and does NOT have any issue with ride comfort or handling.

I am not sure how much of a difference you will feel with Scott's package...I'm sure there's something, but I have been more than satisfied with the T&A kit. And it can be adjusted on the car in seconds, but the owner as well, anytime, without taking anything apart. It's as easy to adjust as it is to fill the tank!

 

[Specracer]

It is a great thing that you are happy with the lowering kit. But it is NOT possible that there is no difference in ride and handling. If you are lowered 1.25" you are getting into the jounce bumpers (bump stops) in the OEM shock.

Again this is irrelevant if you are happy, but there is a difference vs. a factory ride height setting.

I lowered 1.25' in the front and 3/4" in the rear. The car sits as it should now, and does NOT have any issue with ride comfort or handling.

 

[Superfly]

Two comments:

1 - I had the T/A perches. Loved it. But they did bottom out when dropped 1.25. It was great at about .75 in the front. Now I've got the T/A Penskes. LOVE them. The Ohlins are newer, but the T/A Penskes are absolutely fantastic. The stiffer springs with the full adjustability of the shock is awesome.

2 - BIG thumbs up for Kendall at Cooltech. I'm all the way in Northern Canada, and I still fully concur with the value of the service that he provides.

 

[FBA]

It is a great thing that you are happy with the lowering kit. But it is NOT possible that there is no difference in ride and handling. If you are lowered 1.25" you are getting into the jounce bumpers (bump stops) in the OEM shock.

Again this is irrelevant if you are happy, but there is a difference vs. a factory ride height setting.

I never said "no difference in ride and handling"...I said "The car sits as it should now, and does NOT have any issue with ride comfort or handling." And I meant that. You can surmise that the car is getting into the jounce jumpers all you like, but I drive the car all the time...and it's clearly NOT bottoming out on the jounce bumpers. I know what that feels like. Given that the springs are now more compressed than the stock setup, it's also a fact that they have less travel as well. It still takes the same amount of force/ pressure to bottom out as it did before the lowering.

I'm not gonna get into a pissing contest with you and will not argue that the 9k setup has its advantages, clearly, it does, but I can assure that there's no harm being done to the shocks in my GT and it rides beautifully. Sometimes the simplest way is also the best way - it was for me.

 

[Superfly]

I had the TA Lowering perches, and LOVED them. They were great. I sold them to a friend, and he's loving them also. BUT, I can also say that when I got them, I spoke directly with Alex (who made them) and he said to me that the lowered car will get to the bump stop sooner.

See Alex's comment about half way through this old post: http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/s...–-T-amp-A-Shocks?p=97070&viewfull=1#post97070

I did do an airstrip top speed run on those lowering perches. I've since done another top speed run with the Penskes, and the car did feel more stable with the Penskes, then again, it was far less windy too. I also spoke to Kyle Millen about them when I got them (Millen motorsports racing) and he confirmed that the stock shocks do get to 'just' touch the bumpstops at 210 mph because of the incredible downforce the airscoops through the hood create, and that they'll get there sooner with the Lowering Perches. But he also says that the bumpstops are 'soft' enough to still allow a small amount of suspension compliance at that speed (210 mph on stock shocks not lowered). Given that his dad raced the GT in several Targa events around the world, I expect that they have some decent knowledge on how the thing works. However he also recommended that if you're planning on frequently running those speeds or more, the Penske or Motons would be a better alternative as they will not compress to the stops. I expect he'd now add the new Ohlins to that list.

So, you might not be hitting your bump stops, and that's great if you're not, but it seems that you should be, certainly if you tried a v-max run, maybe not otherwise. And anyway, who cares? Like I said, I loved them on my car and it sounds like you're loving them on yours too. Just some more info for you for what it's worth.

 

[RALPHIE]

It would be good if this thread was moved to the 05-06 Ford GT Tech Section - for future reference.

 

[Specracer]

No pissing contest here, but you are hitting the jounce bumpers, you might not be maxing them out and running out of shock travel, but at -1.25" you are there.

To add to this post, a while later.

I have had the enjoyment to have a few conversations with several team members about this very topic, and many pros and cons. Probably much to their dismay I keep some notes to myself, because I really enjoy the dialog. So here are some facts from the people that built and designed these cars that we love.

The car with 2 people at 175lbs each, has 40mm before hitting the beginning of the stop (1.57"). So using this, with occupants in the car, there is approx. 5/16" left before the beginning of the bump stop. Note the bump stop is not a bottom out, and a clunk. There is a non linear compression. Initially its about 3 times the spring rate, then rises to 5-10 times, before bottoming out to solid.

Also your spring rates are not changed, the lowering kits simply change the perch, and reducing available travel.

There is nothing wrong with the lowering perches. The give a great option to lower the car and the look desired for a modest price. My only point in participating in this thread, is to provide my experiences, and to now provide info on the trade offs on a lowering kit.

 

[fjpikul]

Thanks Andy. That was very clear and concise. I'm sure you saved us pages and pages of incomprehensible dribble from IndyGT.

 

[Ed Sims]

Makes sense to me Specracer.

Ed

 

[MAD IN NC]

I've 15k miles on the lowering adjusters from Alex... Dropped the nose 1+". And have just replace a leaky (spewed its guts with "clunks") front right shock.

Good to know why.... My spirted driving probably pushed the "soft bump". Don't get me wrong I love them. For me they meet my expectations and needs Thanks Alex


And here comes IndyGt....