Bringing Lethal Performance’s new GT down to earth with Eibach’s springs
By Steve Turner
Photos by Steve Turner and courtesy of Lethal Performance
Since the dawn of the modern Mustang age, it seems that Ford just never sets the ride height low enough to suit the tastes of enthusiasts. That may change with the forthcoming Shelby GT350, but for now, even the Performance Pack-equipped 2015 Mustang GT rides a bit too far above the pavement for most of us.
As you can see in the before shots, Lethal’s 2015 Mustang GT, which is equipped with the Performance Pack, does sit a little high in the front.That’s better. After installing the Eibach Pro-Kit, the Lethal GT has the kind of stance you’d like to see from your high-performance Mustang.
Included in that group of enthusiasts is Jared Rosen of Lethal Performance. If you have followed Lethal’s series of project car builds over the years—and we have from the front row—you know the company is not shy about modding its rides to stratospheric performance levels. However, the only thing they want high is the performance, not the stance.
“We’ve been using the Eibach Pro-Kit springs on our last few builds and have been happy with the results we’ve gotten with them,†Jared said. “From the day I picked up our new GT I noticed how high the front end was. On an even surface the car looks like the front is raised quite a bit. The rear doesn’t look that bad but front of the car definitely needs some help.â€
“So that’s where Eibach comes in,†Jared added. “The Eibach Pro-kit springs provide a moderate drop that even the car out real nice and don’t lose that factory like driveability. There’s also no more raised front-end look like the car is doing a squat.â€
The Eibach Pro-Kit for the 2015 Mustang (PN EIB-35145.140; $296.10) is designed to lower the car by 1.1 inches in the front and 1 inch in the rear. Not only will it improve the car’s looks and sharpen its handling, but Eibach says it might even improve your mileage.
We were on hand at Power by the Hour to document several of the first steps in what promises to be an exciting build. There we watched Jake Long swap out the stock springs in favor of the Pro Kit lowering springs, and the swap was really a basic remove and replace operation that resulted in a much better look for the Lethal car.
“The Eibach Pro-kit springs ride nice and don’t compromise how the car felt from the factory,†Jared explained. “I’ve put other springs on my cars in the past and most of them end up giving the car a real bouncy ride. That’s not the case with the Eibach Pro-Kits which is why we’ll continue running and promoting their spring kits.â€
Power by the Hour’s Jake Long gets down to business by removing the Performance Pack wheels.Starting at the rear of the car, Jake removes the necessary fasteners from the lower aluminum H-arm, starting with the integral link.With the H-arm free of enough connections, Jake is able to rotate the stock springs out of their perches.You can reverse the process and spin the shorter Eibach spring into place until it is properly clocked in the perch. With the spring install, Jake reattached the shock and integral link, torquing them to the factory spec.After swapping out the rear springs, Jake moved to the front and removed the stock brake caliper and rotor. You don’t need to disconnect the brake hose, just unbolt the caliper and hang it safely out of the way.Jake then disengages the stock forged spindle from the strut. After removing the lower strut bolt nuts, he carefully taps out the splined bolts to free the bottom of the strut.Up top, Jake removes the bolts from the top of the strut. Then he could remove the complete strut assembly.You are going to need a spring compressor to swap out the stock springs in favor of the Eibach Pro-Kit springs (left).After removing the stock springs via the compressor, Jake then reassembles the strut with the Eibach spring in place.Jake then reversed the process, bolting the strut assembly back in at the top and bottomJake wrapped things up by reinstalling the brakes and bolting on the wheels. All in all, the Eibach Pro-Kit install is a straight-forward swap, so if you are mechanically inclined and you have access to a spring compressor, don’t hesitate to tackle the install.Since were are detailing a swap that makes the Lethal car look better, you might be wondering about the blacked out lights that accent the blue wrap on the Lethal car. That look is courtesy of Anchor Room’s 2015 Mustang Premium Front and Rear Vinyl Tint Kit (PN AR-15FRPLUS; $62.99). This complete kit features pre-cut tint for the headlights, foglights, side markers, taillights, rear marker lights, lower rear bumper lights, reverse light, and third brake light. Added to this premium kit are pieces for the mirror marker lights.
