UCA/Arning/Shelby drop questions

thanks again. here is what i have done so far tonight with all the info you all gave me

this the Passenger side as i haven't started the driver yet.



PS tell if i messed up

 

So does this really lower the car or jus change the suspension geometry for better handling?

 

The one inch drop will lower the front by approx. half an inch. It makes a noticeable difference in handling. I've always done this with the 1/8th inch offset.

 

from the research that i have done about the drop it will lower the car by 1/2" and it removes the Positive Camber from the suspension as it starts to compress for better handling. i found a vid on Youtube that should help explain it for you better then just sayin what i said. @3:30 the explanation starts.

 

Will this mod improve straight line stability as well?

 

That's the job of a positive castor angle. Due to the geometry of positive caster it also will increase negative camber gain when turning. The camber mod the OP is doing right now will help the car remain slightly more stable over bumpy and irregular pavement though.

You'll also want to move further away from the factory alignment spec's to maximize the work you've done here as well. Push castor as far as you can, but you'll probably be lucky to get much past 1° without implementing the additional mod's mentioned above. Trying to do it all with just the strut rod adjustments can cause additional friction, wear and binding. Negative camber settings should be in the neighborhood of around 1/2 - 1°. And toe should be in the neighborhood of about an 1/8" - 3/16" at most.

As for the amount of drop for the 1" arm drop?.. I've seen around 1/4" - 3/8" at most. Have to get much more aggressive with the 1 3/4" - 2" drops(which also requires an a-arm mod and/or negative wedge kit to keep the ball joint from binding) before there is a major difference in ride height which can easily be distinguished. Even then.. I have only seen about 3/4" at most. The more castor angle mod's being implemented and the heavier the front end, the bigger the drop usually is.

 

One word of caution. The driver side tower has a notch for the steering gear. You may not have an issue since you are only dropping 1 inch but the clearance was very tight on the rear bushing for me (I dropped 2"). I had to massage it with a hammer and I still couldn't fit the grease fitting in the bushing. The Moog replacement shaft kit should eliminate all of those problems should you experience them

 

With the adjustment on the strut rods I could get only about 1 degree positive caster. How much more caster will I get just with the 1/8 inch rotation?