[Morph]

I had an Eibach Pro Kit put on my car 2 weeks ago and I have my doubts about the installation. First of all, is the back end supposed to be lower than the front end? There is more clearance in the front wheel well, between the body and the tire, than there is in the rear. It just doesn't look right, I thought if anything the front would be a little lower. Even the application guide said that the front would be dropped 1.2" and the rear 1". I've been told its impossible to install them backwards. Is anyone else's kit like this or am I just nuts?
Second problem, everytime I go over even a small bump, something in the front wheel wells is making noise that it didnt make before. I took it to Mercury and they said everything is tight, but that noise just bothers me. These springs have turned out to be more of a pain in the ass than an asset. Can anyone who knows anything about the Eibachs offer any advice? The installer won't take any responsibility and Mercury thinks I've gone mad.

 

[mransr]

I can't speak to the noise problem but with the eibachs you'll have a larger gap over the front than the rear wheel...at least that has been the case on all the ones I've seen...you need to lower the front about 3/4" more than the rear to even out the gap..

 

[markc]

What type of noise? Metallic? I installed my eibach/koni combo and haven't had any problems with any noise. It's pretty hard if not impossible to switch the front and rear springs. The top spring seats are different and I don't believe they would fit correctly. I still have a slightly larger gap in the front/top than the back even with 18s. The front gap is symmetrical around the tire though so it looks right even though the gap is bigger than the back. I am not sure what it should look like with 16s. Perhaps the springs are not resting in the spring seats fully when the springs were uncompressed in the struts. I also wonder if they trimmed the bump stops or not on the fronts (not needed on rears). Maybe the noise you are hearing is the struts compressing and hitting the stops because they are too long. Just a guess.

 

[Frank]

On a stock Cougar (most cars actually), there is more fender gap in front than in back. Therefore, if you drop the front and back equally, there will still be more gap in front.

I don't know what the noise might be though.

 

[Morph]

The noise is kinda metallic like a soft clang, if that makes any sense. Is there anything I can do to fix it? And no, they did not trim the bumber stops. I assumed that might have been part of the problem with the height but the guy said it would just make the ride noisier. I am going to find a decent performance shop this week and have them look at the car. Thanx for all the feedback so far, its very helpful.

 

[Guest]

hey meephie, the reason why you have more clearance in the front is the front wheels need it to turn, and all springs will be the same. as for the noise my suspension has allways make noises since i got the car. a creaking pop sound when i go wot and turn the wheel. a creak when i go over bumps. ive had it checked out, nothing wrong. by the way your car will get lower as the springs break in.

 

[Guest]

Before buying my Cougar I had a Saturn that I put Intrax springs on. Everytime I went over a bump or something that would suddenly jar the suspension I heard a noise. More like a tapping noise. I found out that the bottom 3 coils barely had a gap between them and everytime the suspension compressed suddenly, the coils would slap together making the noise. I took an old vacuum hose or something, can't remember exactly, and cut it into about 2-3" pieces then sliced them down one side and put them on the coils. Fixed the problem.

 

[thundercat]

I have had Progress springs on my car for a few weeks now and I don't have any new sounds. No creaks or metallic noises actually...and all springs are a little different. Mine dropped the car 1.8" up front and 1.2" in the back. Looks SOO much better! Gap is almost the same on the front and back actually on mine and I've had no problems turning and trust me I've pushed it already. Just ask Rob!

 

[PuckPuck]

the clang you are hearing is the bump stop... essentially you lower your car so every bump you hit the bump stop is gonna hit too now.... if you cut it down you won't hear hit except on larger bumps... but that's normal.

I would go back to the original shop and FORCE them to fix it. Eibachs instructions state that you should cut the bump stop, if they didn't do this then it's their fault and they should fix it.

 

[FastCougar]

I don't think so ... I didn't trim my stops, or ElCid98's, and neither of us have problems. At least I don't ... Merv, you hear any noise?

 

[markc]

You got Koni's don't you Trevor? You may not hit your bump stops then since they are stiffer. I believe Meephie has the stock struts. He may be hitting them if they weren't trimmed. The Eibach instructions do say to trim down the fronts for our cars.

 

[Y2Kat]

*** Thundercat**** Did the Progress springs screw up your camber lowering the car that much? I REALLY need to do something to stiffen up my handling. I was playing around today and TROMPED it going down a on ramp today. ran up to around 110 fine, but it was WINDY today (25-30 mph gusts) and the nose got a little "mushy". I'm going to get the OMP and was looking into Eibachs, but would like to go a little lower

 

[Morph]

Wow, thats a lot of possibilities. My struts are stock. I don't want to take it back to the guy that installed them because I know he doesn't know what he's doing.

 

[thundercat]

Y2KAT - the camber change was minimal. I was a bit worried too, but there's not even a visible difference in the camber. It didn't even require an alignment after install!! I was REALLY surprised about that. I guess the real test in camber will be to see how my new tires wear, but I don't foresee any uneven wear since the tread is hitting pavement pretty even throughout. The car handles SOO much better now and I still have stock struts. Upgraded tires though... let me know if you need any other info. or pics...

 

[Guest]

hey thundercat, you do need and alignment the camber will be fine because its none adjustable but my toe in on my back wheels was all screwed up after the spring install. you may want to have it looked at.

 

[mransr]

I've had the progress springs on for almost a year now and while they don't look like the camber is off (not like a cut spring Hon-duh anyway) the inner edges of the tire wear MUCH faster than the outer edges.....it's a shame they make the car look so damn good

...and with The ST200 struts the handling and ride is AWESOME.....

 

[thundercat]

eric... my alignment is right on man. I don't know who told you it's a must. I can even let go of the wheel and it still drives straight as an arrow.

 

[Y2Kat]

MRANSR- That sounds like a camber problem. Does anyone know if a camber kit has come out for the Cougar yet?