Hey, guys, Stephanie with americanmuscle.com, here with the review and the install of the
Ford Performance Adjustable Shock and Strut Kit for 2005 to 2014 GT and GT500 Mustangs.
The Ford Performance Adjustable shocks and struts can either be used with the stocks
springs or with a set of lowering springs, while most other options out there are better
suited to be used with lowering springs.
This means that they can be paired with the stock springs for those of you out there that
are looking to keep the stock ride height and ride quality, but that want a little bit
more performance handling.
Or they can be paired with lowering springs that have both ride height and handling performance
improvements.
Either way, a set of adjustable shocks and struts like this kit here, can really change
the way a car handles.
To be clear, of course, these shocks and struts will complement Ford's racing springs and
sway bars, but to be perfectly honest, any set of adjustable shocks and struts will always
compliment other supporting mods like springs and sway bars.
What's nice about these is that they'll still have an impact on handling performance without
the help of other supporting mods and it's really good news for those of you out there
that aren't looking to run lowering springs.
Ford does have some specific recommendations though if you're looking to get the most out
of this kit.
Your supporting mods will include a set of lowering springs, an anti-roll bar, and a
strut tower brace.
The exact items will change depending on if you're shopping for a GT or GT500, but the
exact product numbers are listed on the product page if you're interested.
These were designed to fit the 2005 to '10 GT and the '07 to '14 GT500.
They will also fit the 2011 to '14 GT Mustangs if they're used with Ford performance upper
strut mounts, which are sold separately.
These are adjustable components and what that means is that you can adjust the rebound and
dampening to make it stiffer or softer.
And these are all on-car adjustable, so you can do this without having to take things
apart.
Your adjustment points are gonna be right here at the top.
The cool thing about this is if you have a streetcar that you wanna take to the track,
or the strip, or autocross with, whatever it may be, you can have one setting for street
driving and another for performance driving.
When it comes to price, you can expect to pay a touch over the $800 mark for these shocks
and struts.
For a set of adjustable shocks and struts, this is pretty close to the competition.
The KONI Yellows are adjustable and are less expensive, and close in performance to this
kit here so they're always an option if you don't want to spend this much.
And the install here is going to be your normal shock and strut install which should take
about four hours to complete.
I'm gonna call this a two out of the three wrenches on the scale.
You will need a spring compressor, and a lift would help you out here as well, but the job
can be done on a jack and jack stands.
You need to get down to the spring and strut assembly, so everything like the wheels, the
brakes, and ABS lines need to be moved out of the way, so you can pull the assemblies
out of the car.
You have to unbolt the calipers, and slide them off the rotors, and tie them up, so they
aren't hanging on the brake line.
Then you can unbolt the strut at the knuckle.
Next, you can unbolt the strut at the strut tower.
You can then slide the strut out of the car.
Once you have the fronts out, you can remove the spring from the strut.
You wanna compress the new spring so you can install it onto the new strut, and bolt it
down into place.
Once the spring is on the strut, it's ready to be installed back into the car the same
way you uninstalled your stock ones.
Slide the strut into place, bolt it down at the strut tower, and then at the knuckle.
After that, your calipers can be reinstalled.
Once you're done with the fronts, you'll start the rears off the same way, by removing the
wheel and dropping the brake system out of the way to access the factory shocks.
You may need to drop the rear sway bar out of the way because it may interfere with your
access to the lower shock bolt.
Once you remove the rear sway bar, you'll have access, and you can unbolt the rear shock.
The top bolt you'll tackle next which can be found by moving the trunk liner out the
way on the bottom and the sides.
You'll also support the differential housing during the next process.
Then lower the jack just enough to remove the rear springs.
At this point, you can reinstall the new shocks and your springs in the reverse order using
the same torque spec, and you're good to go.
Just remember that you will need a full alignment after the install to realign your car, and
get everything back in spec.
Wrapping things up here with the Ford Performance Adjustable Shock and Strut Kit.
This kit fits 2005 to 2014 GT and GT500s, and you can check it out more online right
here at americanmuscle.com.