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Lowering


MrsMisty
11-15-2005, 01:35 PM
I am just wondering if there is a company out there that makes a lowering kit for the 1998 LSC. I've noticed that most of these cars look like 4X4's and it drives me crazy. What can I do to get a lower, more sleek look with the suspension? Also, what aftermarket options are out there for this car? My hubby thinks I should leave it alone but I just can't. Anything cool or different without going foofy on the body? I hate that.
Any help you guys can offer would be great.
THX,
Misty El Mirage, Az.

BlackiceLSC
11-15-2005, 10:17 PM
good news. The Lincoln Mark VIII comes equipped with adjustable ride height sensors. These are attached to solid points on the vehicle's chassis, and are what are used by the air ride computer to moniter changes in the vehicle's height, due to load, road conditions, parking, etc.

These ride height sensors are adjustable, so the ride height can be fine tuned.

There is a way to move their mounting point to "lie" to the air ride computer, thus lowering the car's stance both when driving around town, or when on the freeway/parked.

There are 2 sensors in the front, one for each side, and 1 in the rear, which controls both sides.

by compressing the front sensor, the computer thinks the car is too high, thus venting more air to lower the car's cruise, and freeway heights. By expanding the rear ride height sensor, the computer thinks the back is too high, and lowers it as well.

you can drop your car's built-in height settings by as much as 2.5 inches by using this method. To lower it even more(which would cause the car to look "slammed" like a low-rider) you can actually re-locate the ride height mount's bracket to a new position by drilling holes and relocating the bracket itself.

if this sounds like something you might like to do, be warned, due to the air spring's design, you could cause/develope leaks in the air ride system by lowering it.

There is alot to learn about this system. If you really want to set it lower(most of us do, or have), let me know, and I'll give you detailed instructions on how to perform the legendary "sensor lowering".

MrsMisty
11-17-2005, 02:09 PM
There are 4 there, right? one at each wheel or am Ithinking of something else? Just wondering so I can think about getting started on this. maybe get it done over christmas break. lol... Thanks for all the help.
One more question. I saw a pic of a guy with the 03 Mustang Cobra wheels on his LSC. Is that a straight cross over or is there something I have to do? I have access to all the mustang wheels I can handle and most of them look really good and I was thinking about making a change but dunno if there is something else I need to do.
Thanks again,
Misty

BlackiceLSC
11-18-2005, 10:03 AM
One more question. I saw a pic of a guy with the 03 Mustang Cobra wheels on his LSC. Is that a straight cross over or is there something I have to do?


That is NOT a direct application. He most likely performed the Cobra/Mustang hub swap to increase the availability/options of wheels he can use.

the Mark VIII(and T-Bird) came with 5x4.25 bolt pattern. It also camse with a +39mm offset. Not many wheels on today's market will fit that bolt pattern.

The Mustang pattern is 5x4.5 which opens the door to thousands of possibilities for wheels.

as for the sensor lowering, there are only 3 height sensors on a Mark VIII-two up front, one for each corner, and one in the rear. The rear one is located near the left side upper control arm, near the air spring itself, and it controlls both sides.

easiest way to sensor lower the car quickly, is to loosen the 11mm nut on the bottom stud for the front sensor. slide it up, compressing the sensor. slide it all the way up. then snug the nut. dont over tighten it, as they are pot-metal, and brittle. just finger tight, and then a tad more.

do the other side.

for the rear, loosen the two 12mm bolts that hold the TOP bracket of the sensor mount, to the frame. slide the L shaped bracket UP, extending the sensor(works the opposite of the fronts). tighten those two bolts up all the way(they can be tightened pretty snug).

now cycle the air ride(door open, key on, wait for compressor to start) key off, open/close driver's door, and listen for Vent to begin. watch the car drop lower than before. You may want to fine-tune the rear a bit. it only needs to slide up/down in the equal amount you want to lower/raise the car. 1/2" on the bracket will = 1/2 inch of change in height. I usually raise the rear brakcet about 1.5"

good luck.

paul_meets_mark
12-16-2005, 09:22 AM
[QUOTE=BlackiceLSC]That is NOT a direct application. He most likely performed the Cobra/Mustang hub swap to increase the availability/options of wheels he can use.

the Mark VIII(and T-Bird) came with 5x4.25 bolt pattern. It also camse with a +39mm offset. Not many wheels on today's market will fit that bolt pattern.

The Mustang pattern is 5x4.5 which opens the door to thousands of possibilities for wheels.




IMO...I would say that he doesnt actually have the cobra wheels from the factory, well not the ford factory at least. My guess would be that you saw aftermarket cobra wheels, which look the same. Thats just me guessing, I'd have to see it to know for sure. I have a buddy with aftermarket cobra rims on his 97' LSC and they look awesome. I wanted them but I didnt want to copy, but I would definately go for them. In the JEGS magazine they have those rims you want and relatively cheap, they are 220 buck each for chrome, silver/machined are 147 bucks each.
They are made by Detroit Wheels when you look for em.
they are also 17x9s.
I would go for that, they do look great with the car a couple inches lower. Good Luck
Paul_meets_Mark

BlackiceLSC
12-26-2005, 03:56 PM
IMO...I would say that he doesnt actually have the cobra wheels from the factory, well not the ford factory at least. My guess would be that you saw aftermarket cobra wheels, which look the same. Thats just me guessing, I'd have to see it to know for sure. I have a buddy with aftermarket cobra rims on his 97' LSC and they look awesome. I wanted them but I didnt want to copy, but I would definately go for them. In the JEGS magazine they have those rims you want and relatively cheap, they are 220 buck each for chrome, silver/machined are 147 bucks each.
They are made by Detroit Wheels when you look for em.
they are also 17x9s.
I would go for that, they do look great with the car a couple inches lower. Good Luck
Paul_meets_Mark


The wheels he speaks of are infact a true Ford wheel "replica". You could buy them from Ford to fit the T-Bird/Mark VIII/Cougar platform. They were a SVT wheel, specific to the cobra, but also came from Ford in various bolt patterns/off-sets.

There are numerous aftermarket companies out there making this wheel, but it has the wrong center bore, which means hubcentric rings are required, since the Mark VIII uses the lug nuts to center the wheel, not the hub.

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