Thouhts on my "new" 2004 MGM GS suspension/handling

[renshen1]

First off I love the car. It only has around 48K miles on it. I think I lucked out running across this whale. Very comfy ride for sure but I would like to firm it up. I'm not a crazy young kid but I do like to drive aggressively at times. I'm thinking that even though there are no particular signs of the shocks failing, coming up on 50K they are certainly a bit worn at this point.

What I would like to end up with is a firmer ride and decreased body roll.

I do have a budget and with winter just a few months down the road I will be putting money into dedicated snow tires. In the old days, I always just ran snows on the rear on my RWD cars but the tire guys are telling me that I need to go with snows on all four wheels. What do you guys think? Any recommendations for snow tires? I live in CT and winters are unpredictable. Also have a long driveway to deal with with about a 10 - 15 degree incline to get out. I might go with a studded tire.

But eventually I'd like to change out the shocks and add a rear sway bar (this car came through without a rear sway bar).

So I figure I'll go with new shocks first. I've always had good luck with KYB's on other cars and from what I see lurking around here, people seem to like the gas adjusts. But I'm also wondering if I should replace the springs along with the shocks. Then do the sway bar next spring.

Any thoughts, opinions and suggests will be appreciated! Oh and does anyone have a particular leather cleaner they can recommend? I tried some Meguiar's G7214 Gold Class Leather Cleaner and Conditioner but was not impressed.

TIA

[2000GMG]

Just installed KYB Gas Adjusts on my car and am very happy with the handling- stiff and solid but not harsh. Your springs should still be fine @ 48k...let someone else chime in though.
As far as snows it's strongly recommended that snows be installed on all 4 corners. Have been cars with rear end only snow tires loosing control. A number of warnings put out by State Police, etc in this regard.
"While it was a common practice to install just a pair of winter / snow tires on the rear axle of a rear-wheel drive vehicle decades ago, the advances in winter tire technology and traction that have occurred since have made that practice unacceptable leading Tire Rack to establish a policy of only selling winter / snow tires in sets of four.

We've previously experienced the reduction in dry and wet road handling when rear-wheel drive vehicles equipped with all-season tires on the front axle and winter / snow tires on the rear began to spin out (oversteer) at the vehicle's cornering limit. Now we wanted to explore the differences in braking and handling capabilities of rear-wheel drive vehicles on a snow-packed road."
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=110
Leather Cleaner. I used an expensive cleaner from a highly regarded detail shop and found it to be quite useless. For really dirty leather I use a ratio of 10 to 1 water to Woolite in a spray bottle and have never looked back. Afterwards spray lightly with water, wipe dry and treat with proper oil based leather care product. I was really amazed after using the Woolite mixture.

Edit: Car isn't here right now so can't check the brand but am very, very pleased with my snows BUT bought them used for $300 with steel rims- lady totaled her car and said they had maybe 500 miles on them- still had the "nibs" on them.

Double Edit: These are the tires I have. Lottsa snow up here and have never had a problem...in fact wifey knows I sit by the window waiting for a heavy snowfall
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....s&autoModClar=

[FordMan77]

For the seats you could try Lexol. I've used it on several sets of leather seats and it seems to do pretty well without the added cost. Should be able to find the cleaner and conditioner at OReilly's and other parts stores. You want to clean the seats and remove any contaminates before you condition them again or you will just end up rubbing the dirt/dust/sweat into the seats.

Woolite works great for the "suede" parts of the interior. Use a white towel and you would be surprised at how much dirt comes out of them.

[2000GMG]

I also use Lexol as the final application. As far as the Woolite mixture my car seats are white...possibly the worst choice ever. First time I cleaned the seats used a Water/ Woolite solution of 6 to 1 but now find 10 to 1 does the trick.
FordMan77 is right- try and use white rags as some dyes may migrate to the leather.

[sxcpotatoes]

2000GMG , those nubs on new tires are actually called TITS! That's the proper term.

Sent from my XT557 using Tapatalk 2

[2000GMG]

2000GMG , those nubs on new tires are actually called TITS! That's the proper term.

Sent from my XT557 using Tapatalk 2

Being a new member I was trying to tiptoe around and not offend anyone. Thanks for breaking the ice and next time wife asks about "nibs" on the tire I'll be honest and respond with the appropriate term.
P.S. Beautiful set of wheels

[2000GMG]

But eventually I'd like to change out the shocks and add a rear sway bar (this car came through without a rear sway bar).

When considering shocks and other suspension addons make sure the system is "balanced"...making sure you buy the right shocks for the springs you have. Also making sure with the rear sway bar you purchase is the right size/ thickness otherwise handling may be affected.

[renshen1]

When considering shocks and other suspension addons make sure the system is "balanced"...making sure you buy the right shocks for the springs you have. Also making sure with the rear sway bar you purchase is the right size/ thickness otherwise handling may be affected.

Good advice, thanks. Considering the car is bone stock as it is, do you think the springs should be changed if I go with the KYB gas-adjusts? I called ford customer service to try to find out how my car was equipped. They looked up the vin and told me that it had "up-sized front stabilizer bar and rear coil spring". There is no rear sway bar on it. If I did go with the KYB's what sway bars would you recommend?

[2000GMG]

Good advice, thanks. Considering the car is bone stock as it is, do you think the springs should be changed if I go with the KYB gas-adjusts? I called ford customer service to try to find out how my car was equipped. They looked up the vin and told me that it had "up-sized front stabilizer bar and rear coil spring". There is no rear sway bar on it. If I did go with the KYB's what sway bars would you recommend?

Your car has civilian suspension so civilian shocks would do. 17 mm sway bar would be fine. You'll also need 2 stabilizer Bar links (cheap about $7.00 each). With the Stab Bar links you'll have a choice of rubber bushings or poly bushings- poly bushing give a firmer ride BUT will feel a little harsh compared to the rubber. I'm installing new stabs soon and will use the rubber for a softer ride. The harder poly transfer more quickly whereas the rubber has give cuz it's soft. Gotta go away for the weekend. Hopefully someone will chime in. You may be able to find a deal at the Boneyards for the rear sway bar.

[HiFiMerc]

I'm still enjoying the new found handling of my '92 MGM. Installed a CVPI front sway bar (29.5mm) from a '96 and an HPP (21mm) rear sway bar, with KYB Gas-A-Just police spec shocks all around. I didn't touch the springs. It can actually kinda take corners now. I wouldn't go out and auto-cross it, but it is more fun to drive now.

[renshen1]

Your car has civilian suspension so civilian shocks would do. 17 mm sway bar would be fine. You'll also need 2 stabilizer Bar links (cheap about $7.00 each). With the Stab Bar links you'll have a choice of rubber bushings or poly bushings- poly bushing give a firmer ride BUT will feel a little harsh compared to the rubber. I'm installing new stabs soon and will use the rubber for a softer ride. The harder poly transfer more quickly whereas the rubber has give cuz it's soft. Gotta go away for the weekend. Hopefully someone will chime in. You may be able to find a deal at the Boneyards for the rear sway bar.

So are the gas adjusts considered "civilian shocks"? I'm not looking to turn this into a really harsh stock car sort of ride but would like to reduce or eliminate the boaty feeling. Actually, I was thinking of trying to find Crown Vic Police interceptor components. Would those fit from the same year and is the police interceptor that much more harsh riding?

[cld783]

am i the only one to think these cars are scary in the winter?

[2000GMG]

Up at cottage and poor connection. Kyb makes diff shocks.
GR2 will give a floaty ride with a loss in handling. Too "floaty" for my taste.
Regular Gas Adjust are firm yet not harsh but the ride is not smooth.
PI Gas Adjust are more firm. I installed PI Gas Adjust in the front and regular Gas Adjust in the rear. Realize though I have the PI/ HPP suspension.
Problem is we can't have the comfy ride without losing the handling aspect. After 700 miles and I can feel the shocks softening and VERY pleased with ride and handling. A rear sway bar would definitely improve your handling.

[PainFisted]

I put the kyb police shocks (kept the original springs) in all around with the addco sway bar in the rear. I did this at 70,000ish miles. The car still had the original shocks when I did this and they were shot. The ride height rose about an inch and the ride quality is amazing compared to before. Its a comfortable ride but on severely rough rodes they're very unforgiving. I'm about to hit 82,000 miles and they don't feel softened up at all. I also have Firestone affinity's (all season tires) on the rear and they were fantastic all winter. However I'm in Ohio and I don't think we had more than 6 inches at any given time.

[Piece-it pete]

I know they say snows on all four nowadays but I never have. Studs in the back good-tread tires on the front and your awesome skill as driver, shazam!

I'll add, poly sway bar bushings (which I haven't done yet doh), and I've found cargo coils (variable rate for young'uns) in the back help flatten panthers out a bit, though some say they sag fairly quickly. I wouldn't change the coilover shocks in the front without new springs but that's just me. I've heard that Moog front springs are very hard.

Pete