What if? Lowered ZS

[p_b82]

Now I may need a lesson in the dark arts of suspension setup; how changing the spring rates will impact the raising/lowering of said setup....

But my car has been lowered with coilovers - it was done by some-one that knew what they were doing rather than "slammed" and uses OEM bushes. It was lowered as much as it could be while still being primarily a road car (the person's judgement was used to find that position front/back & I've not altered it since) - I do get a little wheel arch liner rub on specifically weighted/loaded right turns on the nearside front. Or if there is a bump in the road that causes high compression.

I've been driving since 99 and on the road I've never had to perform a "moose test" type manoeuvre in any of my cars; So it is hard for me to make a comparative type statement on whether the ZS is more/less stable now than it was with these modifications.

What I can say is:
The ZS still feels the most stable car I've driven, and I have the highest confidence with the predictability of the handling and behaviour over any of the cars I've owned; probably more so after the suspension was adjusted.

That said, after the "brembodge" setup was fitted, stability on the rear end under braking was diminished with more extreme loads - nothing too serious, but I am aware it is less forgiving than it was, so have to act accordingly.

The little Mk7 fester I had came very close in terms of predictability and confidence; but with a much softer setup different limits were hit grip wise that ultimately altered how much the suspension was pushed on the road.
I would never attempt as sudden a change of direction in the mustang as I would the ZS at road going speeds & there are corners I go into significantly slower as the car just does not feel settled; off camber downhill bends being the most obvious.

In regards to the swerving aspect itself, I was taught not to swerve unless you can have a reasonably high confidence level you will not lose control and/or the environment is safe to perform said manoeuvre.
Otherwise break as hard as you are able to mitigate the damage as much as possible (braking in a straight line being more effective than at angles etc).

I think a lot of it boils down to awareness/education of the driver of the consequences and circumstances surrounding the car & those that "don't care" won't care regardless of whether the suspension is adjusted. I say adjusted as lifting it would have as large an impact as lowered if gone to the extreme
And I also think that the latter statement is very important.

So to answer the question.

Yes I have lowered the ZS & I'm happy with the change and any associated alterations to the behaviour on extreme directional changes.