Lowering a Mk2 Ford Escort

Click me.

Thanks for the link i hadn't seen that post before. To be honest i am surprised by the similarity as well rmad.
The thread has the stuff about lowering i was interested in, but does anyone have exhaust systems they recommend?

Yip wont go wrong with a lloydy system sounds awsome had one on my pinto also recently put one on my mk2 xe I'm building but be prepared they nearly always need a bit off twisting and banging to get them to fit

Another shout for peter lloyd for the exhaust. 2 inch twin box is more than loud enough for me. don't underestimate how much the sound will resonate through your boot and into the car. If your car is stripped out too you will need ear defenders. ;D

What do you mean by a PROPER lowering block set?

I don't doubt what Penrhynrallycentre says, going low on MacPherson struts will cause geometry issues, but it kind of depends what you want the car for. If you're not competing in anything, and just want to trundle about in style it frankly wont matter, it won't be to the extent of destroying tyres or anything and should still handle predictably (it may get a touch tail happy, but predictably so), the issues simply that it might not have as much grip as it could if you stayed a little higher, which to a lot of car owners really doesn't matter much. If it's a rally car or you want it to be as quick as possible on the road then he's talking a lot of sense, stay high, if you want it as a circuit car that'll be set up quite stiff then low could work out better than high, but it'd depend a lot on your set-up.

On the back I'd be cautious of lowering blocks alone with anything over 2" as you're putting a lot of leverage on the springs with them as the only location for the back axle, which can lead to some sketchy handling, 2" and decambered springs would probably be the best bet for sensible money, but if it's never going to be driven hard 3" could be ok I guess, I probably wouldn't do it on my own car though, regardless of use.

On a 1.3 I wouldn't go for a 2 1/2" exhaust unless you're planning to go to a tuned 2l (or larger) soon. It's a lot bigger than the engine needs or wants, around 1 3/4" should be the maximum you need for a 1.3l really. 2 1/2" is more suited to the ~150+bhp region depending on the engine, it'll happily support 300+bhp on some engines so is a little overkill on an otherwise standard 1.3l engine!

Personally I wouldnt drop it anymore than 2 inch BUT if you are decambering then drop 1 inch that will combat the decamber Personally I would just go single leaf with a 2 inch drop.Top tip don't go to large on the exhaust dia more dia more NOISE less power

Dave