interesting-finaly nice to see the basics starting to be done!
am ordering my st on saturday, and although i've got along wait, my brain has allready started thinking about ways to improve the st.
I have seen the k&n and piperx kit that pumabuild are making and selling. I take it thats what u have localforddealer? i see its just a cone with a 90 deg bend samco pipe. where does the pipe attach-directly to the throttle body or to the pipe to the airbox? if it fits where the airbox is, that would be crap as the exhuast manifold is directly below causing heavy heat soak and a large loss of power. looking breifly at the engine in the pictures, i think im going to make my own kit so that i can position it at the front of the bumber, lower down using a hard chrome pipes, well away from heat.

As regards to lowering, go for it, if theres any springs available yet- i doubt it but will be soon. What i will say is anything goes wrong with the suspension, the warranty may not cover it unless your friendly with your ford dealer who will probably turned a blind eye!