I'm looking to continue on the suspension upgrade on my 05 GT. I already have the Eibach Pro-kit springs & Tokico D-Spec shocks.

The next step is beefier sway bars. There are so many brands out there: BMR, FRPP, Eibach, Steeda, etc. Is there really a difference between them ? If so, what are the good and bad ones ?

The main reason I want to upgrade the sway bars is for better handling on road courses as I do 2-3 HPDE schools per summer by reducing body roll.

Thanks in advance

 

I'm looking at he Hotchkis Kit:

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetails.php?PartID=253&CategoryID=0&ModelID=5

Seems to offer a good range of adjustability. I use my Mustang mainly for open track days and being able to dial things in appeals to me. I did the Eibach Prokit and Tokico’s last year and am looking to be able to dial out the understeer without getting too unpredictable.

 

I have the BMR swaybars along with bmr UCA and LCA, adj panhard , tokiko and bmr springs .
I normally use the front swaybar on the softer setting and the tokiko on 5-front and 5,5 rear ;
when I go road racing in weekends , I change to the harder mount on the front swaybar and set the tokiko 2 front and 3 rear - fantastic !

My lap times have gone down with this setup , but you have to get used to it : with a hard setup the limit is farther , but when you reach it , you should be **** quick to recover

Steel

 

I have a sale on some sway bars and other suspension parts going on as we speak. Shoot me over a PM or give me a call if you'd like.

CR
Tillman Speed
www.TillmanSpeed.com
610-497-5776

 

Wow !

That Hotchkis Kit looks really good. I like the fact that you can adjust both the front and the rear to dial in the right setting for the street and the track.

It seems to be the only kit with adjustability for front & rear. Any other

 

Thanks CR but I'm only looking to buy around May timeframe. Do you sell the Hotchkis Kit ?

 

Yes we do!

CR
Tillman Speed
610-497-5776

 

Tillman's prices are very reasonable even when they are not having a sale. give them a shout when you are ready. i think the hotchkis kit may be in my future as well

 

Hi MontrealStang,

The rear bar is hollow too so it's lighter than a solid bar. I don't recall seeing any other adjustable rear bars, but I haven’t been looking too long. I’m about a month away from making a decision.

I noticed you’ve changed your seat. I’m looking to change the driver’s seat too. I’m tired of bruises the outside of my knees trying to stay behind the wheel on track days. How did you handle the air bag & sensor with the new seat? Are you using the stock belts? I didn’t think you could with shell seats. I’m looking at the Recaro Speed and Sparko Torino 2 right now.

 

Thanks Joe!

 

Don't forget about the GMS bars...

 

I have the FRPP front/rear set (same as the Eibach, Roush and probably others, since Eibach makes them). No complaints at all and with the front in the middle setting, the car is pretty much dead neutral with maybe a hint of understeer at the limit in throttle neutral conditions. I got a good deal on them last year and only paid ~$350 for the full kit, including bushings and the billet endlinks.

But...dayum, dayum, dayum that Hotchkis kit is nice. More adjustability and it also looks like it has stout endlinks (some of the other kits use a flat plate of steel--pretty cheesy). I were to buy a kit today, that would probably be it.

 

I have the Sparco Evo 2 that I have been using in my last 3 Stangs. In my '97 & '00 GT, I used an OEM manual seat base (from the driver side) that I customized some brackets to align the holes. On my '05 GT, I bought a Corbeau seat base specifically for the 05 Stang and it fit almost perfectly; I just had to enlarge the rear hole for alignment. At that time, there wasn't a Sparco base for the 05 Stang.

For the street, I used my stock belts that I passed through the left hole:



For the track, I use a 4 point harness that I used the 2 rear seat bolts as anchors and the child seat bracket for the shoulder belts. This is only to keep me in my seat as I also use my OEM seat belt on top of it.

As for the airbag, you need to remove the OEM harness from seat and reconnect it; I taped it under the seat so it doesn't lay on the carpet.

Look at these posts for the details (it also mentions how to do the passenger seat with the cushion sensor in the seat):

http://www.modularfords.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=97067
http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showt...?t=2238&page=1

Good Luck !

 

CR,

I'll give you a buzz when I'm ready to purchase the Hotchkis kit

Thanks

 

Thanks Martin! Great info. I'm only doing the driver's seat for now. My son (co-pilot) will have to suffer with the stock seat.

Great vids BTW. My "club" went to Calabogie last year and everyone raved about it. It's a long drive from the Detroit area so I didn't go. After seeing your video, I may have to try to get up there this year.

 

is there any reason why some companies dont make an adjustable rear, like steeda, eibach, h&r?

 

I will probably be at Calabogie the weekend of the 29-30 of June. Let me know if you want details on the HPDE ...

 

Does anybody have a pic of the adjustment installation on the rear axle?

 

does the Hotchkis setup have instructions for how to properly set them for street/track. Are they over kill for a guy who just wants to enjoy on and off ramps? If they are, what is the intelligent choice?

 

Hey there,

Might want to consider the Stillen Sway Bars also - http://www.stillen.com/product.asp?i...&model=MUSTANG