2005-2009 Mustang Shelby GT500 KR Suspension Package @ only $209.00



LINK HERE > a screaming deal !!

 

Sounds like a wicked deal!

 

that is a great price. who makes them?

 

Since these are designed for the heavier GT500, wouldn't these cause poor handling on the much lighter GT or V6 models?

JR

 

 

how much is "much"?

just askin'

 

I would think they would have different valving to support the additional weight of the 5.4L (cast iron block, supercharger), and the probable firmer front springs.

 

That'd be my guess, springs and dampners need to be matched up like any other system on a car - Perhaps Sam will chime in here??

 

Well, according to Wikipedia, the GT500 weighs more than 3,900 pounds, while the GT coupe weighs less than 3,500 pounds. That's a significant difference, and since the majority of the GT500's weight is up front, due to the iron block, the front strut valving, as well as the springs, are going to be significantly stiffer (which isn't a bad thing) but will also be tuned to be longer for a given load. Reducing the load on those springs by several hundred pounds is going to make the car ride higher, and ultimately, will cause more leaning in turns.

JR

 

Exactly. You can't just take anything off anything and put them on a car, the suspension needs to be tuned for that car. Just because the GT500s sway bar combo is bigger than the GT, doesn't mean that it'll work better for the GT. Those sway bars have a calibrated stiffness that's been determined by Ford to work the best for THAT car.

Now, there might be overlap, and they MAY increase performance, but at the same time, they might induce snap oversteer (if the front bar is too large) or significant understeer (if the rear bar is too large). The bars need to be calibrated to each other, and in the aftermarket, that's where product testing by independent companies, as well as the community, at large, comes in handy.

JR

 

Uh, what's all this about springs and bars and such?

These are just the shocks....

 

Understood, but each component is related to the other. If your shocks/struts are too stiff, they won't allow proper damping by springs, and will cause the car to ride too high.

JR

 

Ride height difference due to shock/strut stiffness is minimal. They tend to change roll rates, brake dive/acceleration squat rates, and change the ride quality.

I understand you're saying they should all be matched, but these are pretty cheap units, and I doubt for people looking to spend $200 for the set they'd be any worse than the stock POS units they put on regular GTs.

In fact, if you search TireRack (I'm not saying they're the definitive authority, but easy to compare stuff there), the part numbers for the GT and GT500 2009 Eibach and Bilstein shocks are all the same:

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/s...oModClar=Coupe

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/s...oModClar=Coupe

Bilsteins:
http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/s...oModClar=Coupe

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/s...oModClar=Coupe

Now I agree that the springs are different for this amount of weight change (400-500lbs) and the distribution onto the front axle, but what you're saying is the car's dampers should be different if you have yourself alone compared to a few extra passengers onboard (easily 400lbs for my porker friends). That just ain't so.

 

So what springs would be a good match for these on a GT?

 

I think the KR rides on some lowering springs, probably the standard Eibach Pro-Kit
http://www.cjponyparts.com/EIBACH-SP...-2010/p/EBS21/

So the corresponding springs for the GT would be
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=75&ModelID=5

But the better shocks are:
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=64&ModelID=5

About $100 more

 

Interesting. I wish I understood that stuff better.

 

I think those are backwards...

All other things being equal a bigger front bar tends to lead to understeer, bigger rear bar tends to lead to oversteer, or at least decreased understeer.
Think of the little minis and neons, hanging that one inner rear tire in the air while going around a corner. That's a really stiff rear bar, designed to overload the outside rear tire, thereby decreasing grip in the back and allowing the rear to rotate a bit. Those are inherently pushy cars of course, but same principle applies.

 

All my experience with suspension comes from FWD cars, as I'm just getting into this Mustang game (well, the modding part), but my father-in-law, who's built and driven everything American-made you can imagine explained it to me this way:

The bigger the bar opposite the drive wheels is, the more oversteer you'll have. So, for a FWD car, having a larger rear bar will cars more oversteer, whereas for a RWD car, having a larger front bar will have the same effect.

For instance, on my Sable, I had a 24mm bar in the front and a 26mm bar in the rear. I installed the rear bar, first, because installing the front bar meant I had to partially drop the subframe and exhaust. At that time, I was running 19mm in the front and 26mm in the rear. Let me tell you, that was a big mistake, and I had to be really careful in the rain. I almost wiped out the day I interviewed at Lockheed Martin because of that. Once I put the 24mm bar in the front, though, things were equaled out, and while I could hang the *** out, I had much more control.

JR

 

That may be somewhat true under power, but most turning is done while braking or while feathering the throttle. Ultimately the drive wheels have nothing to do with that, and your theory would make changing a sway bar on an all wheel drive car quite difficult. Weight distribution is a large factor, though, and all FWD cars are front heavy, as is the Mustang.

The softer a suspension is in roll, the more grip allowed, so somewhat counter-intuitively if you soften the front (less stiff swaybar) you increase its grip, which if the rear is left the same means that comparatively the rear has less grip, therefore more oversteer. Same idea with stiffening the rear, it results in more roll stiffness, therefore more ultimate grip as the inner tire on the turn is able to 'help' less with gripping the road (ie the lifted inside rear tire on a Neon or Mini) as the stiff bar is keeping it from fully contacting the road.

Read the last paragraph here:

http://www.automotivearticles.com/12...way_bars.shtml

 

Look, $209 is "cheap" for a set of shocks. But frankly it's silly to do this when you can buy shocks that are much better valved, with a lifetime warranty for just over $300/set. The KR stuff does not have a lifetime warranty, and don't work as well as a set of Koni STR.T's either (and fwiw, they are normally about $400, they are on sale).

A good deal is only a good deal, if it helps you get something done and does not cost you more in the long run. These shocks won't last forever they ride worse than Koni's and have less rebound control. And if you have any issue with a Koni, they are covered for as long as you own your car.... these, you have to pay to replace (parts and labor if you don't do you own work). Folks hear "KR" and assume that things are automatically better, because to many bigger is better. Not always the case............ In fact there are instances of "higher end" cars getting smaller swaybars on the front, or softer springs.