daz72

good stuff in this thread.
I'm putting Tokico d-specs on my '05 GT convertible (already running 20" TSWs), and probably Eibach pro-kit springs (+camber bolts and adj pan bar). Anyone heard of Maier springs as a possible alternative?
thx

YaoNYC

hi guys,

does this apply to eibach springs? rear?

over slow bumps i get some weird clanking sounds where the rear springs seem to be...

thanks!

Francis

If you check out the pictures from the Mustang Life buyer's guide (http://mustanglife.tenmagazines.com/...ticle&aid=3450) it looks like the Eibach springs have got the clocking right. Amusingly enough, the Steeda springs look like they've got the clocking wrong.

This is a great post, I'm reading it for the 18th time or so, still trying to understand it.

A couple things to add:
Wikipedia Articles on Panhard Rods & Watts Link:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhard_rod
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt%27s_linkage

The panhard rod seems kind of silly by design. It's there to prevent the rear axle from moving laterally in relation to the chassis. But the way it's designed, as your suspension travels up and down, the panhard rod actually pushes your suspension a little bit left and right.

The Saleen Parnelli Jones switches over from a panhard rod to a watt's linkage - this seems like a more intelligent design. The reviews I've read, everyone seems to think the PJ Saleen is the most awesome handling mustang ever. I think Saleen is starting to sell that Watt's link suspension now for ~$1000, and a company called Fays2 which I never heard of is doing them for about $600.

Questions I have:
- Roush sells this wheel-hop reduction kit.
http://store.roushperformance.com/detail.aspx?ID=772
What the heck does that do?
- Most of the big-name suspension kits (Roush, Saleen, Eibach, FRPP) seem mostly concerned with replacing springs, shocks and swaybars, ignoring control arms, panhard rods, camber plates etc. Why is that? Is it not that important? I haven't yet read a review saying they're no good because they don't address these things
- I keep reading about how these suspension kit components are all tuned to work with each other. How true is that? Can I just substitute in a new set of shock absorbers into one of these kits, and it will be okay? (ie. What if I swap out FRPP struts for a set of Tokico D-specs?)

06GT4RAD

That is the Upper Control Arm and mount

Richard

MrClean

FWIW, I recently had the CHE Adj UCA installed, and the fact that the bushing is poly instead of rubber, therfore reducing flex during a hard launch, has significantly reduced wheel hop....and if you're considering an upgraded UCA, I'd go with an adjustable one, so that if you lower the car you can also reset the pinion angle...or if you install the Spyder Aluminum DS (AWESOME), you eliminate clearance issues, again by reducing the rotation of the pumpkin under acceleration due to the stiffer bushing...

95cobraR

I am working on lowering my car.

I did a search and couldn't find anything. After lowering the car, what is the best camber setting for street use? Caster?

Anyone know the factory alignment settings?

A also searched "corner weights". I couldn't find the answer I needed. Has anyone corner-weighed a stock S197? Anyone corner-weighed a stock S197 with a driver (or approximate driver weight) in the seat?

Thanks,

Francis

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?t=58811

Edit: Oh, and thanks 06GT4RAD

inVERTed

my pinion angle was off 3-4 degrees after lowering with Eibach...new upper control arm (Steeda)....new Panhard (BMR) and I have no further worries....at least that is according to my speed shop......next up FRPP Gears....still debating 3.73 vs 4.10's tho

Racer38

After speaking with all of the SCCA Solo Racing GuRu's, Springs, Caster/Camber Plates and Tokico D Specs is all they think is needed. They all say the sway bars are more than adequate. Bushings should all be changed to the poly ones as well.
There is no way you will be able to compensate for stock suspension short coming by adjusting your driving, you will just be slow ! I know from experience I tried a Solo race in the box stock configuration and its Horrible !

Centurion96

What class are you trying to run in? If it's the stock class then springs can only be standard and cannot be cut, shortened (as in lowering springs), or collapsed. Who makes a dual rate stock height spring? You sound like you want to race in "Street Touring" here's a link to the SCCA rules PDF, Chapter 13 is stock and 14 is Street Touring.

http://www.scca.org/_filelibrary/Fil...solo_rules.pdf

Hope this helps

BB
Semper Fi

05BlackGT

Yes, I have had my car corner weighed with my weight in the seat. What is your question?

Racer38

Actually I tryed running in FS but its too restrictive for what I want, so I will be running in E Street Prepared !

05BlackGT

Two of the top three cars running FS in my region are bone stock 05+ Mustangs.

bazguitarman

Hello to all. This is my first post and it will be a little long winded so bear with me. I`m a super **** retentive type who does a lot of research. I`m preparing to buy a new GT so when I say I`ve done some research....dang, I mean it.

I`ll have about $10K to invest in mods when I get my car and quite a bit of that is going into the suspension. I think I`ve come up with a pretty good package for those of you who are looking for a top grade street handling suspension. I have a background in older muscle cars and have talked to a lot of knowledgable performance people about suspension mods for the new Mustang. This is what I am going with. Feel free to add any comments or advice. I`ll be the first to admit, I don`t know it all.

I`ll list the parts with the manufacturer`s part #`s where needed.

* Springs- Eibach pro series- These are a progressive spring. Meaning the first couple of coils are softer so you get a factory like ride. As the spring compresses under heavier loads you get the secondary "harder" rate which is much firmer than the factory rate. That`s what you get when you are driving hard and under cornering loads. These seem to be the best bet for a dual purpose car that will be driven on the street but may see more spirited driving or limited track time. The amount of lowering is slightly more than the Steeda springs, but not as low as the sportline series and a lot of "competition" only springs.

* Shocks/struts- Top dog right now is the Tokico D-spec models. Fully adjustable and really competatively priced for the performance level. What I`ve found in my research is these with a good set of lowering springs are the best way to go short of a coilover setup.

* Adjustable Upper control arm- Steeda #555-4105- Adjustable so you can reset the suspension geometry and pinion angle.

* Non-adjustable lower control arms- Steeda Chrome moly tubular, #555-4422- Notice that I went with an adj. UCA, but went with non-adj. LCA`s. I did this under advice from Dennis at BMR Fabrication. He was really helpfull in recommending parts that would give me the most bang for the buck. It`s actually cheaper to use this configuration. You can adjust for changes in pinion angle with the UCA and save money by going with the solid LCA`s. New UCA and LCA`s with stiffer poly/urethane/delrin bushings should stop most wheel hop problems.

* LCA re-locating brackets- Steeda, #555-8119- Again I went with Steeda because their re-locate brackets offer more adjustment points and are supposed to be slightly heavier made. Note, these are a weld in part. Just as you correct your pinion angle with the adj. UCA, the LCA re-locate brackets allow you to re-adjust your instant center after lowering.

* Adj. Panhard bar- Steeda, #555-2551- BMR also has a great part.

* Panhard bar brace- Steeda, #555-2555- Again I went with Steeda, but because their part is slightly less expensive than the BMR part. The BMR part is actually a heavier and stronger brace, but I figured either would be a step up from factory no brace set up so I went with the price point.

* Upper control arm mount- BMR, #UCM001- If I`m going to change all the control arms in the rear suspension, it makes sense to get this heavy duty mount for the UCA. It`s way heavier than the stock piece and should eliminate the last weak link in the rear suspension. Those of you who will be adding a SC or turbo should take notice of this part for a torque proof rear suspension.

* Heavy duty upper strut mount- Steeda, #555-8120- As the OP stated. You will probably need the extra camber adj. in the front end after lowering your stang. Plus these parts will eliminate all the problems associated with the plastic factory parts.

* Camber bolts- BMR, #FC001- At $39.95 a pair, these are a no brainer in case the heavy duty strut mounts don`t give enough adjustment for the front camber. I may end up spamming them off, but I`d rather have them if needed.

* Rear sway bar- Steeda, #555-1056- Again I went with a Steeda part. I guess I`m a fool for matching stuff. The Mustang has some fairly serious understeer going on. I`ve talked to a lot of drivers who upgraded both front and rear bars and then ended up going back to the factory front sway bar. They all say the factory front piece is heavy enough and changing just the rear is a great way to dial out some of the understeer. Go figure.



Notice, I`ve basically rebuilt the entire rear suspension. I want this to be strong as hell, but simple. I`ll be adding a SC later and I want to be able to handle all the torque. I won`t be racing though, so I don`t need a ton of adjustability. For me this seemed like the best middle ground set up.

Also notice that I`m not modifying the front suspension. I was advised to wait on front end suspension mods. For my application (street only), the springs and struts would give me all the extra control I needed. In fact I was told at this point my weak link would be my brakes. As my suspension and power mods would move me past my factory brake`s performance level.

I was also told that potential future front suspension mods could be tubular A-arms and poly bushings if I felt I needed them. At this point, this package would run about $2,180.00 give or take a few dollars. You can shop around as far as brand name and save even more money or maybe spend even more. I tried to find the best parts I could to improve the factory set up, but not break the bank while doing it. Man`s gotta leave some money to modify the drivetrain and cosmetics too.

Which brings me to one common point. Almost 100% of the "experts" I talked to advised against going with 20" wheels and tires. Saying that 18`s were a perfect size for a performance Mustang. Sure, 20`s look great and you can brag about them. But they are also heavier. Which saps some of the power you can put to the ground. I was also told by a real expert that they will also wear your brakes and suspension components about 20% faster with no real performance benefits. Plus due to the ultra low profile tires they are shod with, ride way rougher. Especially when combined with a stiffer suspension. So I`m going with 18 x 9`s with 255/45/18`s on all four corners.

All right, take it for what it`s worth. Be sure to do a ton of research. And I mean a ton. Suspension rebuilds are freaking expensive and will totally change your car. For the better or for the worse.

Thanks,
Eric

MrClean

Welcome to the board Eric!

A couple of comments:

• Good selection of parts.
• The factory set up does include a panhard bar brace...and I consiered upgrading it whan I did the CHE Adj UCA and CHE Adj Panhard Bar, but I really didn't see the need for it.
• Since you're lowering the car, and therefore changing the geometry, the roll center will change. You need to compensate by installint he front suspension control arm (Steeda sells the kit), and the changed geometry will laso result in bumpsteer (Steeda sells that kit also). Both kits and PN's are specified in the initial posts of this thread.

Good luck and keep us posted as to how your build progresses...

bazguitarman

Thank you sir. Well, that`s what happens when you comment on a car you don`t even own yet. For the life of me, I was under the impression that there wasn`t a panhard bar brace from the factory. Thanks for pointing that out.

I also omited the control arm relocate for the front end. I should have commented, but I havn`t decided on what part to go with yet so I didn`t post it. I`m still debating on whether to go with the re-locate bracket or the X5 balljoint. The bumpstop kit is a given either way.

Thanks for posting. I`ll add your input for sure.

Eric

06GT4RAD

Welcome aboard. I pretty much have the same setup on my car that you plan on going with. Still have a few of the parts to get installed though. As for the rear upper panhard support, the stock one is flimsy as heck I went with several different ones and all of them EXCEPT the CHE had interferences issue. CHE seems to be the only company that accounts for the stock drop properly.

Richard

bazguitarman

Thanks for the welcome Richard. What type of interference issues did you run into with the aftermarket panhard bar braces? I`ve not heard of any issues, but I want to be prepared for all possible variables. I`ll be ordering my parts at the same time as ordering my car. That way I will have all my parts in hand and be ready to rock right away. Could you post a link for the CHE part you mentioned?

Thanks,
Eric

relayagent

Anybody have a preference or idea on which parts to go with first or in order of importance since I am sure not a lot of people will get everything mentioned here all in one shot. I'm lowering my car next week hopefully so springs are a given. I'm deciding to go with new dampers as well as steeda's upper strut mounts. Is there one or two other parts I should get taking into account its a daily driver... I like to do things right. I was thinking maybe the adjustable panhard bar?? What do you guys recommend as for order of importance?

Glenn

depending on what springs you go with 1 inch or less or 1 inch or more drop . For me with 1.3 in front and 1.4 in the rear. I went with springs first, 2nd struts and shocks, 3rd bump steer kit, 4 panhard bar, 5th lca relocate brackets, and finaly adj. uca

Not too sure about a 1 inch drop or less wheather you will really need all those parts or not