HotFrosty

Help me understand what I should be looking for. I'm not lowering my car... At all. I just want the power to the ground in a effective manner without destroying ride comfort. I have read so many options and sales pitches and I am still not clear on what I should be looking for. I'm not even sure if I need uppers or not.
I am okay if the answer is keep it stock. But the more I read the more lost I get.
Thanks for the advice.

wheelman

The OEM control arms aren't designed for performance, but if you aren't lowering or racing, they're fine unless you're getting some wheel hop or axle tramp that bothers you. If you're doing any kind of performance driving, though, you'll want to upgrade them eventually (and probably lower to eliminate body roll). You'll get varying responses on what brand & combination of UCA and LCAs to get, but I found the LCAs gave me the more noticeable improvements and I'm very happy with my all-BMR setup (though I am lowered), which didn't break the bank.

HotFrosty

Thanks! Just looked at the non-adjustable BMR's. I'm just not sure if I need uppers and lowers or just lowers. For the price I can do both, I just don't know how that will effect ride comfort.

Brandon302

If you ever plan to lower, ever, get adjustable so you can adjust the thrust angle. I would recommend doing lowers and an upper. The lowers with help with launching and the upper helps with bumps and road inconsistencies. I went with Whiteline and they have been amazing, if I could do it over I would do the beefy BMR spherical UCA and the MM lowers as I love spherical bushings.

houtex

Non-adjustable BMR LCAs for all your wheel-hopping eliminations.

Sure, you can get the upper, but it's really not needed. The hopping just about disappears with the LCAs. And you will love it.

Then again, that's on my 4.6, and not your 5.0. The extra torque/HP might be more convincing of the car to hop. But I'm pretty sure it'll be a giant step forward if you upgraded to them, and I don't even notice any harshness with 'em on.

As to the adjustables? If you only lower an inch or maybe an inch and a half, the pinion angle won't be a problem. You may need to get an adjustable panhard bar to correct the axle's shift to the left from the lowering. But that'd be it. I wouldn't get 'em unless I was goin' 2" or so for lowering, and I'd never do that. Car's too low for me then.

Still feels funny at 1" lower getting in and out, actually...

lakeguy77

I agree with what houtex said. Personally, I'm lowering (Sports) but going with Steeda for any other suspension components as well. If you're not lowering, the upper is likely not needed, but every car is slightly different. The Lower control arms are the key for hop, the upper has a lesser effect. Adjustable lowers aren't necessary. If you might lower in the future, an adjustable upper will let you adjust the pinion angle when you do drop the car. Otherwise, I'd just go with LCA's and see if you need to go further...in your situation you probably won't.

Incidentally, Steeda does have a solid UCA specifically for lowered cars, which they've advised me with work well with the Sports I've chosen. I'm still deciding between that and the adjustable, but the option to save a little cash that might be better spent elsewhere is nice to have.

HotFrosty

Thank you for the advice. I've really been looking in to this with the guidance from you.

I have several reasons why I will never lower this car.
1) I am getting old. It's easier to get in and out of.
2) I don't want harm ride comfort. I had a lowered car in the past and it wasn't awful, it just wasn't great by a long-shot.
3) Curb to get in the driveway / speed bumps. I know they are there, I just attack them.
4) I don't like the thought of of things being out of alignment and wearing other parts out. Learned this with lifting Jeeps.

So... Yeah. That's where I'm at.

lakeguy77

I actually find the ride in the Track Pack pretty bad...mostly from the rear. But as I understand it, the rear is pretty badly under-damped, if I was sticking with stock height, I'd put in some adjustable shocks in the back to clean it up a little bit. I just find the back end bouncy with the stock TP suspension, which I'm sure doesn't help when it comes to wheel hop.

For alignment, I hear you. I ordered the Steeda adjustable upper control arm last night...my post to this thread last night actually made me realize I need to do it right. I'm matching the Sport springs to Steeda shocks/struts (ride quality) and using their HD upper mounts to make sure the camber is set correctly. Once that's all in, I'll see where I sit, and LCA relocation brackets will be next if the angle isn't right. Once that's all set, I'll re-evaluate my wheel hop issue (which I don't find severe at this point) and upgrade the LCA's if necessary.

tj@steeda

[QUOTE][I have several reasons why I will never lower this car.
1) I am getting old. It's easier to get in and out of.
2) I don't want harm ride comfort. I had a lowered car in the past and it wasn't awful, it just wasn't great by a long-shot.
3) Curb to get in the driveway / speed bumps. I know they are there, I just attack them.
4) I don't like the thought of of things being out of alignment and wearing other parts out. Learned this with lifting Jeeps.

So... Yeah. That's where I'm at./QUOTE]

Hotfrosty, if you would like ... you can email me at tim@steeda.com & we can look at your suspension & goals and get you squared away with your suspension.

If you do not want to lower the car ... we can look at Shocks/Struts & HD Mounts to help with the ride quality.

Here are a couple of videos to help with your suspension needs:




Let me know your thoughts?

Best Regards,

TJ

Rog13GTCS

Hi TJ, sent an email, inquiring on the uca, and some other products. Thanks!

HotFrosty

I am getting excited about this. I've received quite a bit of good advice.
As of today I am looking at:
A billet lower control arm.


And starting research on:
Shocks & Struts. I'm just not sure if I am ready to go that far yet. This one may take some convincing

Rog13GTCS

I have the Steeda billet lCA's and they are very well made and very stout. I would recommend them. They are more expensive and if you want them pick them up during the 20% off sale.

lakeguy77

Agree 100% on the Steeda billet LCA's. I don't have them but they are on my build list. You can save a little bit as well with Steeda's chromoly ones but really, the billets are just so pretty and they're going to be lighter as well.

HotFrosty

It think it will be a good choice. I have had some odd problems in the past with powder coated parts forming rust and having the coating just fall off. I really don't want that to happen in a suspension part. Colorado is not a high moisture state at all, but lucky me, I get rust.

Rog13GTCS

Yes they are very nice looking, too bad they cant be seen to enjoy them

HotFrosty

Did you get my email, TJ?

Rog13GTCS

I would pm him to ensure he sees it.

Also I ordered the Uca and mount last night. I will look to get installed around Christmas.

HotFrosty

Good thinking. I will do that.
Let me know what you think about them when you get them.

Horspla

You’re in good hands with the Steeda crew. I know it was mentioned earlier that replacing the upper may not be necessary and that is true to a point. There are lots of Mustangs out there right now with OEM uppers in them and they will be that way right to the salvage yard. They work. The problem is the rubber bushings are mushy allowing a lot of movement in all directions making the suspension lose feeling. The same is true for the lowers (Do a U-Tube search and see the results for yourself). If you don’t drive the car hard (Launch or take corners hard) you may never notice this or if you do notice it, the issue may not make that much difference to you. The rubber is used because it does an excellent job of isolating bump shock loads, road noise and driveline harmonics from entering the chassis and into the passenger compartment. Good quality urethane bushings will do a very good job of tightening up the unwanted suspension movements the rubber bushings allow but you will notice more road noise and perhaps even an ever so slight decrease in ride quality since they will allow more noise and vibration into the chassis/cabin. Rod ends are, in my opinion, reserved for racing applications only. They will introduce a lot of noise and harmonics into the chassis/cabin and will require more frequent inspection which race cars get. That said, there is nothing as tight or free moving either, which is why they are preferred in racing applications.
Half of what you’re buying when you purchase good quality lowers and upper is the upgraded bushing material. The other half is a beefier, stiffer piece all the way around, and if it’s billet aluminum it’ll be lighter as well…less unsprung weight allows the suspension react quicker.

John

tj@steeda

Frosty,

I got your PM & responded ... I didn't see your email come through.

Let me know if I can help assist with anything further!

Best Regards,

TJ