Gentlemen, I'll soon be ordering the parts for my suspension setup and I'd like to hear your thoughts, opinions and/or recommendations. Here's what I'm looking at -

Ford Racing 1.5" lowering springs
Ford Racing bump stops
Tokico D-Spec Shocks/Struts
UMI upper and lower non-adjustable control arms w/ relocation brackets
UMI single adjustable panhard bar

That's it for now, your thoughts are appreciated.

 

if your lowering a 2011 gt and useing 05-10 shocks, u are going to need 05-10 upper strut mounts i would get gt 500 ones 60 bucks.

 

Yep, I'm aware. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

Any reason why you just wouldn't get the full Ford Racing suspension kit? Just seems better than mixing and matching.

 

Mostly comes down to cost. Why spend more for parts that are of comparable quality and performance? I'm not concerned about the warranty on the suspension, when is the last time you had to replace a bad spring or lower control arm?

 

Might want to look into swaybars when possible. Even though the springs will lower the center of gravity, the car will actually lean more than if it was at the stock ride height. Some of this is countered by a higher rate spring, but generally require higher rate swaybars as well.

The LCA relocators will help get the rear suspension geometry back in shape, the fronts could use something like Steeda's X# balljoints to accomplish the same (both of which might negate the need for different swaybars IIRC - best to contact a suspension guru).

I'd go over to the 05-09 suspension thread and take a look at the discussion there. The suspension layout is the same so the the same general ideas will apply here.

 

Looks like a decent setup. I use the D-Specs on my SN95 and really like them, especially on track.

 

Thanks for the advice. I went over and read the guide. Very informative! Doesn't look like Steeda has ball joints for the 2011, and I'm not comfortable welding in the front control arm relocation kit. Guess I'll have to wait for another solution to come up for the new cars. In the mean time I'll look at some adjustable sway bars to help out.

 

UMI won't have their upper control arms and mounts released until the end of the year. I'm running their LCAs (non-adjustable with poly bushings on both ends) and relocation brackets and they alone made a huge difference in the ride of my car. I'd strongly recommend an adjustable upper, though, as you'll then be able to adjust pinion angle to account for any shift with the drop and if you ever convert to a one-piece driveshaft you'll most likely need to adjust the angle at that point in time.
Also, plan for the UMI upper control arm bracket, as you'll want something that can take the energy from the new arms (poly bushings don't absorb as much energy as the factory rubber bushings so it gets transferred through) better than the stock piece.
Finally, look at the UPR drop springs. They're $199 and ride pretty freaking great. They're made by Eibach so the quality is absolutely there.

That's all I have... and it's all just suggestions. It's your car and your money... but I'll tell you from experience you wouldn't go wrong to opt for the UPR springs.

 

Thanks for posting. I'm still weighing my options on everything. And you're right about the upper control arm. I think an adjustable one is probably the right choice. I might not play around with suspension settings too much, but having the option is always nice, especially when it keeps you from having to buy things over again.

 

First, if you want you can use the older upper arms on a 2011.... you just need to get the bracket too. Something like this: http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...=206&ModelID=5 or any of the UMI arms with this bracket http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...=206&ModelID=5 will fit the 2011 car.

As for the other things. It is my opinion (once based in having used Eibach i.e. "ford racing" and Tokico parts as well as them both being brands I carry) that you can do better.

Someone on this site posted his '11 with those springs and it's slammed. I most commonly recommend Steeda Sport springs, but I have others (including Eibach, H&R, Vogtland) as well as Steeda's other springs.

The D-specs. Work pretty well, but are not as robustly built as a Koni. And the damping isn't quite up to the same level either. Again, I sell 'em--and in fact used a set myself for a year. But I as well as a number of customers prefer the feel of the Koni's.