Looking for the best suspension for my 2010 Mustang GT. I'm looking in to a Roush Stage 3. If I put a full kit, not just spring. Will the new suspension make my ride even better? Is it a good idea to upgrade suspension from stock?

 

FRPP
koni and eibach
koni and steeda

 

What do you mean by "ride better"? What sort of driving do you do - street or performance driving? What deficiency do you perceive in the stock suspension that leads you to want an upgrade?

I'd recommend considering what you hope to achieve in terms of ride comfort, roll control, or steering responsiveness and then re-ask the question.

There are many options!

 

Being VERY new to mustangs, I looking into any way to improve my mustang GT. I do street driving, and looking to see if springs & shocks will improve ride comfort. Is lowering the car also helping? Also I'm looking into putting 20" Hursts rims.

 

As I understand... Suspension "upgrades" do NOT enhance COMFORT. They actually make the car feel a little more harsh because the springs/shocks etc are stiffer to improve car performance and decrease body movement.

 

As codeman94 mentions, changes to the stock suspension can result in some added firmness in ride quality, which some perceive as improvement, others think it is "worse".

One reason for lowering is to reduce the wheel gap size. If this is done, depending on how much the ride height is reduced, another change must be made to the Panhard rod set-up of the rear suspension to compensate for the shifting of the axle assembly over to the left side.

If you are looking to reduce the "floatiness" over bumps, changing shocks and springs can help in that regard. If you are looking to minimize the tendency of the nose to dive under hard braking, then changes can reduce that.

Depending on what spring heights and rates and what damping rates of shocks you choose, especially if you like ride comfort, you might be disappointed in the results.

I have seen people generally thinking "improvement" means lowering the ride height some while reducing the floatiness. There are options out there to do that.

I am not a suspension expert, but there are 2 vendors on the forums that might be able to assist you in the specifics - Rehagen Racing and Strano Parts. These folks race on the track, so they are all about suspension management in what they recommend. However, I am fairly certain they would ask you "What is your intended use of the car" before making any suggestions.

For perspective, I had a 2007 GT for about 3 1/2 years on the stock suspension. It was a daily driver. When I went to the 2010 GT, I noticed the changes made to reduce ride height and "tighten up" the car so it felt like there was a little less lean and floatiness when doing spirited street driving. It "felt" like a different car. I am very satisfied with the stock configuration for daily driving.

In both cases, had I been wanting to do autocross (high performance) driving on a more regular basis and wanted to reduce lean and understeering tendencies, I would have looked to make changes.

For street driving, Ford optimized for ride comfort vs. handling with the stock suspension.

Good luck in your quest!

 

I recently drove both a Brembo GT and a Stage 2 Roush which now have 2010's Stage 3 suspension. The one thing I didn't like about the Brembo GT was the nose lift upon acceleration and the nose dive under braking. The Roush suspension eliminated a lot of that. Both cars had nice ride quality, not harsh at all.

 

"Ride comfort" can mean a lot of things. It can mean being able to ride over the worst washboard roads in the country without spilling your drink. Or being able to tear up a twisty mountain road at speed without fear of an unpredictable suspension tossing you off a cliff. You will not achieve both of these goals simultaneously. My own personal preferences leaned toward the latter (even though I don't live near any cliffs).

I found the 2010 Mustang GT suspension a little floaty. I was afraid to take a corner with bumps in the road for fear of the rear end skittering out from under me. When I added a supercharger, the front tipped down due to the added weight. That's when I decided to upgrade the suspension.

I went with an Eibach coilover suspension. A good set of springs and shocks would probably be just as good. This change helped eliminate the brake dive and general heaving around. The car was also considerably lowered. Lowering a car lowers drag (more air passes over the car than under), improves MPG slightly and looks cool. The drawback to this is that I bottom-out on a few things here and there, nothing dramatic. Because they work as a team, shocks and springs must be matched. Don't try to cut your springs, and don't just go with performance shocks without also changing the springs to match or you will regret it.

When you install performance shocks and springs, the car will usually become lowered. Many kits offer an adjustable ride height. Some also allow the damping rate to be adjusted. If the car is lowered dramatically, you open up a can of worms. If you don't address all the consequences of lowering, your ride will suffer.

Bump stops can become an issue. These are progressive rate rubber "springs" that the car will bounce off if your shocks run out of travel. A good lowering kit should come with a set of replacement stops that are shorter than stock, giving you a little more suspension travel before you bottom out on them. Because bump stops have a progressive spring rate, you should never cut them--though they are soft and look almost designed for cutting.

On a lowered S-197 Mustang, it may be necessary to replace the stock Panhard bar with an adjustable type. This adjustment allows the axle to be re-centered after lowering kicks it to one side. Aftermarket rods are also generally stronger and lighter than stock.

An additional consequence to lowering is that other parts of your suspension geometry will be forced out of spec. In the front, the tie-rods attaching to your front wheels will become angled upwards instead of being level. You will experience bump-steer, a condition in which the road steers the car as you pass over bumps. You will feel this as the steering wheel jumps in your hands. A bump-steer kit extends the tie-rod lengths and brings the steering geometry level again.

In the rear, the Mustang 3-link suspension in a lowered setup needs adjustment because the lower control arms, delivered from the factory in a level position, will become angled upward in the back. Since the front of the arm attaches to the body and the rear attaches to the axle, when driving force is applied from behind, the axle is forced up and you experience wheel hop and general bounciness. Adjustable LCA and relocation brackets can correct this. An aftermarket LCA will also fix the simple fact that Ford's arms are stamped steel and tend to flex, even on a non-lowered car.

You probably already have a strut tower brace over your engine. This is an excellent stabilizer to minimize body flex. For cornering, a good set of upgraded front and rear sway bars will keep everything nice and stiff so you take turns flat. The ones that come on the GT are solid and rather thin compared to the thick tubular versions you can find elsewhere. Aftermarket sway bars will be lighter and stronger than stock, which is always a good thing. Adjustable sway bars allow you to control how tight the chassis is. This lets you try different settings until it feels right. You don't want things so tight that you lose traction taking a corner.

 

Stock 2010 suspension is floaty, and can be dangerous and unpredictable in the twisties. Makes the car a handful for sure. Definitely holding the car back from its potential.

 

What do you mean by "dangerous"?

 

I mean the rear will kick out while hard on the throttle, when the road has a dip or imperfection in a turn. Before making the mods to my car, and I have more to go, the rear could kick out to the point of losing control....then grab....almost like a high-side, if you've ever ridden a sport bike on the edge. That is all gone now. Now the limits are predictable.

 

I've just added a Roush M90 supercharger. Now after one year of checking out all suspensions and talking to all different people, it is down to a complete Roush system or Koni str with Steeda sport spring and adding HD mounts. Possible sway bars and adjustable panhard bar. After is all done, it's new rims & tires by Roush. The only question is 18's or 20's. I hope this will be done by May 7, 2012.

 

I'm getting close to doing suspension. Looks like the Ford Adjustable kit M-FR3-MGTAA is looking good. The Roush is still possible. Will have done by Aug. 15, 2012

 

Did you consult with Rehagen Racing or Strano Parts? I'd definitely suggest a chat with folks there. Goals still the same regarding ride comfort or are you considering something different?

 

Thanks Tony for watching the thread. The goal is a well round Suspension Kit for all types of driving, as this is a fun Mustang to drive because of the SUPERCHARGER I had installed in Oct. 2011. So that changed my thinking. I did talk with Sam. He said shocks & springs with sway bars. I missed the sale on Koni's, so as I was talking to people around the Milwaukee area, they keep always talking about adjustables. I found a guy with the Ford Racing Kit on a GT500 2012 who put adjustables on and LOVE'S THEM. I found a Ford dealer close to my house who was willing to help me out with a good price. It was very hard to find someone to install for a good price. They are a Ford Racing Distributor so the M-FR3-MGTAA Kit is the one. This kit will do everything I'm looking for. I'm going to Woodward Dream Cruise in Aug. There is a track event though Ford I got Invited to, so this is perfect timing. After a year or so I'm hoping all my talking was for the good.

 

Thanks for the update! Please let us know your experiences after you make the changes. I am interested to hear what you like about it. Good luck!!

 

The new suspension is on. I love the ride, corning and no brake dive. The Ford Kit as a great choice.

 

How is the body motion when acceleration over mid-corner bumps?

 

Have not tried that yet.

 

I await the report