car feels floaty - what shocks to choose?
 

I have a 2012 GT auto - stock suspension not Brembo or any of the other options.

On the highway over humps, the car seems to feel floaty. It pitches back and forth like a boat going over a wave.

My car is going in to get the lower control arms replaced and I thought that it might be an option to me to replace the shocks. But what is it that I need? I had reccently rented a BMW 116 in Spain and was shocked by how much better this little car felt than my Mustang.

Suggestions for shocks?

Konis. Either orange if you don't want adjustable, or yellow if you do.

Love my oranges. Car works/rides like it ought.

Hey Houtex, do you have them on stock springs?

The reason I'm asking is because I only did Roush lowering springs (1") although I do like the stock height better. (The Roush do improve the bounciness a bit.)

If the oranges work well for you with stock springs, I might get the oranges and put back the stock springs.

Another alternative is to combine the Roush with the orange and leave the lowered height.

I just purchased the Ford Racing dynamic shock/strut kit, GT500 mounts, and P springs. I currently have the K springs and I really don't like them anymore. The car is too low for my taste. I'll post a review after I get them installed. It was a tough decision between Ford and the Koni's because my car is still under warranty for the next few years and my dealer honors all warranty work with my mods... Didn't want to push it with the Koni's. Plus, the Ford kit also has good reviews.

Kevin, I'm not running the stock springs, I'm running the Ford P springs, 1" lower all the way round.

That said, I ran with the stock shocks/struts, and man... that sucked. The way those want to run at stock height means some weird bouncing happens.

I got the Konis, and all that went away.

It is my contention that the stock shocks are set to dampen to a *height*, not to cancel the motion. Unlike the Konis which do not care what height you run (to a certain extent), they're just going to kill the motion.

It'd explain the sorry bouncing on stock shocks with the lowered car. And also the four (4) different part numbers for the dampers from Ford. GT or not, Coupe or convertible. Not even kidding.

So I have no doubt they'd be great for a stock spring too, simply because they're not trying to... uh, help?... get the car back to stock height, they're just trying to kill *any* motion.

The 'factory' shocks and struts are not very good. My v6 floated and had nose dive under hard braking. I changed to the Koni (orange) shocks and struts with the 'factory springs'. Took away the floating and most of the nose dive. I ran them with the factory springs for a few years without any problems. A few months ago i lowered with Steeda springs while using my Koni orange shocks and struts, couldn't be happier :)

Thanks for the feedback.

So Koni orange is the way to go with the stock springs? I am not tracking my car, I just want a ride like that BMW I rented - firm but no rattled teeth. Even the ecoboost Mustang they lent me felt better than mine.

I'll look into the Konis. The Ford GT500 shocks or the track pack ones are not an option for me? The Ford Racing M-18000-A?

Cheers

Can't say as I know about anything else but stock and Konis, myself. Others like the Bilstien HDs (expensive), and the track pack might not work without the right spring height... or might. I think the Koni Yellows might be your bet, as you can adjust them, but I dare say the oranges might be what you're looking for.

You said you want better handling. Well.. Here's the package, if you ask me:

Koni Oranges (or Yellows, if that's your thing.) all four corners.

GT500 strut mounts ('05-10 thing, or '11-14s if you do the '05-10 strut swap)

Lowering springs of 1-1.25". Ford Ps, in my case, 1" all 'round.

Eibach GT500 front and rear sway bar kit, set full stiff on front.

BMR rear lower control arms, poly/poly.

Upgraded front control arms to the GT500 spec (which I think you're doing?)

If you can't stand the slight shift of the axle to the left due to the 1" lower and the way that suspension back there works, add an adjustable panhard bar. I got the BMR poly/poly one there too.

New bumpstops all 'round.

And in my case 275/40-18s all 'round on the 2010 GT500 convertible 18x9.5 rims. :nice:

Car handles nice, isn't harsh, corners like a dream. She is so much more fun and manageable since I did these things. Camber will be *just* in spec, but I've heard that spinning the GT500 mount 180 will fix that... I didn't bother.

If you want my take on that, of course. :)

Others have other ideas... entire Eibach kit, or Ford one, or whatever. My Frankensetup works fantastic (for me), though, so I'm good.

I really appreciate the info. So its either the Koni with stock or Koni with lowering will work. Any tracking I do would be at a starting level. I'm kind of a noob at all this. For starters, I'd like to do lead and follows and drive way above the speed limit. I don't want rattled teeth either. Currently, there is no rattling of any sort in my interior and I'd like to keep it that way as long as possible!

Ford should have made the handling aspect better out of the box. Stock is more of a boulevard cruiser, and that applies to either Coyote or V6. Out of the box feels like a Galaxy 500.

Thanks again folks!

Tracking? Well, sure, you can get the shocks/struts, but even for a day tracker, you want to get the upgrade to the GT500 spec sway bars too, for sure, and I'd set them full stiff. And the 1" or so lower would do a great deal for the corners, because lower Center of Gravity is always good. Moar is better, of course. NOT spinning the strut mounts might also be a thing to consider.

I forgot to mention. There's a good possibility that in a mild lowered setup, you'll experience some bumpsteer, and need a bumpsteer kit. It's slight, but it's there. Which reminds me. I need to get my kit put on the car... Yeah, it's that kind of slight. :)

As far as rattles? I don't have any more than I can remember... but then, I expected a little more harsh, so I wasn't surprised that my setup gets a little more violent on the larger bumps than it used to, but normal driving? Feels good, man, and it's my staunch opinion that this sort of setup should have been a factory one, if not straight up stock.

But that is me. If you like the cushy feel... don't do anything. Because anything you do to the car will make it harsher, and that's just the way it is.

Just in case there is confusion, I am the OP. 14BlackGT is after something different.

I do not want to spend alot of money, I don't track at all, and I don't want a lowered height. Just want a BMW feel. That being said, the Koni orange is what I need then with my stock springs?

Cheers

And there are also the affordable Pro Action Shocks & Struts from Steeda - http://www.steeda.com/steeda-pro-act...s-555-8405-11/

The ProAction are slightly stiffer than the OE shock ... the car will float a lot less and the ride will be as good as a new OE shock.

At the same time, you may want to look at upgrading the strut mounts with the HD Mounts, depending on the mileage of the car, it may be worth it to do it at the same time:

http://www.steeda.com/steeda-mustang...unts-555-8135/

Let me know if I can help assist with forum pricing & if you have any questions.

The difficult thing with suspensions is, there are parts that compliment each other that will all improve handling, drivability, etc.

Best Regards,

TJ

The orange Koni shocks and struts with the factory springs will work 'fine' :).

Jim if you install them yourself, be careful with the factory strut mounts. The needle bearings can fall out easy. I went with the 2005-2010 struts and shocks so i could use the GT500 strut mounts. They don't fall apart like the factory strut mounts do :)

The Koni's are still on sale 25% off, not sure for how much longer. I have the Orange Str.t they are very good for every day driving. They are firm but dont knock my fillings out, nor did they cause any rattles.

Another vote for the orange Koni's. I put them on my 2011 GT with the Brembo package and they are firm without being harsh. I lowered with Steeda sport springs at the same time, so I can't say how they feel with stock springs, but the overall feel of my car was dramatically improved with the springs/shocks/struts.

car feels floaty - what shocks to choose?
 

TJ question about those 8135 strut mounts: is it necessary to use a 11-14 strut with those mounts or can someone use a 05-10 strut? Aftermarket struts like Koni or Pro Action of course.

Please delete.

Sorry if I side tracked your thread. The advertisements I've been reading say the Koni Orange can be used with or without lowering. :grin:

Hello Tom,

You can only use the 8135 with the 05-10 strut if you use our 555-8140 adapter kit to allow the use of early struts with the later strut mount. That cost is $29.00.

It is not on the website so you would have to call & place an order so that we can match it with what you are looking to accomplish.

Hope that helps!

Best Regards,

TJ