lakeguy77

I'm collecting suspension parts. I've got Steeda Sport springs, panhard bar, and adjustable upper control arm. I *will* be going with Steeda shocks/struts as well. But here's the part I need help with:

05-10 shocks/struts with GT500 mounts (Option A)

or

11-14 shocks/struts with Steeda HD mounts (Option B)

I was strongly leaning towards going whole-hog with Option B, but am having second thoughts. For ease of comparison reasons, I'm going to compare all these options without considering any pending seasonal sales or forum discounts, because when that happens, everything's on sale and discounted roughly the same amount.

Option A is a LOT cheaper, to the tune of $240 cheaper...$10 shy of paying for some billet LCA's. While I'm never opposed to spending money to do it correctly, I don't like spending money for stuff I won't make use of. That's why I'm going with fixed-rate dampers. I've had adjustable struts on a car that was daily driven and autocrossed. I never changed them. I'd soften them for the winter, but my Mustang is not winter driven, so that point is moot. So it comes down to the adjustable mounts.

I keep reading that you can get within the factory alignment specs on the front with the Sports. Maybe not bang in, but within spec on the negative side of the camber adjustment. Alignment is not something I would screw with on a track day, and being that there's only one track close by, and that track only has one left turn, I can't see more than 2 visits per year (they only do about 4 days all summer, and I spend most weekends at my cottage where I bomb some backroads in the morning and then drink beer and get a tan in the afternoon. An autocross now and then would be fun, but it's not something I take seriously, and not something I would compromise what I primarily use my car for to do.

I also see dmichaels posting terrific videos of some quality laps on significantly cheaper stuff than I'm getting...pretty much the drop-n-go starter kit (STR.T's/SR's/GT500's). He's just now talking about adjustable options after all the lapping and experience he's built up.

I don't think there's a comfort difference between the two, but if there is, let me know, as this would make the choice easier.

So there it is. I pose, I cruise, and I hustle some fun roads. I'm not competitive (well not in the car anyways) but might turn a lap or kill a cone or two per year. Thoughts?

JohnN@steeda

Lakeguy77,

Give me a call here at STEEDA bud.. I will narrow it all down for you.. No need to order until ready but its just much easier for me to go over it all via the phone.. I have the gt500 mounts on my car but if I were to swap them out I would go per your option B to be quite honest.. The gt500 mounts are not much of an upgrade man.. just FYI.. I wouldnt even call them an upgrade, they just get the job done..

Give me a shout and I can offer you a discount to save a little too

954 960 0774

John

lakeguy77

Thanks John, and I'll definitely give you a call when I'm getting ready to finalize my decision. I want to hear what my forum mates have to say on the matter of course. I have no questions at all regarding the quality and worthiness of Steeda products, that's why my entire list is Steeda gear, including stuff going beyond my suspension plans for this year. It's just a matter of whether I'll make use of the features I'd be paying for, in the way I use my car.

Way2QWK

My vote is to use the Gt500 mounts and 05-10 struts. Based on your intended use I think the Steeda mounts are not needed. Doesn't mean they are not a better design, just not needed for a street car. For a 1" drop camber should be in spec or slightly negative. I'll let you know soon how my alignment turns out.

I was considering the two strut designs as you are, and ended up picking the 05-10 strut design. I like the proven simple design of the Gt500 mount. I also like the strut shaft design of the 05-10 a little better in the area just below the shaft threads when compared to the 11-14 design. Probably doesn't matter
but find a pic on the web of the two struts next to each other and there is a difference. Anyway that's what helped me to decide which to choose, that and the lower priceof the Gt500 combo. I went with the Koni dampers due to the many positive reviews and because I have them on my 1988 mustang and love them.

If we didn't have rain this weekend I would have them on the car along with the other suspension goodies.

Steeda sports
Koni Streets
Gt500 mounts with new dust boots, bump stops and spring sleeves
BMR lower control arms
BMR panhard bar
BMR relocation brackets

[IMG][/IMG]

lakeguy77

Thanks for the input. Sounds like our goals are similar. As you can probably tell from my original post, I'm pretty much decided on the simpler/cheaper solution. I really don't think I'm giving anything up based on my intended use of the car.

dmichaels

Thx for the compliment first off!

My take based on what you'll be doing with the car: Go for the GT500 mounts and the "older" style shocks/struts. Lowering the car about 1.5" for me added a bit of negative camber up front which I have kept, and I've seen zero tire wear issues as it's pretty minimal. Simply lower/stiffer springs with shock/strut upgrade is plenty for just about anyone. My setup firmed up the car and made it much more compliant. I've only just started to need more suspension work as a result of putting on slicks. With street tires, the basic suspension modifications I did, in my opinion, are enough to make the car more capable than most drivers with basically all street tires. I'm not saying that a higher end suspension setup wouldn't make the car better on street tires, as it definitely would, but the change from OEM to Steeda will be quite large, but a change from the Steeda to a dual adjustable setup for example would likely make a relatively small difference for most drivers.

I have been perfectly happy with the GT500 mounts, and I would recommend those for what you'll do with the car per your budget. The ability to adjust caster/camber is nice, but I would not expect you'd want more negative camber than what you'd get simply with lowering the car.

I will also throw out there that I have only driven my car with OEM suspension and then with my shocks/springs/mounts upgraded in the Mustang and can't personally speak to various adjustable setups and control arm upgrades and bushing upgrades and such.

Good luck with your setup!

typesredline

For awhile I also heavily debated and researched shock and struts with my final choice being between steeda or koni streets.

When it's time I decided to go koni because the one person I found that had ridden with both before said the steedas were slight more "harsh". Which aligns historically with the brands. Koni usually gives a more comfortable ride than tokico.

Jay@Hypermotive

Give us a shout, we've put plenty of systems together to help suit each and every person's needs.
A kit should be tailored to your driving habits and goals.

lakeguy77

Thanks man...I'm pretty much at the point where I'm ready to pull the trigger on the GT500's. Great price and get the job done for my needs. Appreciate the input!

For me it's never been a debate on which dampers, just the mounts. But I've ready so many reviews praising the combination of Steeda springs with their dampers, and I'm a big believer in properly matched components, so there was never much question which way I'd go.

dmichaels

Hope you find a good deal... I kept an eye out for used GT500 mounts since I was not on a time crunch and ended up getting a great deal. Guessing you're not in a rush to get the parts installed either, so just something to consider. The SVT forums have a massive classified section that is very active. I've found a couple great deals over there.

lakeguy77

I keep my ear to the ground on classifieds, but also seasonal sales at the various vendors. And definitely not on a time crunch. No driving till probably mid-April and the garage won't be warm enough to work in until probably mid-March or early-April. But I've managed to collect the other essentials at this point and wanted to make sure I had this last decision made so I knew exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks for the tip on SVT though, I participate here and lurk on a couple others but not that one.

dmichaels

Sounds like you take the same approach as me... look for great deals and pick them up slowly to maximize budget

You will not be disappointed with the suspension upgrades. I thought the OEM track pack setup was pretty good until I switched...

GT500 mounts have held up great for me all season on the track too.

I did need the panhard bar btw - the axle shifted a decent amount

Rog13GTCS

I went with the 5-10 shocks/struts and the GT500 mounts. Plan on a couple track dates next year. Main duty is my DD. I'm happy with the decision.

lakeguy77

I actually bought the panhard bar first during Steeda's labour day sale, one of the things I knew for certain I'd need so got it out of the way. At the time I hadn't made up my mind yet between Sports and Ultra-Lites.

Sounds like similar goals to my own. You guys have been a great help, I know where I'm going with this.