sugarandopium

I need some advice and guidance from some s197 suspension experts.

I'm in the process of building an approx. 450hp daily driver.
- Did the little things.
-- Doing the exhaust now.
-----> Want to do the suspension before I get my blower.

My question is this:
What would be the recomended suspension upgrades
for a supercharged s197 that will be around the 450rwhp range?

The car is a daily driver. It will never see a track or street racing.
I also live in a city, faced with alot of imperfect roads on a daily basis,
so ride quality with these bumps is VERY VERY important to me.

Looking for getting a plan/list on what to do/what parts to buy.
I just need to put the power to the ground, would like to keep the ride
quality as good as possible because of the area and daily driver factor.

From my limited knowledge of suspension componets, I'm guessing that
steeda ultralite springs and tokico dspec shock/strut would be a good
match to what I'm shooting for with this car?

Is there anything else that needs or should be done beyond spring/shock/strut?

Are any of the suspension packages, like these:
http://mustanglife.tenmagazines.com/...ticle&aid=3450
worthwhile?

Or should I piece together a package that would work best for a F/I DD street car?

Thank you in advance, I'm trying to read all I can, the drivetrain makes
alot more sense to me than the suspension does, but I know I have to upgrade both.

Sleeper_08

If you mainly interested in a DD and are not going to use it much or hard at the track then you might want to consider only;
1) GT500 rear lower control arms to help with the wheel hop. The rubber bushings are stiffer than the stock ones
2) adjustable Koni's with the stock springs
3) SS brake lines, DOT 4 fluid and Hawk HPS pads

chopin0302

+1 for what sleeper said.

I would personally stay away from the packages. Mostly because as a daily driver you won't need some of the components such as the sway bars.

Speaking from personal experience, you're going to want to be very careful about the pieces you choose. My car is a daily driver on bad roads such as yours. I went with the BMR level 1 package, and while it is a good package on its own, it's really too much for a daily driver. The springs are very stiff, and using the LCA relocation brackets on the lowest setting only makes the ride worse. I would not be concerned about the stock suspension not being able to handle the power of forced induction. The GT500 has essentially the same setup, and Ford sells this on the showroom floor with a warranty, so we know it is capable of holding the power.

So what am I trying to say. I would certainly get some LCA's to deal with the the wheel hop, the GT500 were mentioned, and those would work as would any of the major brands so long as they are not rod ends. Konis are probably the best bet for shocks and struts. I have D-Specs and they do work okay, but Konis are proably the best for what you are looking for. As far as spring go, I have BMR right now, but I just got my H&R's in the mail recently. I got the GT500 sport springs, which would lower a GT 500 1" in the front and .75" in the rear. Since my front end does not weigh as much it should give me a even .75" drop, which is what I want since having the car 1.5" was not practical at all. H&R also makes OE springs which would put a GT .75 lower. I would certainly look into these, as they will take some of the sloppiness out of the stock springs, but not lower the car so much that it is not practical.

Hope this helps!

BigBSP

Great advise guys!

07musclemustang

konis are best dspecs are cheaper..
gt500 lcas or a good combo lca..
no lowering springs.
start with that and then go from there. wheel hop and general ride covered. after that see how it feels and ask about what you can do to help whatever issue you have with the suspension set up you have.. Specifics help alot

sugarandopium

Thanks guys.

Are bilstein better than koni?
Read alot of good things about them last night,
dosen't seem to be many running them however.

Why do you say no lowering springs 07?
Does it really make the ride that much worse with a small (approx 1") drop?

chopin0302

My understanding is that Bilstein is just as good as Koni as far as quality goes, the drawback is that they are not adjustable.

Not lowering is suggested because any drop, regardless of how small, because the spring rate WILL be increased which in turn will result in a harsher ride quality.

I know that you may be wanting to look into lowering the car, but like 07 is saying, you should hold off on that for the meantime. Do the other stuff first, and then see what you like or don't like and then go from there. Knowing what I know now I probably would not have lowered mine if I knew how the harsh ride would start to be bothersome after a few months.

Sleeper_08

I concur with the above. The relationship between NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) and handling is direct. If you improve the handling it will increase the NVH and make the car more fun on the track and less fun as a DD. My car is almost uncomfortable on bumpy roads at low speeds even with the Dspecs backed off to 4, but on a road course with the shocks set stiffer it is so much fun that all of that is forgotten. I ran six track days last year and am fairly serious about them so am willing to put up with the daily discomfort.

Sam Strano

Bilstein's are excellent quality.... they just don't leave you any room to do anything to tweak the response or feel of the car. Koni's do, and are built every bit as well. D-specs are also adjustable, but not as good a damper overall as the Koni's (lesser quality, not as good an adjustment mechanism).

If ride is a concern then stock springs should stay. Better dampers will also help a ton, espeically with the jumpiness in the rear of the car that is very much there with OEM dampers.

Upgraded LCA's are a wise idea as the stock ones are the prime cause of wheelhop. You can run GT500's which will be the best riding and quietest. You can run poly/poly aftermarkets which are quiet but bind the axle up in roll a bit (which can hurt the ride). You can run a poly/rod combination which doesn't bind up at all but has a rod-end that can sometimes make a touch of noise. There are also versions that use rod-end at both ends. Those are best left for race cars only...

I very much agree with Sleeper_08 about the Koni's and the LCA's. The dampers will make the car drive better, 'smaller' in fact due to much better body motion control. It'll also ride a bit less harshly, and be easier to drive quickly. The additional damping is a further help when you add weight like the blower will. The LCA's are the big help in wheelhop which these S197's do like mad. Better brake pads and lines are never bad, but are items that I can't say you need. If the stock brakes make you happy (maybe...), then upgrading is not really something you need to do. Upgrades are about putting parts on that suit a goal. Clearly you want more power, and it seems a much more composed driving car which is why I agree on the Koni's and the LCA's. Added speed might make you want better brakes, and if so that can be done as well. If the stock brakes are fine for your use then I'd leave them alone.

07musclemustang

listen to sam he knows what hes talking about.