Korrupted_13

Hey guys, I'm looking to start upgrading over my stock suspension and had a few question's on the matter. First it's a 2013 GT non track pack with I believe H&R springs(not sure which if you know a way to check let me know) which were installed by the dealer before I bought the car.

As far as goal's it's my daily driver in the summer and stored in winter, I don't do auto-x or bring it to the track, altho in the future I may. I just want to tighten up the chassis and have it feel like its on rails.

At the moment how it stands it feels/drives well but I noticed when I drive spirited on mountain passes the rear end feels like its floating around corners and even worse when theirs bumps and also at high speeds on the highway 80+ mph. I'm assuming my lack of an adjustable PHB and the stock struts are to blame?

So far I plan on getting in order of importance:
-Whiteline PHB (also support brace?)
-Front strut tower brace (rear also?)
-Struts(koni)+camber plates(MM)
-F/R Swaybar(Whiteline)

Also my stock rims as far as I know are 18x8 with 235/50R18, I plan on upgrading later on but can't decide on what size to get 18,19,20? What would be the best size for performance? I'd like a lower profile tire but this would result in a bigger gap in the wheel well unless I went with a larger rim like 19 or 20?

UrS4

From what I understand from the suspension guru's on here, the shocks/struts would be the more noticable improvement from a handling perspective over the PHB, PHB brace, and front strut brace. I went in your proposed order with the PHB, brace, strut brace, A brace, LCAs, and my springs, shocks, and sways are stock. Yes I did notice the ride tighten up a bit with each of those mods but its no where near riding on rails. I would do struts and adjustable PHB since you are lowered. Then sways and then add the strut brace, PHB brace since those are easy bolt on parts.

If you plan on upgrading the calipers, a wider 18 or 19+ wheel should easily clear them and will compliment the suspension upgrades as you have stiffer sidewall.

As long as the outside diameter of the tire stays the same as stock, the wheel well gap will not change.

Hope this helps.

UPRSharad

There's no doubt that upgraded dampeners will make a day and night difference. I'm running Koni Yellows and they're great.

However, I have to point out that I added most of the suspension upgrades on my car one at a time, and without a doubt, the rear control arms, UCA mount, panhard bar, and panhard brace dramatically reduced the sloppy floaty feeling on the rear axle.

I used UPR Products suspension on my car and the grip is almost more than you can use on the street. (without breaking the speed limit everywhere you go) www.uprproducts.com

Norm Peterson

Definitely shocks/struts. The lowering springs are a bit too stiff for OE-level dampers to control, and a slightly "floaty" feel is the usual result of this sort of combination. Do this first without doing anything other than possibly camber correction. Then re-evaluate and go from there.

It's not swapping in the Konis that would require camber correction, it's the lowering and if/whether that was done by the dealer. Also by what means - the MM caster-camber plates are clearly a better way to go than camber bolts other than Ford's own bolts.

As for 18" wheels and tires, there are several good options. I happen to be running the 18" GT500 wheels (9.5" wide) with 255/45 tires all around. Lots of people run 275/40-18 on that size wheel as well, or 255/45's with 285/40's in a staggered arrangement.

Gratuitously enlarged avatar picture, also featuring Koni Sports, Sam's stabilizer bars, OE springs, and camber that's a good bit more negative than stock. Too bad you couldn't have been sitting right seat a couple of weeks ago when I had to rather suddenly drive around the remains of a truck tire at 65 mph or so.






Norm

Norm Peterson

Yes, there's a definite difference in "feel" between the OE rubber-bushed lower arms and most any aftermarket arms. A little less "give" when you start up from a dead stop being something you might notice even in everyday driving. It may take a little getting used to before you stop paying it any attention (not that this is a bad thing).


K_13 - since it appears that you're much more interested in the handling over straight line behavior, you probably need to look at the sort of LCAs that have a Johnny Joint (Currie), Roto-Joint (UMI), or Del-Sphere joint (Spohn) at one end. Those are names off the top of my head, there may be others. Rod-ends/Heim joints are another option, just be aware that as all-metal or nearly all-metal joints they'll eventually get noisy.



Norm

Korrupted_13

Alright thx Norm and everyone I'll definitely look into LCA's. Like everyone else I want to make sure I'm doing it right the first time as far as my expectation's and yes this car does very well in a straight line as it is. Ran 12.9 @ 111mph last week first time ever on a strip. I just want to focus more on improving handling, which I find alot more fun.

eolson

Honestly, in my opinion, changing out the springs, dampers and sway bars was by far the most dramatic difference in handling.

I'm sorry, but after changing out the above items, the panhard bar and brace, the rear LCA's and upper control arm were minor improvements in handling.

Sure, adding and compounding the difference with LCA's, UPA, STB, adj. panhard bar/brace, shock tower brace, g-trac bar, chassis stiffening braces, make a difference too, but in my experience, the initial compatible springs, dampers and sway bars must be done as the start. Erik

UPRSharad

Oooh, I wanna play too! Koni Sports & UPR S197 Handling Package-





http://www.uprproducts.com/mustang-c...street-05.html


Each part plays its own role, but it all works as a system. There's no singular upgrade which can compare to a well thought out system. Of course, several of us have our own version of which system is ideal, but in the end, we all just like to get out there and hang some corners!

SteedaBrandon

I would recommend going with a set of upgraded dampers and F&R swaybars. Let me know if I can put a package deal together for you.

Whiskey11

I know I would prioritize Shocks/Struts and Camber plates above swaybars or control arms for the time being. I would also add an adjustable PHB as soon as possible after the shocks/struts and camber plates.

Why?

Because Shocks/Struts, Camber Plates, Lowering Springs, and an adjustable PHB form the core of the suspension modifications that I would consider the "minimum" for lowering the car correctly. Other items can be added later to fix other geometry issues (LCA relocation brackets, adjustable UCA, bumpsteer kits, taller balljoints, etc) that generally don't require disassembling the whole front and rear suspension to install. Sure, a PHB can be installed without uninstalling a bunch of other stuff but it's primary job is lateral location of the axle and with wide tires the "kick over" from the drop and the stock PHB may cause rubbing issues, maybe even alignment issues, it may place more stress on control arm bushings, and may make the car look funky with the axle kicked out to the driver side and so on.

After that, the sky is the limit on how far you wish to modify your suspension. I pretty much went "all the way" when I lowered my car. The only thing done prior to the drop was the shocks/struts were already installed with stock springs and sways. I went with what most would consider around here the standard set up with a substitution on the shocks/struts:

-Steeda Sport Springs
-Steeda HD plates (regretting this, not enough camber FTL, good thing I got a good deal on them used)
-Tokico D-Specs (Wishing I had Koni's but I'm working with what I got)
-Strano 35mm Front Bar
-Strano 25mm Rear Bar with Competition Endlinks
-Fays2 Watts Link

The only other modification missing from that list is the tires. Bar none, the single most important upgrade to your Mustang is tires. It doesn't matter if you are a drag racer, a corner carver, or just a spirited daily driver, tires make a WORLD of difference on the car. After all is said and done, everything gets transmitted through 4 contact patches on the ground right? Since you have already done the drop without the shocks/struts, camber plates and PHB, I would do those first, then drop the coin on good tires immediately afterwords. The rest can all come later IMO.

And because everyone is showing off gratuitously larger pictures of pictures of their car already on the screen, here is the larger version of my signature picture:


Still too much body roll and not enough camber!