Murphdog

So I can't say it was a walk in the park. lol. Took me all day as this was the first time I had really been underneath it. I still need to torque the tops of the struts to spec and get it aligned now.

Doing my research I had used Jazzer's Suspension Guide as a reference for certain parts of the upgrade. Specifically, I was liking the info about the bump steer kit.

I realize his info was based on the previous version of the Mustang so it may be slightly different for my S197 but....

I needed to call the bump steer manufacturer to verify in what order all the parts go together. At some point during the day I lost the diagram.

The guy on the other end of the phone suggested I raise the a-arm so that it is almost horizontal and match the tie-rod / new bump steer kit at that angle. However the diagram Jazzer linked to,



tells me (indirectly) that I don't need to worry about the placement of the a-arm, and that the bump steer kit should be horizontal.

Now that I think about it however, The only way that bump steer kit could be horizontal is if it attached to the top of the spindle and that of course is not right.

I'm brain storming here, sorry about that.

Murphdog

Just got the car aligned. Initially had major toe, but that got resolved. Only issue now is camber. The alignment shop is suggesting that the hole at the bottom of the struts needs to be drilled out so the strut can be adjusted at the bottom and that should fix it. Is this sort of adjustment common? He even showed me a tutorial video at his shop on how to do it.

Murphdog

On a side note, I have the Steeda HD Upper Strut Mount on top of the Koni yellows and Steeda sport springs.

Murphdog

Decided to swap the Steeda HD Upper Strut Mounts out for the Maxmimum Motorsports Camber/Caster plates. I really wanted the plates originally but wasn't ready to speand the $325+ for them, but I guess I am now.

This will help prevent the need to widen the lower bolt hole on the strut.

There's nothing wrong with e Steeda, it just doesn't help with the camber as much as I need it to. If anyone is interested in them for a slight discount (haven't even been on the car 4 days yet), let me know. I'll post it in the classified section once I have it out of the car and can get some pics of them (possibly next Tuesday or Wednesday)

My camber is off by -2 degrees on the left and -2.3 degrees on the right.

audioAl

That's a good looking candy pony, hows it handle in the twisty's now?

Murphdog

I don't have everything dialed in 100% yet (adjustable Koni's) And I'm really waiting for the caster/camber plates to be installed some time next week.

I'd like to take it to COTA (Circuit Of The America's) track or another one here in Austin soon, but I think I better upgrade the brakes first.

Murphdog

Oh and the measurements currently went from....

Rear: From 6.5" to 5.25"
Fron: From 6" and 5.75" to about 4.75" on both sides.

Measurement was taken from the top of the opening of the fender (centered over the wheel cap) to the top edge of the wheel.

I actually haven't measured how off center the body is now. I may do that tomorrow, but it was right on center before this install. After that, I'll figure out what phb I may be getting.

audioAl

I had to re-center the body 1/2" to the passenger side, I got a J&M adjustable steel panhard bar. Once you get it re-centered make sure you tighten the nuts on the panhard. Some guys use red locktite too. Here's a look at my pony after install.

Murphdog

Cool. I still need to take pics of my car's new stance.

On another thread, I explained more issues. Ultimately, I felt like I didn't do a good job installing the bump steer kit, and the car was doing a lot of shaking when curving right.

There was a lose nut on one of the tire rods, cuasing some vibration. I ordered some Steeda x5 ball joints, got those installed today, and the bump steer kit re-adjusted, still had some vibration, so the guy who did my alignment suggested I get the tires balanced. Turns out one of the tires was way off by 5 ounces. Not sure exactly how tire balancing is an issue, completely, but after they balanced the tires, the car runs perfectly, no shake / vibration anywhere on the car now. Cornering is tight. Love it.

Eventually I do want to get a watts link instead of a panhard bar, but money's tight right now, especially considering I'm going to NYC for a short vacation next month. Will probably be 2014 before I do any more modifications to it.